FITCHBURG — City councilors and school committee members met in a joint convention and amended two procedural rules for the session before electing two representatives to the Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical School District Committee.

President Zarrella, presiding over the joint convention, moved to amend proposed rule 5 to add that "in the event of a tie, the chair of the joint committee shall cast the deciding vote." After questions about whether that would allow the chair to effectively vote twice, proponents said the provision would apply only after all rounds of runoff balloting and only to resolve an otherwise irresolvable tie. The body approved that amendment (clerk recorded 12 votes in favor). The council also amended rule 6 to remove a fixed "9 members" threshold and instead require a majority vote of the combined bodies; that change and the overall rules package were approved unanimously.

The convention then turned to filling two four-year seats on the Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical School District Committee, terms to expire January 2028. Candidates who presented were Andrew Kucher, Evelyn Bosworth, Ronald Turigny, Sandra Robichaud, and Amy Wilder (who submitted a written statement because she could not attend). Each candidate was allotted three minutes to speak.

Candidate Andrew Kucher said he entered the contest because "education has always been important to me," noting Monte Tech is in his ward and that he could contribute both as a former student and as an attorney. Evelyn Bosworth described herself as a Monty Tech alum and said she was "kind of a success story of MoneyTech," stressing the importance of expanding opportunity for students from low-income backgrounds. Ronald Turigny, who identified himself as a retired dentist with long ties to Monty Tech, framed his priorities as ensuring "a safe, equitable, and productive educational and vocational environment for our Fitchburg and district students, enabling them to be responsible, productive, and effective members in society and encouraging them to supplement the area's trade workforce." Sandra Robichaud and Amy Wilder (statement) emphasized community ties, program partnerships and the importance of vocational pathways.

Ballots were cast by ranked-choice method under city council rule 3.16. The initial tally for the first seat resulted in a 7-7 tie between Turigny and Bosworth. The body discussed options under the newly amended rules and conducted a roll-call tiebreak; the clerk announced Ronald Turigny as the winner of the first seat. The second seat was then filled and the clerk announced "Bosworth with 10," electing Evelyn Bosworth to the second seat. The clerk later conducted a roll-call confirmation of the results (the clerk announced 18 in favor) and the two newly elected members were sworn in by the city clerk.

The meeting closed after a motion and second to adjourn were accepted by unanimous consent.

Why this matters: The Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical School (commonly referred to as Monty Tech) serves students regionally with vocational programs that feed local workforces. The committee picks will represent Fitchburg’s interest in admissions, program partnerships and regional workforce alignment as demand for vocational seats outpaces capacity.

What to watch next: The elected members will serve through January 2028. Future city or committee actions could include reviewing admissions policy changes cited during candidate remarks, and any city-level finance votes where recusal for candidate-members may be required.