JACKSON – A familiar face will again lead the Jackson Board of Education this year.
The board unanimously appointed former president Barbara Fiero to that position again. She takes the spot from Sharon Dey, who lost in the November election. Two seats were available with three persons running; Dey and incumbent Thomas Colucci and retired Jackson administrator Michael Walsh. Walsh received the most votes with 11,996, besting Colucci and Dey, with 9,636 and 8,909 votes respectively.
According to district reports, Fiero has served on the board for 12 years. Her term ends in 2017.
Scott Sargent, who won in last year’s board election, was unanimously approved as vice president. His term ends in 2018.
Seven members comprise the board: Fiero, Sargent, Colucci, Walsh, John Burnetsky, Vicki Grasso and Michael Hanlon.
Fiero wrote to The Jackson Times about her goals for 2017.
“Some of our goals this year are continuing goals we need to pay close attention to every year. For example, the upkeep and investment into our facilities and continually looking for alternate streams of revenue to support education and assist taxpayers are things we focus on every year,” she said. “Other goals, like the launching of our new Academy of the Arts, are more specific. The launch of that Academy is exciting not only because of what it offers to our students, but because of how it compliments all the other ways we try to help each student reach his or her potential in the areas in which they are passionate. And woven through all our goals is the attention to professional development. Our staff is so talented and so dedicated, but it is a priority of the board to ensure that they have access to the training and techniques that can keep pushing us forward.”
The board alternates between meeting at the district’s administrative building and Jackson Memorial High School Fine Arts auditorium.
The board will meet at the administrative building at 5:30 p.m. on February 14, March 14, April 18, June 27, July 18, August 15, September 12, and October 10. They will meet at that building at 6:30 p.m. on January 17, March 21, May 16, September 19, October 17, November 21 and December 19. The building is located at 151 Don Connor Blvd.
They will meet at 6:30 p.m. in the JMHS Fine Arts Center on February 21 and April 25, which is their public budget hearing. The school is located at 101 Don Connor Blvd.
