The School Committee is now accepting applications for its open seat, which was vacated by Joseph Curro Wednesday morning, after he was elected to the Board of Selectmen the previous night.

Applications must be received by the district no later than 4 p.m. Thursday, April 26. Applicants will then be interviewed by the School Committee at a special meeting from 8 to 10 p.m. Thursday, May 3, in the committee’s room on the sixth floor of Arlington High School.

May 3 Decision

The committee is planning to select its new member that night, via majority vote.

More information on the application process is available by calling the committee’s administrative secretary, Karen Fitzgerald, at 781-316-3540. More information should also be available on the town and school district websites in the coming days. The application is available online, here.

One-Year Appointment

The selected applicant would fill Curro’s seat until the Town Elections next April, when an election would be held for the one year remaining on the seat.

Difference of Opinion

School Committee members agreed Thursday that applicants should be well aware of the time commitment associated with holding public office and agreed that they should be committed to improving Arlington’s schools.

However, committee members disagreed on whether an applicant’s desire to run for the seat next April should be considered in the vote. In the past, the committee has selected applicants who weren’t interested in continuing on after the year.

“I’d prefer to do it as we have in the past, and select someone who’s not interested in running for the seat,” newly re-elected member Cindy Starks said at Thursday's meeting. “Otherwise, it gives them an incumbent position without them having gone through the electoral process.”

Members Jeff Thielman, Leba Heigham and Judson Pierce said they wanted to leave it open-ended, in hopes of attracting as many qualified applicants as possible.

“I don’t think any future aspirations should take anyone off the map or put them on it,” Heigham said.

“I’d like to see a big audience here on May 3,” Pierce added.

Possible Applicants?

Starks and Thielman faced four challengers in the Town Elections on Tuesday.

After Thielman (3,426 votes) and Starks (3,284), challengers James Flanagan (2,433), Matthew Pallett (1,402), Andrew O’Brien (1,049) and Ian Jackson (445) rounded out the field.