Southborough Select Board expands school building committee, appoints five citizen members

The Town of Southborough Select Board voted Tuesday to expand the PreK–8 School Building Committee, extend the committee's charge to Sept. 30 and appoint five citizen-at-large members following interviews with five applicants.

The changes come as the committee prepares a research phase to update earlier studies and present options for school grade configuration and building needs ahead of future town decisions. The board approved expanding the committee from seven to nine members, increasing citizen-at-large positions from three to five and moving the committee eadline from Aug. 31 to Sept. 30.

Board members said they want the group to focus on objective, research-based comparisons of the options developed by prior committees and to produce information the town can use to weigh education, cost and site trade-offs. Select Board member Al, who led much of the discussion, said the committee should have the time and membership to assemble and present comparable, up-to-date analyses of previously studied options.

During the interviews, applicants described varied professional backgrounds and experience on past school building committees. Jean Carmelak, who told the board she has a background in speech-language pathology and management and helped lead a "plan B" proposal in an earlier local process, told Select Board members, "I want to make sure that there's town consensus, when it comes time to make a decision." Carmelak said she would work to be objective and to ensure the committee—ollects facts and analysis rather than moving immediately to recommendations.

Howard Anderson, a registered electrical engineer who has served on multiple local school building committees, and Mark Davis, a construction and development professional who previously served on the Neary committee, emphasized their experience with complex site and cost issues and said they would push for detailed, practical solutions. Beth Witkoff (appearing as Beth Lukoff in the meeting record), a retired middle school principal and state school-administration official, and Kelly Conklin, a middle-school teacher with classroom experience across several regional configurations, also interviewed and were appointed.

Several board members asked applicants to commit to the committee—harge s a research body, to work collegially with members who hold different views and to be prepared to invest time over the summer and early fall. Board members said they expected a significant amount of document review and consolidation of options that have been studied previously.

The board voted to appoint Jean Carmelak, Howard Anderson, Beth Witkoff, Mark Davis and Kelly Conklin to the citizen-at-large positions on the PreK–8 School Building Committee. The motion to appoint the five applicants and to expand the committee passed unanimously.

The board also discussed retaining one slot open if additional qualified applicants came forward; that option was considered but not acted on. Select Board members said they will provide procedural direction to the newly expanded committee and asked staff to manage logistics for swearing in and documenting members' terms.

The committee will revise and consolidate prior study materials, update cost and site assessments and return findings to the Select Board and other town bodies. The board emphasized that any final policy choices about grade configuration or construction will rest with the appropriate elected bodies at future town meetings.

The interviews and appointments took place during the Select Board meeting and public comment period. The board asked the new members to be prepared for an intensive summer research schedule and to document any technical or financial assumptions used in their work.

Ending: The newly expanded committee will begin its work this summer; the Select Board directed staff to complete appointments paperwork and onboarding and to provide the committee with existing studies and a spreadsheet-based matrix of options for review.