Two Whitman Vacancies Open on Whitman-Hanson School Committee

Long-serving member's sudden passing and surprise resignation of youngest member prompt discussion over appointment process

HANSON, MA - August 21 - The Whitman-Hanson Regional School Committee faces the task of filling two vacant seats after the recent passing of long-time member Fred Small and the surprise resignation of David Forth at Wednesday night's meeting.

Forth, who has served on the committee since age 19, announced he will step down effective Sept. 1 to pursue higher education. His resignation comes as the committee was already grappling with how to fill Small's seat.

"I will resign as a Whitman representative to the PK-12 Whitman-Hanson Regional School Committee, effective September 1," Forth said in prepared remarks. "I will continue to build upon the foundation of my experiences learned here by pursuing higher education to expand my capacity to contribute."

The process for filling Small's vacancy sparked debate at the meeting, with questions raised about whether the selection should be made by the Whitman Select Board or the School Committee itself.

Committee member Rosemary Connolly expressed concern about the selectmen's involvement, stating, "I had some concern with this because I kind of dove into the laws a little bit… The governing body is the School Committee. It is not under any circumstances the Selectmen."

However, Superintendent Jeffrey Szymaniak clarified that the regional agreement specifies a joint selection process. "It's a joint venture between the Select Board and the school," Szymaniak said. "Each school committee member that's left has an equal vote, as each board-selected member has an equal vote."

For Whitman, this means five Selectmen and four remaining School Committee members, after the resignation of Forth, will vote on the new appointees.

The committee is now working to post the openings and collect resumes from interested candidates. Resumes should be sent via email to Mary Beth Carter, the Whitman Town Administrator, at mcarter@whitman-ma.gov.

A joint meeting to interview candidates and make selections is expected to be held in late September or early October. Committee members expressed a desire to have new appointees in place before their Oct. 9 meeting.

The unexpected dual vacancies will have implications for the upcoming May election as well. Voters will now need to fill four Whitman seats on the committee - two three-year terms, one two-year term to complete Small's term, and one one-year term to complete Forth's term.

In his resignation speech, Forth reflected on his time on the committee and offered advice to future leaders.

"You must never lead with indignation, regardless of any circumstances that have caused a believed justification of such emotions," Forth said. "Some of our most significant opportunities for growth are from our dissenters… Ideology does not dominate the mindset of this committee, but personality and life experiences help guide and shape our views. Empathy has been our greatest asset in achieving results these last few years."

Committee Chair Beth Stafford thanked Forth for his service, saying, "We will miss you greatly. And it's nice to have you here that we can say that, unlike, you know, for Fred. But we can tell you how much we have appreciated you being on this committee."