The first election shall be held on the first Tuesday
in November in the year in which withdrawal from the Chariho Regional
School District would take place. The three candidates with the highest
number of votes shall serve four-year terms; the two candidates with
the next highest number of votes shall serve two-year terms. In subsequent
elections either two or three members shall be elected for four-year
terms.
Any vacancy in the membership of the School Committee
shall be filled by appointment by a majority of all members of the
Council until the next regular Town election, when the office shall
be filled for the unexpired term.
The School Committee shall elect a chair and vice
chair at its first organizational meeting and thereafter shall elect
a chair and a vice chair at its first meeting following a regular
town election or following the vacancy in either the chair or vice
chair.
The School Committee shall determine its own rules
and order of business at the time of its first organizational meeting.
The School Committee shall hire or appoint a clerk to keep the records
of the meeting and a finance officer.
The School Committee shall determine and control all
policies affecting the administration, maintenance, scheduling, and
operation of the public schools and shall have all the powers and
be subject to all duties as prescribed by the laws of the state. In
addition, it shall have the power to inquire into the conduct of any
office, department or activity of the public schools and make investigations
as to school affairs.
The School Committee shall appoint a Superintendent
of Schools as its administrative agent. The appointment and removal
of all school employees and shall be made by School Committee upon
recommendation of the Superintendent of Schools, except as may otherwise
be provided by state law.
The School Committee shall have the sole authority
to negotiate and conclude all collective bargaining agreements with
teachers, support staff, or others, which relate to the operation
and maintenance of the school system, and otherwise establish employment
policies and benefit programs, and the terms and conditions thereof,
which the School Committee shall determine is in the best interest
of the school system.
Except for the purpose of inquiry, the School Committee
and its members shall deal with the administration of the public schools
solely through the Superintendent of Schools, and neither the School
Committee nor any member thereof shall give orders to any subordinate
of the Superintendent of Schools, either publicly or privately.
The School Committee shall submit budget estimates
to the Town Administrator and the Budget Commission no later than
the third Tuesday in March. The estimates shall show those costs mandated
by state law or contract and those costs that are discretionary. The
Budget Commission and the Council may cut or add to the bottom line
of the School Committee budget proposal but the allocations of the
amount appropriated shall be determined by the School Committee.
The School Committee, with the approval of the Council,
may delegate to any office or department of the Town any function
or service under their control not directly connected with education.