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RSU 06 board elects Paul Welch chair and Kelly Heath vice chair after dispute over eligibility
Summary
At a special meeting with 10 members present, the RSU 06/MSAD 06 board unanimously elected Director Paul Welch as chair and Director Kelly Heath as vice chair after rejecting a motion to delay the vice-chair appointment until a newly reelected director is sworn in.
Director Paul Welch was elected chair of the RSU 06/MSAD 06 school board in a unanimous roll call at a special meeting; Director Kelly Heath was elected vice chair after the board voted down a motion to postpone the vice-chair appointment until a newly reelected director is sworn in.
The leadership votes came after the board confirmed a 10-member quorum. Welch accepted the nomination and told the board he planned to represent all members collectively: "I look forward to, if elected, representing all of you and speaking for this board with 1 voice." The roll call showed 10 members voting in the affirmative for Welch's election.
The board then debated whether to delay selecting a vice chair because one newly reelected director, identified in the meeting as Mr. Carlo, had not yet taken the oath or completed paperwork required to be an active voting member. Board members asked whether state law still allowed remote meetings; the board was told remote attendance was not the barrier. The explanation given was that Mr. Carlo "would not be available to vote in any of the coming [meetings] ... and not eligible to be, appointed or nominated as, vice chairman" until he completed the oath and paperwork.
A motion to table the vice-chair appointment until Mr. Carlo could be sworn in was made and seconded. Several members opposed delaying the vote; one director said, "I won't support this motion. I think we're all here. It's we need to get the office slate of offices in place." The motion to table failed on a roll call, 3 in favor and 7 opposed.
After the failed tabling motion, Director Moses nominated Kelly Heath for vice chair; she accepted. Heath described her board experience and preference for consensus leadership, saying she has "been on the school board now for 4 full years" and is "very excited to serve." The roll call on Heath's election was unanimous: 10 members voting in the affirmative.
The board noted there were no other officers to appoint at this time. Staff member Miss Cormier was identified as the person who will send an email asking board members to state committee preferences, which the chair said he would use to assign members to committees. The special meeting then adjourned and the board said its next regular meeting is scheduled for July 14.
Discussion versus action: the board took formal action to elect both chair and vice chair (both adopted by roll call), voted down the motion to table (formal motion failed 3–7), and recorded procedural staff follow-up (committee preference email). Members' stated concerns about fairness to a not-yet-sworn-in director and summer scheduling were included in the discussion but did not change the formal outcomes.
