§ 5. School committee.

5.1 Composition; Eligibility; Election and Term of Office.

(a)

Composition. There shall be a school committee consisting of seven members which shall exercise general management and control of the public schools of the city. Six of these members, to be known as district members, shall be nominated and elected by and from the voters of the six districts, one district member to be elected from each such district. The mayor shall serve as the seventh member of the school committee and as its chairman with full power to vote.

(b)

Eligibility. A district member shall be a voter and a resident of the district from which he is elected, at the time of his election; but a district member who removes from the district from which he was elected shall be considered to have vacated his position as district member, and the vacancy shall be filled in the manner provided in section 5.7.

(c)

Election and Term. The term of office of all members of the school committee provided for in section 1 shall be for two years beginning at 7:00 o'clock in the evening on the first secular day in January following their election and shall continue until their successors have been chosen and qualified.

5.2 Organization. Officers.

The school committee shall meet at seven o'clock in the evening on the first secular day in January in each even numbered year. After a majority of the school committee members elect have been sworn they shall be called to order by the mayor, or in his absence by the member present senior in service, who shall preside. The school committee shall then elect, from its membership, by roll call vote, a vice-chairman of the committee. Four votes shall be necessary for election. No other business shall be in order until the school committee has thus been organized.

The mayor, as chairman of the school committee, shall preside at all meetings of the school committee, regulate the proceedings and decide all questions of order. He shall have the same right to vote on every question which comes before the school committee as any other member. In the event of the absence or disability of the mayor, the vice-chairman shall preside.

5.3 Secretary of the School Committee.

The school committee shall appoint a secretary of the school committee, who may be the superintendent of schools. The secretary of the school committee shall give notice of all meetings of the school committee to the members and to the public, keep the journal of its proceedings and perform such other duties as may be provided by the charter or by other vote of the school committee.

5.4 Powers and Duties.

The school committee shall have all of the powers and duties which are given to school committees in the commonwealth by general laws. They may have such additional powers and duties as are provided to them by charter or by ordinance.

The powers of the school committee shall include, but need not be limited to, the following: (a) to appoint a superintendent of schools, who shall be charged with the day to day administration of the public schools subject to policy directives issued by the school committee; (b) to appoint all other officers and employees connected with the public schools, fix their salaries, define their duties, make rules concerning their tenure of office and to discharge them; and (c) make all reasonable rules and regulations for the management of the public schools of the city and for conducting the business of the school committee as may be necessary or desirable.

The school committee shall furnish all school buildings with fixtures, furnishings and equipment and shall provide ordinary custodial services for all school buildings and grounds.

5.5 Location and Erection of School Buildings.

No site for a school building shall be acquired by the city 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.

5.6 Prohibitions.

(a)

Holding City Office or City Employment. No member of the school committee, other than the mayor, shall, during the term for which he was elected, hold any other compensated city office or city employment.

(Amended: Ch. 45 of the Acts of 2016, effective: 2-24-16)

5.7 Filling of Vacancies.

(a)

School Committee Member. If a vacancy in the office of school committee member shall occur in the first 18 months of the term for which school committee members are elected, the vacancy shall be filled in the same manner as provided for district councilors; if the candidate who is willing to serve shall have received not less than 30 percent of the votes cast for the office of school committee member in the district in which the vacancy exists. If no such candidate is available the city council shall, within 30 days following the date the vacancy is declared to exist, elect a suitable person from among the voters residing in the district to serve for the balance of the unexpired term.

(b)

In general, no vacancy which occurs after the first eighteen months of the term for which school committee members are elected shall be filled unless failure to fill such vacancies would result in fewer than four persons serving as members of the school committee, in that event all such vacancies shall be filled in the manner provided above.

Whenever a vacancy exists on the school committee which is not filled at the time of the city election, the person elected at such election to fill the seat in which the vacancy exists shall forthwith be sworn and shall, in addition to the term for which he was elected, serve for the balance of the then unexpired term.

5.8 Exercise of Powers; Quorum; Rules of Procedure.

(a)

Exercise of Powers. Except as otherwise provided by general law, or by the charter, the powers of the school committee may be exercised in the manner determined by it.

(b)

Quorum. The presence of four members of the school committee shall constitute a quorum. The affirmative votes of four members shall be necessary to adopt any measure.

(c)

Rules of Procedure. The school committee shall from time to time adopt rules governing its proceedings, except as otherwise provided by law or by the charter.

(i)

Regular meetings of the school committee may be held at a time and place fixed by its own rules.

(ii)

Special meetings of the school committee shall be held at the call of the mayor, as chairman, or in his absence by the vice-chairman acting as such, or by any three or more members, by written notice delivered in hand or to the place of residence or business of each member at least forty-eight hours in advance of the time set and which includes notice of the subjects which are to be acted upon, and not other business shall be in order.

(iii)

All meetings of the school committee and of every subcommittee thereof, shall at all times be open to the public and to the press, unless otherwise provided by law.

(iv)

Every matter which comes before the school committee, and of every subcommittee thereof, shall, unless the vote is unanimous, be decided by a roll call vote, which shall be recorded, as part of the public record.

(v)

A full, accurate, up-to-date record of the proceedings of the school committee and of every subcommittee thereof, shall be kept which shall be made available at a place convenient to the public and a certified copy shall be kept in the office of the city clerk.

5.9 Budget Hearing.

At least thirty days before the meeting at which the school committee is to vote on the budget request which it will submit to the mayor, the school committee shall cause to be published in a local newspaper a general summary of their proposed budget. The summary shall indicate specifically areas of increase from the present budget, if any, and the reasons for such changes and a notice stating (1) the times and places where complete copies of their proposed budget will be available for public examination and (2) the date, not less than seven nor more than fourteen days following such publication, and the place at which a public hearing will be held by the school committee on their proposed budget.

5.10 Mayor to be Coordinator.

The mayor shall be responsible for the coordination of all activities under the jurisdiction of the school committee with all activities under the jurisdiction of other city agencies.

5.11 Compensation.

The city council shall, by ordinance, establish an annual salary for the members of the school committee. An ordinance increasing the salary shall not be effective unless adopted by a 2/3 vote during the first 18 months of the term for which school committee members are elected and the new salary schedule shall not be effective until the commencement of the term of office of the next school committee to be elected.

(Ch. 45 of the Acts of 2016; Ord. dated 10/14/04 § 1; Ord. dated 7/9/04 §§ 2, 3; Ord. dated 1/1/03 § 11; Ord. dated 9/3/02 §§ 2, 3; Ord. dated 11/27/01 § 11; Ord. dated 5/15/01)