The School Committee of Haverhill is responsible to the people of the
City of Haverhill for the conduct of the school system. The powers of the
School Committee have been vested in it by the commonwealth and the Charter
of the City. The School Committee shall consist of the Mayor as Chairman,
ex officio, and six members elected according to law, all of whom must be
registered voters of the City of Haverhill. Members of the School Committee
have authority only when acting as a Committee legally in session.
The School Committee shall organize annually on the first Monday in
the month of January, and shall elect one of its members as President, who
shall preside at all meetings in the absence of the Mayor. All meetings of
the School Committee shall be open to the press and the public unless the
Committee votes to go into executive session in accordance with MGL c. 39.
The vote on any particular measure shall be by yeas and nays, when requested
by two members.
The School Committee shall appoint a Superintendent of Schools for a
period not exceeding six years and fix his compensation. The Superintendent
shall manage the school system in a fashion consistent with state law and
the policy determinations of the School Committee that are within the scope
of its statutory authority. The Superintendent shall appoint principals for
each public school within the district at levels of compensation determined
in accordance with policies established by the School Committee and may appoint
other administrators as permitted by law.
The School Committee shall have the power to select and terminate the
Superintendent, shall review and approve budgets for public education in the
district, and shall establish educational goals and policies for the schools
in the district consistent with the requirements of law and statewide goals
and standards established by the Board of Education. The School Committee
shall exercise all powers granted to and discharge all duties required by
law of school committees.
The School Committee, may provide, when necessary, temporary accommodations
for school purposes, may make all repairs, the expenditures for which are
made from the regular appropriation for the School Department, and shall have
control of all school buildings and grounds connected therewith. No site for
a school building shall be acquired by the City unless the approval of 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 Mayor. This Code shall not require such approval for the making
of ordinary repairs.
The School Committee shall, in July in each year, submit to the City
Council a detailed report of its administration of the public schools during
the municipal year next preceding the first day of July, including an abstract
of the school census and of the school attendance and a complete financial
statement of its receipts and expenditures.
The School Committee shall, in November, submit to the Mayor and the
City Auditor, detailed estimates of the full amounts deemed necessary for
the next fiscal year for the ordinary maintenance of the School Department,
and for expenditures other than ordinary maintenance, with the amounts, if
any, expended for similar purposes during the preceding fiscal year and during
the first four months of the then-current fiscal year, and an estimate of
the amounts required to be expended for such purposes during the last eight
months of the then-current fiscal year, giving explanatory statements of any
differences between the amount of any estimate for the next fiscal year and
the amount expended or estimated as aforesaid. The report shall include the
number of permanent and temporary employees requested for the next fiscal
year and actually employed on October 31 of the then-fiscal year or the nearest
weekend thereto.
