Harwood school board leaders will not run for re-election in March

December 6, 2023  |  By Lisa Scagliotti 

This post was updated Dec. 13 with Kristen Rodgers’ statement.

Harwood Unified Union School Board Chair Kristen Rodgers of Moretown and Vice Chair Kelley Hackett of Waterbury. File photo

Town Meeting Day may be three months off, but some local officials are already deciding whether they will sign up to run for re-election. 

This week, Harwood Unified Union School Board Chair and Vice Chair Kristen Rodgers of Moretown and Kelley Hackett of Waterbury announced to their respective select boards that they would not be running in March. 

Hackett attended Monday’s Waterbury Select Board meeting to share her decision with the board and the public and to invite the board members to attend upcoming community meetings about proposed renovations to Harwood Union Middle/High School. The school district is aiming to present a bond for school renovations to voters on the November 2024 election ballot. 

In a letter to the community, Hackett acknowledges that her departure from the board comes as the district takes on the significant task of moving ahead with high school renovations. Voters in the district in November 2021 overwhelmingly rejected a nearly $60 million bond to update the facility built in 1965-66. The current discussion centers on a list of renovations ranging between $64 and $92 million. School officials are aiming to decide the scope of the project in the spring. 

“As we embark on developing a bond for our high school, I am hopeful that the future of our schools and students will be in the best interest with clear leadership, ongoing board work, and a supportive community. Waterbury and Harwood Union School District deserve full representation and engaged representatives at the table,” Hackett writes. 

Hackett was first elected to the school board in 2020. This year she ran for a one-year opening on an unexpired term which ends in March 2024. Likewise, Rodgers said she shared her intentions with the Moretown Selectboard at its Monday meeting. Rodgers has been on the school board since 2019. 

Rodgers on Dec. 13 shared a letter to the Moretown community with Waterbury Roundabout. “Working with our Superintendent, Dr. Mike Leichliter, over the last two years has been an absolute breath of fresh air and an amazing opportunity. For the first time in a long time I feel our district is in good hands and it is time for me to pass the torch,” Rodgers writes. “Thank you Moretown for trusting my ability to make the best decisions for our school, town, and kids.”

Both Hackett and Rodgers said they were sharing their decisions to not seek new terms now so that other community members might consider the positions and come forward to run. At a recent school board meeting, Rodgers encouraged all of the board members whose terms end in 2024 to do the same in order to recruit candidates in time for Town Meeting Day. 

Having served in their leadership roles on the school board since March 2022, Hackett and Rodgers are two of five board members whose seats are up for election in March 2024. The others are Marlena Tucker-Fishman of Waterbury, Mike Bishop of Fayston, and Jonathan Young of Warren. The school board has a total of 14 seats.

Waterbury will need to choose two new representatives in 2024. Tucker-Fishman told Waterbury Roundabout that she also will not run for re-election in March. She has served one term having been elected in 2021. Waterbury has a total of four members on the Harwood board; the other five communities each have two. Waterbury’s other two representatives are Jake Pitman and Victoria Taravella whose terms end in 2026 and 2025 respectively. 

Also elected in 2021, Young said he does plan to run to continue representing Warren. “While things are going great, there’s still a lot to do,” Young said.

Bishop was appointed to the board in mid-2022, filling the Fayston seat formerly held by Theresa Membrino. He ran in March for the one year remaining on that term that ends in 2024. Bishop told Waterbury Roundabout he has not yet decided whether he will run for a full term in March.  

Town Meeting Day 2024 is Tuesday, March 5. The deadline for candidates to file petitions with their town clerks to get on the printed ballots is 5 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 29. After that date, candidates still may run as write-ins. 

Kelley Hackett and Kristen Rodgers’ letters to the community are posted in the Opinion section.