(a)Â
Composition -- There shall be a school committee of
seven (7) members which shall exercise control and management of the
public schools of the town, except as provided in section 3-4(g).
Six (6) committeemen shall be nominated and elected by and from the
voters at large. One (1) shall be the Mayor, who shall serve as chairman.
[Amended 11-5-1991 by TO-91-21]
(b)Â
Eligibility -- Only voters shall be eligible to hold
the office of school committeeman.
(c)Â
Election and Term -- The terms of school committeemen
shall be two years beginning the first secular day of January after
their election and until their successors are qualified.
[Amended 11-5-1991 by TO-91-21]
After a majority of the school committeemen-elect
have been sworn, the school committee shall be called together by
the Mayor, and elect from among its members a vice chairman and a
secretary. The vice chairman shall preside at all meetings of the
committee in the event of the absence or disability of the chairman.
The school committee shall have all the powers
and duties which school committees may have under the general laws
and may have such additional powers and duties as the town council
may by ordinance from time to time assign. The powers of the school
committee shall include but not be limited to the power to: (1) appoint
a superintendent; (2) appoint all other officers and employees connected
with the schools (but excluding maintenance and health personnel),
fix their compensation and define their duties, make rules concerning
their tenure of office and discharge them; (3) furnish all school
buildings with proper fixtures, furnishings and equipment; and, (4)
make all reasonable rules and regulations, consistent with law, for
the management of the public schools of the town and for conducting
the business of the committee.
No site for a school building shall be acquired
by the town unless the approval of the site by the school committee
is first obtained. No plans for the construction of or alterations
in a school building shall be accepted, and no work shall be begun
on the construction or alteration of a school building, unless with
the approval of the school committee and the mayor. The mayor shall
notify the school committee in writing prior to or at the time of
each change in plans after work is begun. This section shall not require
such approval for the making of ordinary repairs.
[Amended 11-5-1991 by TO-91-21]
No school committeeman, except the Mayor, shall,
while a member of the school committee, hold any other office or position
the salary or compensation for which is payable out of the town treasury.
No former school committeeman shall hold any compensated appointive
town office or town employment until one (1) year after the expiration
of his service on the school committee.
[Amended 11-7-2017[1]]
If a vacancy shall occur, by failure to elect or otherwise,
in the office of school committeeperson during the first 18 months
of the term for which school committeepersons are elected, no special
election shall be held. The city clerk shall immediately notify the
school committee of such vacancy. The school committee shall, not
more than 15 days after receiving that notification, choose as school
committeeperson for the vacancy the defeated candidate for the office
of school committeeperson at the regular municipal election at which
school committeepersons were last elected, who is eligible and willing
to serve, and who received the highest number of votes at such election.
If the defeated candidate who received the highest number of votes
is ineligible or unwilling to serve, the school committee shall choose
the defeated candidate with the next highest number of votes until
the vacancy is filled, provided that candidate remains eligible and
willing to serve and provided that candidate received not less than
30 per cent of the vote received by the person receiving the largest
number of votes for the office of school committee[2] at the election. If there is a tie in the election, the
city clerk shall conduct an automatic recount of the election pursuant
to section 135 of chapter 54. If the recount does not break the tie,
a toss of the coin shall determine the outcome. The city clerk shall
then list the order of the candidates. If no defeated candidate is
eligible and willing to serve, the school committee shall by majority
vote of the full committee select a registered voter of the city known
as the town of Agawam to fill such vacancy.
If a vacancy occurs after the 18 calendar months of the term
for which the school committeepersons are elected, the preceding paragraph
shall not apply. The person elected at the next regular town election
following the creation of the vacancy who receives the highest number
of votes for school committeeperson and who is not then an incumbent
member of the school committee shall immediately be sworn in and shall,
in addition to the term for which the person was elected, serve for
the balance of the unexpired vacant term.
