Resignation creates short-term school board opening for Duxbury

June 18, 2021 |  By Lisa Scagliotti 

Wanted: A Duxbury resident to volunteer to serve on the Harwood Union School Board for approximately six months. 

When: Immediately, although the board will soon be on a summer recess, returning to in-person twice-monthly meetings by late August. 

Business at hand: Crafting a bond proposal to present to voters to pay for about $50 million of school construction, the ongoing merger of the middle schools, and a search for a new superintendent to lead the district starting mid-2022. 

Letters of interest should be sent to the board chair and district superintendent (see below). 

The vacancy has come about as Duxbury board member Brian Dalla Mura resigned from the board on Wednesday, June 16. In a brief email to board Chair Torrey Smith, Dalla Mura wrote: “I have decided to resign from the HUUSD board to focus on my new job at Thatcher Brook (Brookside pending this board’s approval). I am very impressed by the HUUSD community as a whole, including teachers, staff, students, board members, community members, and administrators. I truly feel that HUUSD is second to none. Thank you.”

In citing “Brookside,” Dalla Mura was referring to the new name for Thatcher Brook Primary School submitted June 9 by the Renaming Team of teachers and students at the school. The district is looking to rename the school after historical information was discussed in the community in recent months that revealed the namesake of the Waterbury brook – and in turn, the school – was an 18th-century Connecticut man, Partridge Thatcher, who was granted land in newly chartered Waterbury, but also owned slaves.  

The school board still needs to vote on the new name choice for the school. The process aimed to have a new name at the start of the 2021-22 school year. 

Dalla Mura has lived in Duxbury for five years and has most recently worked in the Winooski School District as a special educator for children with emotional disabilities.  His contract there ends at the end of this month. He has accepted a new job in a similar role at Thatcher Brook Primary School with a contract starting July 1. 

Dalla Mura was one of three new members to join the board in March. He was the sole candidate for the Duxbury seat in the Town Meeting Day election on March 2. But around the time of the election, he decided to apply for the position at the Waterbury school. He said he interviewed, was offered, and accepted the position by late March. 

Dalla Mura shared his job search news with board member Caitlin Hollister, who was chair until early March, and with Smith who shifted from vice chair to chair after the election. But he did not share with the rest of the board or the public that he was making a switch to work for the Harwood school district once he made that decision. 

State statute prohibits individuals from serving on a school board in a district where they are employed. 

The status of Dalla Mura’s employment came up at a May board meeting when several members asked about it, after hearing in the community that he would be working at Thatcher Brook soon. At that time he confirmed that was the case and said he didn’t think he needed to announce it sooner.

The school board held a special meeting Wednesday evening – the first in-person meeting since March 2020. The purpose was to hold an executive session to discuss with Harwood Union High School administrators the February termination of the boys hockey coach, Jacob Grout. 

At the start of the meeting, Smith read Dalla Mura’s brief message of resignation. Reached later, he called his brief experience on the board “nothing short of positive” that gave him an opportunity to connect with many people he would not have met otherwise.

“The well-deserved positive reputation of the HUUSD is what led me to apply for a job in the first place, and serving on the board only confirmed that this is one of the best communities to live and work in,” he said. 

The school board has its last scheduled meeting before it starts its summer recess next Wednesday, June 23. The board typically resumes meeting in late August with a retreat to prepare for the school year, and then it begins regular meetings in September. 

The appointment to the Duxbury seat would run until March 1, 2022, at which point the position will be filled by voters in the Town Meeting Day election. The term at that point would have one year remaining. Full school board terms are three years. Dalla Mura was elected to the seat when it had two years left following the January resignation of Alec Adams who was elected to a full term in 2020. 

How to apply

Smith, who is Duxbury’s other representative to the school board, said the board is eager to fill the vacancy. Those interested should send a letter via email to both Superintendent Brigid Nease at bnease@huusd.org and to Smith at tcsmith@huusd.org. The letter should include a brief statement about why the individual would like to serve and what experience and skills they may bring to the board, she explained. 

The school board section of the district’s website has a FAQ document about being on the board. “I am also glad to answer any questions that prospective applicants might have about the work, time commitment, etc.,” Smith said. 

The board's procedure for filling a vacancy calls for holding a meeting within 30 days of receiving a resignation to do so as required by state statute. It’s unclear how that timing will work during the summer when the board isn’t in its regular meeting schedule. The process also involves consulting with the town’s selectboard for input into the choice.