Town Manager Names Three More To School Building Committee

TSO Recommends Town Manager’s Nominations For Council Approval

Town Manager Paul Bockelman made three new appointment recommendations to the Elementary School Building Committee (ESBC) in a memo to the Town Council and Town Clerk on August 5. The ESBC will be responsible for overseeing the design and construction of a new school in Amherst. Recommended for terms that will last the length of the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) process, which is estimated to be five to seven years, are: 

Dwayne Chamble of Market Hill Road
Phoebe Merriam of Western Lane
Jonathan Salvon of Linden Ridge Road

The Town Services Committee voted 3-0-2 on Thursday (8/6) to recommend these nominations to the full Town Council for approval (see below).

The MSBA recommends that some Town and District employees serve on the Committee, including the Town Manager, School Superintendent, building principals, building maintenance officials, Town financial officers, and a person certified in public purchasing. Bockelman had already recommended, and the Town Council has approved, the following appointments:

Town Manager Paul Bockeman
School Superintendent Michael Morris
Fort River Principal Diane Chamberlain 
Wildwood Vice Principal Allison Estes 
Schools’ Facilities Director Rupert Roy-Clark 
Town Finance Director Sean Mangano
Town Procurement Officer Anthony Delaney 

The Amherst School Committee voted to have Ben Herrington represent the School Committee on the ESBC..

In addition to these appointments, Bockelman made five discretionary appointments. They are:

• Town Councilors Stephen Schreiber (District 4) and Cathy Schoen (District 1) (both nominated by the Town Council) 

• The three residents mentioned above 

It has been Bockelman’s policy not to share data with the public on the number of applicants who have applied for positions, nor to share data about their qualifications and diversity. Nonetheless, a formal request for the names of all applicants has been filed. Bockelman did note in the charge for the Committee, that preference would be given to parents/guardians of young children who might be students in the elementary schools in five years.

Profiles
Bockelman provided the following profiles for the latest appointments:

• Dwayne Chamble is the Out of School Time Coordinator for the Amherst-Pelham Regional School District. He is familiar with the ins and outs of the Town’s school buildings because he works for the District and also navigates the buildings as a parent. He describes himself as a natural bridge builder who is committed to outreach and communicating with groups that are not normally involved in Town activities. He believes a building should reflect the excellent teaching going on inside. As the parent of a 7-month old, Mr. Chamble is looking at a new building as the school his child may attend. 

• Phoebe Merriam is a graduate of the Amherst school system. She is also the parent of three children in the Amherst public schools. She has served as the parent representative on teacher interview committees at Crocker Farm Elementary School. She is a member of the Social Justice Committee and is involved with reviewing the mission, vision statement, and longterm school plan of Crocker Farm as well. She owns and operates two small businesses in Amherst and brings her entrepreneurial spirit and can-do attitude to supporting the community, diversifying those involved in the schools, and seeking the best options for the Town’s children.
  
• Jonathan Salvon is a practicing architect with experience in school design and a working understanding of sustainable design. He chaired the Fort River School Study Committee, which emphasized a high degree of communication with the public and facilitated processes to ensure multiple viewpoints were heard and acknowledged. With two children in the Town’s elementary schools, he also brings valuable experience as a parent and the impact of the design of the current buildings on children. He has also served on the Town’s Design Review Committee and is familiar with the procurement process for public buildings. 

The composition of the ESBC must be approved by the MSBA and the list of members was due earlier this summer. The list of members excluding these residents was filed last month and a new filing will be required for the additions. Previous reporting on the ESBC appointment process can be found here and here. 

TSO Recommends Town Manager’s Nominations For Council Approval
The Town Services and Outreach Committee (TSO)  voted at their Thursday meeting (8/6) by a vote of 3-0-2 to approve Bockelman’s nominations and recommend them to the full Town Council for approval.   Councilors Alisa Brewer (At Large), Evan Ross (District 4) and George Ryan (District 3) voted in favor.  Councilor’s Darcy DuMont (District 5) and Dorothy Pam (District 3) abstained.  DuMont and Pam explained their abstentions were in response to disappointing answers to critical questions that they had raised about the nomination process and the nominees.

DuMont asked Bockelman if he had received  applications from anyone with experience in net zero buildings. Bockelman responded that Salvon has some experience  and that there was at least one other applicant with net-zero experience. But Bockelman said that he did not regard having this experience as consequential because the Town will have to hire an architect with net zero experience because of the Town’s net-zero bylaw which requires that new building  meet net-zero standards.

DuMont also expressed concern that Chamble is an employee of the School District and asked whether this is problematic given that so many members of the committee are in fact employees of the District or the Town and whether there might be  potential conflicts of interest?  Bockelman responded that he had taken that into consideration and that he deemed the skills that Chamble would bring to outweighed the concern.  He also noted that Chamble’s position with the Town is centered on outreach and connection with parents and he thought that this would make him a reliable advocate for public interests.

Both DuMont and Pam expressed concern about the male/female ratio of the committee (9/4) , especially when there were, according to Dumont, so many women who had applied to be on the committee.   Bockelman pointed out that his hands were tied for most of the appointments required by the MSBA  (for example, the School Superintendent, the Town Manager and the school purchasing agent who are men). Bockelman said that he shared their concern and will continue to be attentive to this issue in the future.