After contested nominations, Board re-elects Brodie Deshaies as chair

At its April 7 meeting at Carpenter School, the Governor Wentworth Regional School Board completed a contested reorganization of its leadership after the sudden resignation of board member Guy Pike. After three earlier nominations failed, the Board voted 5–3 to elect Brodie Deshaies chair.

The meeting opened with Chair Deshaies announcing that Guy Pike had submitted a letter of resignation effective immediately. The Board then moved to accept Pike's resignation by roll call vote; the motion passed unanimously.

The Board considered four separate nominations for chair. A motion to nominate Dr. Elizabeth Sheckler failed after discussion of term history and leadership styles. A subsequent motion to nominate Dr. Jim Manning also failed. A third nomination of Tom Bickford failed after members raised concerns about community confidence and the default budget. Finally, a motion to nominate Brodie Deshaies as chair passed on a 5–3 vote after members debated the duties and role of the Chair position.

Following the chair vote, members unanimously approved Dr. Sheckler as vice chair. Board members discussed the need to revisit committee assignments because of the unexpected vacancy.

The reorganization drew public attention earlier in the meeting: commenters later in the evening raised concerns about board conduct and the pace of changes to committee assignments. The Board left committee membership under consideration and said Chair Deshaies would reconsider assignments in light of the vacancy.