hopkinton-independent-logo2x
Hopkinton, MA
loader-image
Hopkinton, US
5:09 am, Sunday, December 22, 2024
temperature icon 10°F
Humidity 71 %
Wind Gust: 13 mph

SIGN UP TODAY!
BREAKING NEWS & DAILY NEWSLETTER





5 candidates emerge for open School Committee seat; selection set for Thursday

by | Dec 12, 2023 | Education, Featured: Education

At its meeting Thursday night, the School Committee — in joint session with the Select Board — will choose someone to fill the seat left vacant when Holly Morand departed for a job with Hopkinton Youth & Family Services.

The position will be available again in next May’s Annual Town Election.

Five individuals expressed an interest in the role: Ashley Fogg, Chris Masters, Karen Mulik, Lori Nickerson and Jamie Wronka. Below is some information about each candidate, based on the applications they submitted.

Fogg, who grew up in town and moved back in 2018, ran for one of the two open seats in this past May’s election. A stay-at-home mother to three young children, she serves on the executive board of the Hopkinton Parent-Teacher Organization (HPTO) and is involved with the schools is various other capacities. She previously worked as a paralegal at law firms in Boston and Woburn.

Masters, a resident for the past 20 years, is the director of the Bay State Hockey program. His three children have been educated in the Hopkinton schools, and he is “well acquainted with the complexities involved in both the general education and special education populations within Hopkinton schools,” he wrote in his application. His twin daughters battled a neuromuscular disease and then epilepsy before passing away in 2019 and 2020 at the ages of 5 and 6.

Mulik is a human resources director at Atkore, an electrical manufacturing company, and she also is a licensed attorney. She is a member of the Massachusetts Academy of Trial Attorneys, the Women’s Bar Association, the Massachusetts LGBTQ Bar Association and the Society of Human Resources Management.

Nickerson previously served on the School Committee from 2014-17, including a stint as chair, and noted that she feels “my prior experience would be useful at this time.” The chief legal and compliance officer for Fortis Life Sciences, Nickerson has three children in the Hopkinton schools.

Wronka is a visiting instructor in the Occupational Therapy Department at Worcester State University. She has three young children in the Hopkinton schools and is vice chair of the Special Education Parents Advisory Council (SEPAC) — a position she indicated she would resign if chosen for the School Committee. She also has served in various roles with the HPTO. She has served on a few other committees in town since moving here in 2012.

Also at Thursday’s meeting, the Select Board and Appropriation Committee will discuss the Hopkinton Public Schools’ fiscal year 2025 budget.

0 Comments

Related Articles

Proposed budget, adaptive playground top multi-board discussion

https://www.youtube.com/live/1ertJF_-C1w Though it appears Hopkinton is facing a $4.7 million operating budget deficit, Select Board chair Brian Herr said the town is at the very beginning of the process, and any talk about Proposition 2 1/2 overrides is premature...

Hopkinton Public Schools Administration sign

School Committee picks consultant for superintendent search

At its meeting Thursday, the School Committee selected New England School Development Council as its consultant to help with the new superintendent search. Superintendent Carol Cavanaugh is retiring in June 2025. Chair Nancy Cavanaugh noted receipt of three “very...

Hopkinton Public Schools Administration sign

School principals outline budget proposals

During budget presentations to the School Committee on Thursday, school principals asked for increases in the substitute account across the board and highlighted personnel and expense requests in other cases. Marathon School Representing Marathon School, Principal...

Marathon School hallway

School Committee addresses superintendent search, school calendar

The School Committee on Thursday discussed plans to search for a new superintendent in the wake of Carol Cavanaugh’s impending retirement in June 2025. Members also addressed possible changes to the school calendar and the process they should undertake to gauge...

Hopkinton Public Schools sign

School Committee reviews proposed FY 26 budgets, grapples with requests

Budget presentations for fiscal year 2026 dominated Thursday night’s School Committee meeting. Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Operations Susan Rothermich introduced the process, showing data from previous years, including ‘actual spending’ numbers and how...

Hopkinton Public Schools Administration sign
Key Storage 4.14.22