Jennifer Connelly bows out of another School Committee term

Jennifer Connelly has decided not to seek re-election to the School Committee, a post she has held since 2015.

“I do not plan to seek re-election at this time,” Connelly said. “With the demands of my teaching job,  it is getting increasingly more difficult to put in the proper attention that the school committee position needs.”

Connelly is the third incumbent to decline another round as a town official, Select Board members Peter Carlson and Doreen DeFazio have also bowed out, both after three years of office.

Connelly’s tenure came during hard times for school funding requiring two Proposition 2 1/2 overrides to retain staff. The past three years added the additional challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, which unexpectedly shut down schools in March 2020, requiring the school department to cobble together a virtual program. The following year brought a hybrid program, with students alternating weeks of in-person attendance with at-home learning, and schools are now facing a choice over continued masking in schools.

There are three School Committee seats on the ballot for the Town Election. To date, incumbent Amy Marr, the current School Committee chair, has pulled nomination papers for re-election to her three-year seat and Liora Bram, co-chair of the  Special Education Parent Advisory Committee, has also declared her candidacy.. Mariagraciela Vargas-Baker, who was appointed to the School Committee earlier this month, has also declared for the one year remaining in the term of Rahul Rathi, who resigned in December.

Also in the running thus far:

Select Board — Finance Committee member Andy Jefferson and Richard Whitney, a current member of the Community Preservation Commission and a retired businessman, are seeking nomination.

Planning Board: David Robbins and Prabhu Balaji Venkataraman are seeking re-election.

Nomination papers are now available in the Town Clerk’s office. Remaining seats on the ballot this year include:

• Select Board – Two 3-year terms, currently held by Peter Carlson and Doreen DeFazio, are up for election. Both are not seeking re-election. 
• School Committee — Two 3-year terms, currently held by Amy Marr and Jennifer Connelly and one 1-year term, now held by Mariagraciela Vargas-Baker.
• Board of Library Trustees – Two 3-year terms, currently held by Dana Wilson and Daniela Sharma, are up for election.
• Planning Board – Two 3-year terms, currently held by David Robbins and Prabhu Balaji Venkataraman, are up for election. 
• Town Clerk – One 3-year term, currently held by Kandy Lavallee, is up for election.

Papers must be returned by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, March 29 for certification. Nomination papers must contain the names of at least 50 registered voters of Grafton, but candidates are urged to submit more than the minimum number required in case some names or signatures cannot be verified. Candidates may withdraw their nomination papers up until 5 p.m. on Thursday, April 14.

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