Town council and school committee appoint two members to Southbridge School Committee

Southbridge — At a joint meeting Monday evening, the Town of Southbridge Town Council and the Southbridge School Committee voted to fill two vacancies on the Southbridge School Committee, selecting Maria Torres and Norma Tasnick for seats effective immediately through June 10, 2025.

The appointments came after three-minute public statements by nominees and council and committee questions. Maria Torres was chosen in the first roll-call vote, receiving 13 votes to Stephanie Rivers’ one. Norma Tasnick was selected in a second roll-call tally, 9 to 4. Both appointments, the bodies said, follow the Southbridge Home Rule Charter process for filling midterm vacancies.

The votes concluded an extended candidate review. Council members and school committee members heard brief statements from the three nominees — Stephanie Rivers, Maria Torres and Norma Tasnick — and asked about their community involvement, positions on district matters and how they would work with the receivership plan overseen by the state.

Stephanie Rivers, a longtime Southbridge resident and homeowner who described experience in IT, sales and project management, said she would "work hard for all students, parents, teachers, and residents" and emphasized reliability: "when I say I'm gonna show up, I show up." Maria Torres, who described training through the Massachusetts Association for School Committees and experience on a high-school subcommittee, said she would not encourage student walkouts and called for collaborative work with administration: "I would not encourage or promote that incident" when asked about a student protest last year. Norma Tasnick, who said she came to Southbridge as a teen parent and has two school-age children in the district, said she wants to "pour back into my community" and to advocate for students, parents and teachers.

Candidates were also asked by councilors how they would approach the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) turnaround plan for Southbridge Public Schools. In her remarks, Torres said the existing DESE plan needed clearer timelines and that, if appointed, she would press for more-specific dates for phases of the plan so the community could track progress.

The meeting followed the procedures described in the Southbridge Home Rule Charter, chapter 3, section 3-2-1, for filling school committee vacancies. The chair described the process as a roll-call vote by council followed by the school committee. Each successful appointee will serve until the next town election on June 10, 2025, the chair said.

Roll-call tallies, as read aloud at the meeting, were: - Vacancy created by the resignation of John Shaw (effective through June 10, 2025): Maria Torres — 13; Stephanie Rivers — 1. Voters recorded as supporting Torres included Councilors Lazzo, Montigny, Cheniere, Daniel, Dow, Marchetti, Ortiz, Rivas and other councilors present, and school committee members Carla Dela Cruz, Steve Kavinsky, Andrew Murch and Martina Shea. Councilor Kelly cast the lone vote for Rivers. - Second vacancy (also effective through June 10, 2025): Norma Tasnick — 9; Stephanie Rivers — 4. Votes for Rivers were recorded for Councilors Montigny, Kelly, Ortiz and one other councilor; votes for Tasnick were recorded for the remaining councilors and the four school committee members present.

The meeting record shows that the committees limited candidate remarks to three minutes, and that nominations were moved from the floor before the roll-call votes. The agenda identified the vacancies as created under the Southbridge Home Rule Charter; the chair read the charter citation aloud before nominations.

Maria Torres, when asked after the vote for brief remarks, thanked councilors and committee members and said, "You won't be disappointed. I'm here for all of you and looking forward to this next term." Norma Tasnick, after her appointment, thanked councilors and residents and said she would not disappoint them.

The new appointees are expected to serve through the June 10, 2025 town election; whether they run in that election was addressed during candidate questioning (each of the three said they intended to run if appointed). The meeting record does not show any formal second readings, ordinance adoptions or budget votes tied to these appointments.

The joint body recessed the candidate business and moved on to subsequent agenda items at the conclusion of the roll calls.