Meghan Glenn named Medfield School Committee member

At the Oct. 16 joint special election of the Medfield School Committee and Board of Selectmen and after an extensive question and answer session, Meghan Glenn received 6 out of 7 total possible votes cast by members of both town boards, and will serve out the remaining term of former School Committee member Tim Bonfatti until the March 2019 town election at which time she can run for a full three-year term.

Glenn is a former high school social studies teacher; an active volunteer in Medfield Public Schools who co-led the campaign to pass the FY2019 school override vote at the June 2018 Town Meeting; and she holds a B.A. from the University of Notre Dame, and an M.Ed from DePaul University, according to her submitted letter of interest obtained from a Public Records Request.

Bonfatti announced on Sept. 4 that he would be resigning at the next Medfield School Committee meeting on Sept. 17. Based on minutes from the Sept. 18 Board of Selectmen meeting, Bonfatti's official letter of resignation from School Committee had been received at that point.

At the Medfield School Committee meeting last month on Sept. 17, Chair Anna Mae O'Shea Brooke discussed the process for filling the interim vacancy and noted the Oct. 16 joint meeting/special election had been scheduled with the selectmen to vote on candidates. As part of this discussion, Brooke announced that anyone interested in being considered for the interim position should submit a letter to her by Oct. 12 indicating the reasons for wanting to serve and qualifications. She noted that one letter of interest had already been received (later learned to be the letter from Glenn dated Sept. 14).

In response to the news that last-minute school committee nominations would be taken (conveyed in an Oct. 15 Patch article), a second candidate, Meredith Chamberland, PhD., Grade 6-12 Guidance Director with Canton Public Schools, was nominated from the floor on Oct. 16. Chamberland noted that she had intended to submit a letter in advance, but missed the deadline due to a sick child.

Prior to voting, Selectman Gus Murby expressed concerns about the lack of public awareness about the School Committee vacancy beyond school families, and mentioned that the Patch article the day before the special election was the only way the larger community would have learned about the opening. Board of Selectmen Chair Mike Marcucci said he took responsibility for not taking the steps necessary to disseminate the information to the broader community, separately noting that the state statue on the process is not "crystal clear" and he understood the confusion around it.

Expressions of appreciation were extended to both Glenn and Chamberland for standing up to be nominated for the school committee vacancy. The officials who voted for Glenn were school committee members Brooke, Chris Morrison, Jessica Reilly and Leo Brehm; and selectmen Mike Marcucci and Osler "Pete" Peterson. Selectman Murby voted for Chamberland.

The YouTube link of the special election can be found here.