School committee to present suggested Charter changes; members raise June 1 layoff deadline concerns

Tiverton School Committee members on June 10 discussed potential changes to Article 11 of the town charter that govern the school committee’s operations and raised a recurring scheduling problem tied to the charter’s timelines.

Chair (Madam Sheeran) said she will appear before the Charter Commission on July 1 and asked members to provide suggested amendments that pertain specifically to the school department. As an example, she proposed changing a sentence that currently states the school committee “shall annually elect a chair, vice chair and any such officers as they deem appropriate” to align the charter with local practice, which elects officers biannually following local elections.

Committee members also asked the chair to raise the charter’s June 1 layoff deadline with the Charter Commission. Members said the late deadline complicates staffing decisions because appropriation authority and final budgets can come late in the year; one committee member said Council 94 contract timelines also interact with the June 1 schedule and create operational challenges.

The chair said she would raise both issues — election‑timing language and the June 1 layoff deadline — with the Charter Commission at its July 1 meeting and agreed to bring back any committee‑level recommendations for a formal vote at a follow‑up meeting.

No charter amendments were proposed or voted on at the June 10 meeting; the committee agreed to continue the discussion and to place a formal item on a subsequent agenda if members wish to propose specific language changes.