Becky Padera Named to Milton School Committee

Allen Circle resident Becky Padera has been named to fill the open seat on the Milton School Committee.

Padera was unanimously appointed by the remaining five committee members, and the three-man Board of Selectmen, during a joint meeting held Tuesday night in the library at Milton High School. She will finish the remaining 10 months of Denis Keohane’s term. Keohane resigned from the committee after being elected as a selectman in the spring election.

Padera was one of two finalists selected from 11 candidates for the seat. The other was Foster Lane resident Chuck Karimbakas, who was lauded for his financial and budget experience.

In the end, the School Committee – which met for an hour before being joined by the selectmen – decided to go with Padera because of her school-based background, which has included service on the Glover Elementary School PTO and the hiring committee for the Glover School principal. She also has experience as a guidance counselor at Arlington Catholic High School, as a cross-country and track coach, and on other school boards that dealt with issues such as accreditation, bullying, and substance abuse.

Padera, who did not attend Tuesday night’s meeting, is a seven-year Milton resident who has a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from Boston College and a Master of Education degree in school counseling from Suffolk University.

Immediately before the 8-0 vote, Selectman Bob Sweeney praised the School Committee for its work in reviewing the 11 candidates.

“I’ve always loved education and I feel this current School Committee loves education too,” he said. “You’re doing a great job. I feel the field of candidates is an outstanding field.”

The other nine candidates were Brian Burns, Michael Chinman, Kathleen Conlon, Veronica Guerrero-Macia, Meg Kasuba, Justin Renz, Adrienne Sullivan, Julio Varela and Michael Zullas. A 12^th resident, Stan Letovsky, withdrew his name from consideration.