School Committee, Select Board seek to fill Bruns’ seat

Date: 8/30/2011

Aug. 29, 2011

By Chris Maza

Reminder Assistant Editor

LONGMEADOW — Already down one member, the School Committee is now looking for candidates to fill a second vacant seat.

School Committee Chair Jennifer Jester confirmed to Reminder Publications that Gwendolyn Bruns resigned from her three-year post on the committee. Bruns had just been re-elected during the June 7 elections, running unopposed for the seat.

“Sadly, Gwen Bruns had to resign because her family is moving to Vermont,” Jester said. “Her husband’s company relocated him so we now need to fill her position.”

It is the second time in two months that a member of the School Committee has resigned. In June, Thomas Brunnette left the committee, citing personal and work-related responsibilities that required his attention.

In order to fill the vacancy quickly, the School Committee and the Select Board will conduct the search process in the same manner it did with Brunette’s open seat, appointing someone until the June 2012 annual town elections when someone will be chosen to close out Bruns’ term.

Bruns’ term was expected to expire in 2014, meaning the elected substitute would serve the final two years of her term.

“The time to apply for Tom Brunette’s seat has expired, but anyone who applied for that position may also do so for the new opening,” Jester said. “It’s important they understand that they must reapply. Applying for one will not automatically make you eligible for the other.”

In order to apply for the appointed position, legal Longmeadow residents can submit an application to the Select Board office at 20 Williams St. Application papers can be found at the Select Board office or by clicking on the “Application for Appointment to Board/Committee/Commission” link on the Select Board’s section of www.longmeadow.org.

The deadline to apply for Bruns’ open seat is Sept. 6 at 4 p.m. Candidates for both open seats will be interviewed on Sept. 12, but no decision will be made that day.

“According to our by-laws, there is a mandatory one-week period between the interviews and the time when we appoint someone,” Jester said. “We’re looking at having both positions filled sometime the week of Sept. 19, but it won’t be on Sept. 19.”

Jester said that while it is never a good thing to lose members of a committee, the timing of these openings could have been worse.

“It’s a good thing we weren’t smack dab in the middle of the budgeting process,” Jester said.