Massachusetts 2023-2024 Regular Session

Massachusetts House Bill H5098 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	1 of 1
2	2	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 5468 FILED ON: 10/31/2024
3	3	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 5098
4	4	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
5	5	_________________
6	6	PRESENTED BY:
7	7	Frank A. Moran
8	8	_________________
9	9	To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
10	10	Court assembled:
11	11	The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
12	12	An Act defining a governing structure for the Lawrence School Board upon the exit of state
13	13	receivership.
14	14	_______________
15	15	PETITION OF:
16	16	NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Frank A. Moran17th Essex10/31/2024Pavel PayanoFirst Essex10/31/2024Estela A. Reyes4th Essex10/31/2024 1 of 3
17	17	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 5468 FILED ON: 10/31/2024
18	18	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 5098
19	19	By Representative Moran of Lawrence, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 5098) of
20	20	Frank A. Moran, Pavel Payano and Estela A. Reyes (with approval of the mayor and city
21	21	council) relative to defining a governing structure for the Lawrence School Board upon the exit
22	22	of state receivership. Municipalities and Regional Government. [Local Approval Received.]
23	23	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
24	24	_______________
25	25	In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
26	26	(2023-2024)
27	27	_______________
28	28	An Act defining a governing structure for the Lawrence School Board upon the exit of state
29	29	receivership.
30	30	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
31	31	of the same, as follows:
32	32	1 SECTION 1. Section 5 of chapter 425 of the acts of 1983 is hereby amended by striking
33	33	2out subsection 5.1 and inserting in its place the following subsection:
34	34	3 5.1 Composition; Eligibility; Election and Term of Office.
35	35	4 (a) Composition. There shall be a school committee consisting of seven members which
36	36	5shall exercise general management and control of the public schools of the city. Three of these
37	37	6members, to be known as at large members, shall be nominated and elected by and from the
38	38	7voters of the City at large. Three of these members shall be appointed members, and shall be
39	39	8known as the appointed members, and shall be appointed by a vote of the City Council. The
40	40	9mayor shall serve as the seventh member of the school committee and as its chairman with full
41	41	10power to vote. 2 of 3
42	42	11 (b) Eligibility. All members, whether at large members or appointed members shall be
43	43	12voters and residents of the city of Lawrence at the time of his or her election or appointment; a
44	44	13member who moves from the city shall be considered to have vacated his or her position, and the
45	45	14vacancy shall be filled in the manner provided in section 5.7. In addition, the appointed members
46	46	15should also have a background or expertise in either finance, the law, or education.
47	47	16 (c) Election and Term. The term of office of all members of the school committee
48	48	17provided for in section 1 shall be for two years beginning at 7:00 o'clock in the evening on the
49	49	18first secular day in January following their election or appointment and shall continue until their
50	50	19successors have been chosen and qualified.
51	51	20 SECTION 2. Section 5 of chapter 425 of the acts of 1983 is hereby amended by striking
52	52	21out subsection 5.7 and inserting in its place the following subsection:
53	53	22 5.7Filling of Vacancies.
54	54	23 (a)At-Large School Committee Member. If a vacancy occurs in the office of an
55	55	24elected school committee member, it shall be filled in the same manner as is provided in section
56	56	253.9(a) for the filling of a vacancy in the office of a city councilor at large.
57	57	26 (b)Appointed School Committee Member. If a vacancy occurs in the office of an
58	58	27appointed school committee member, it shall be filled with a call for candidates by the Lawrence
59	59	28City Council at the next regular meeting of the Council. Said appointee shall be confirmed by an
60	60	29affirmative vote of the majority of the City Council. The Council shall appoint a new member at
61	61	30its first opportunity but in no event shall the completion of this appointment process exceed
62	62	31thirty days from the date that notice of a vacancy is received by the Council. 3 of 3
63	63	32 (c)In general, no vacancy which occurs after the first eighteen months of the term for
64	64	33which the member was elected or appointed shall be filled unless failure to fill such vacancy
65	65	34would result in fewer than four persons serving as members of the school committee, in that
66	66	35event, all such vacancies shall be filled in the manner provided above.
67	67	36 (d)Whenever a vacancy of an elected member exists on the school committee which
68	68	37is not filled at the time of city election, the person elected at large with the highest vote shall
69	69	38forthwith be sworn in, and shall, in addition to the term for which he or she was elected, serve
70	70	39the balance of the then unexpired term.
71	71	40 SECTION 3. Except as specifically amended herein, all other portions of Section 5 of
72	72	41chapter 425 of the acts of 1983 shall remain in full force and effect.
73	73	42 SECTION 4. This act shall take effect upon its passage