HUDSON – A joint meeting resulted in vacancies on the School Committee, Board of Health and Municipal Light Board to be filled.
The Select Board held joint meetings with those boards on Sept. 9.
The candidates for the School Committee were Brian Daniels, Joan Melillo, Blake Siskavich and Brian White. After the election, one seat was still available as two candidates were elected for the three total seats open due to Steven Sharek, Mark Terra-Salomão and Molly MacKenzie leaving the committee.
Melillo, who has been a resident of Hudson for forty years, was a paraprofessional at Forest Avenue Elementary School for three years and at Hudson High School for six years. She taught in Marlborough and Ayer-Shirley Middle School. She retired in June of this year.
She said, “I saw there was an opening. and I said, ‘Well, I will put my name in the hat because I know about education.’ ”
Siskavich, who moved to Hudson in 2001, works in the Waltham Public Schools as an administrator. He said that he brings 38 years of dedication to the public education system and perspectives from being a teacher to serving in the administration.
He has also been a Department of Elementary and Secondary Education arts ambassador, which involved working on statewide music standards and leading statewide professional development initiatives.
“As a member of the Hudson School Committee, I would bring a balanced approach,” said Siskavich.
Daniels taught theology, history and graphic arts in two Catholic high schools in Braintree for 23 years as well as history at Hudson High School for seven years.
He was the humanities curriculum director for the Hudson Public Schools for three years, and he also served the Hudson Public Schools as a principal of the former JFK Middle School principal for five years.
“I’m a lifelong educator,” said Daniels.
He wanted to serve because it was something he could do to help the education of Hudson students.
Vice Chair Judy Congdon asked about the circumstances of Daniels leaving the Hudson Public Schools, and he said he had a salary disagreement with the School Committee at that time prior to his retirement.
White, who has lived in Hudson for 20 years, has a child at Quinn Middle School. While he has not been in the education field, he has a master’s degree in computer science and is clerk and director of the Hudson Land Trust and co-president of Green Hudson.
He said, “I routinely mentor students.”
White said he helps these individuals throughout their professional lives with education. He is also “personally very passionate about public education” and said he would bring “a balanced and pragmatic perspective.”
School Committee member Chris Yates asked White why he chose to run for the Select Board in the last election rather than the School Committee, adding that it would have been a “guaranteed seat” as there were fewer candidates than vacancies.
White said he originally wanted to run for both, but in the short term his skills would have been better served for the Select Board. He said he was still very invested in Hudson and wanted a chance to serve on the committee.
After the Select Board and School Committee voted, Melillo received the appointment.
Commending all of the interested candidates, Congdon said, “I just want to thank everybody. I mean we’ve had a hard time getting people to run for anything.”
Yates said, “It’s a very tough decision for both the Select Board and the School Committee, and a vote for one person is not a vote against somebody else.”
Other appointments
Anthony Buscemi, who has operated a business in Hudson for over 30 years and lived there for 50 years, was appointed to the Board of Health by a vote of 3-2.
Congdon said she supported Buscemi because he would bring a good blend to the board as it has people with medical backgrounds currently serving. Select Board member Diane Bemis noted that he would “bring a totally different perspective” as a business owner who comes into contact with so many people in town.
The Select Board and Municipal Light Board also appointed Joe Fiorello. Fiorello is a licensed master electrician and lineman for Littleton Electric Light and Water Department. He also currently serves on the Hudson Finance Committee.
“I have a great understanding of how municipal light departments work and an extensive understanding of the electric utility industry,” Fiorello said. “Having this knowledge and experience in the industry, I want to be actively involved in ensuring that Hudson Light and Power continues moving forward in the right direction.”
