School Committee to Interview Candidates for Vacant Seat Tuesday

Seven weeks after Kate Kominsky abruptly resigned from her seat on the Foxborough School Committee, the board will meet with the Board of Selectmen Tuesday to interview five candidates and appoint her replacement.

The candidates expected to be interviewed at Tuesday’s Board of Selectmen meeting for Kominsky’s seat are:

• Marsha Maxwell at 8:30 p.m.
• Christina Belanger at 8:40 p.m.
• Doris-Ashapa-Olsen at 8:50 p.m.
• Michael Davison at 9 p.m.
• Brian Walton at 9:10 p.m.

Kominsky served as a member of the school committee for eight years, but never as the board’s chair or vice-chair, according to an article in The Sun Chronicle.

The Chronicle reported Kominsky submitted her letter of resignation to the Foxborough School Committee shortly after the board’s May 21 meeting.

At that meeting, Kominsky was nominated by board member Martha Slattery to serve as the committee's chair for the 2012-2013 academic year as part of the board's annual reorganization. The five-member board voted against that nomination 3-2, with Slattery and Kominsky voting “yes,” according to the committee’s meeting minutes.

Member Katie Adair then nominated Beverley Lord, citing she liked the current rotation process of vice-chair moving forward to chair.

The committee voted 3-2 in favor of Lord becoming the committee’s chair for 2012-2013, with Slattery and Kominsky both voting "no." Lord, according to the meeting minutes, thanked the committee for their vote of confidence.

Bruce Gardner, the committee’s chair at the time of the May 21 meeting, then nominated Kominsky for vice-chair and the board's four other members voted "yes" before Kominsky withdrew her name from consideration, according to the meeting minutes.

Adair was then nominated for vice-chair and was approved, 4-1, by the committee with Kominsky being the only member to vote “no.”

Shortly after that meeting, Kominsky submitted her letter of resignation, which took effect on June 30.

Following her resignation, Kominsky was critical of members of the school committee, telling the Chronicle, "a school committee that does not follow its own processes, nor value diversity of thought or respect for colleagues is not an organization I wish to be a part of today.”

To read the full story in the Sun Chronicle, click here.

Foxborough Board of Selectmen meetings are broadcast live on Foxborough Cable Access.