Mayor Spicer To Appoint New Fuller SBC Member

FRAMINGHAM, MA- The School Building Committee for the new Fuller Middle School is one voting seat short after one of its members resigned.

After much debate at Wednesday night's School Committee meeting, members voted 8-1 to have Mayor Spicer undertake the appointment process. The member who resigned is a teacher at Fuller Middle School- School Committee Chair Adam Freudberg said the Framingham Teachers Association would prefer to keep a teacher in the position so as not to lose their voce on the committee. Freudberg agreed, " I believe a current Fuller staff member would be a great addition to the SBC with diversity considered," Freudberg said.

The School Committee had the option to be the appointing power, but were limited to only Framingham Public School staff whereas the mayor has access to a broader applicant pool of people who live in the city. The appointment process by charter through the mayor will take a bit longer than the School Committee's process would have since it requires City Council concurrence.

The School Building Committee had their own preference as well, suggesting that someone who is already serving on the committee as anon-voting member, who lives in the city, should fill the position.

When discussing the possibilities of who could fill the vacancy, members Beverly Hugo, Tracey Bryant and Gloria Pascual said the open position as an opportunity to add a diverse voice to the committee. Hugo noted that the committee was mainly white men and Bryant added that only one voting member was a woman and none of the voting members were people of color. There were previously two woman who held voting seats but one of the women was the teacher who resigned.

School Committee member Scott Wadland pointed out that the discussion was about who would have appointing power rather than who specifically will be appointed and made a motion for the mayor to be the appointing power. School Committee member Geoffrey Epstein seconded the motion, "I have total confidence in the mayor as someone who can balance all these issues of equity, gender, competence, on this committee," Epstein said.

The School Building Committee does not have a strict date when a candidate must be selected but would like the seat filled as soon as possible.

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