Town Government
School Committee & Superintendent
The Superintendent
Armand Pires
Armand Pires is the Superintendent of the Medway Public Schools, which means he runs a district of about 2,125 students across four schools and answers to five elected people rather than to a mayor or a manager. Charter section 3-4-2 gives the School Committee the appointment and the discharge of the superintendent, sets his compensation and defines his duties, and that is the whole chain: voters elect the committee, the committee hires the superintendent, and the superintendent runs the schools.
The money is a separate chain and it is worth keeping the two apart. The School Committee reviews and approves the school budget request, the Town Manager folds it into the comprehensive draft budget with the committee’s request attached, the Select Board transmits it to the Finance Committee with its own recommendations, and Town Meeting votes it. Charter 5-2-9 lets the Town Manager attend School Committee meetings and speak, but gives him no vote there except when the committee is negotiating union contracts under chapter 150E. The superintendent runs the district; the room that funds it is open to every registered voter in town.
| District | Medway Public Schools, 45 Holliston Street, Medway, MA 02053 |
|---|---|
| Phone | (508) 533-3222 |
| Schools | Medway High School, Medway Middle School, Burke-Memorial Elementary School and McGovern Elementary School, plus Medway Community Education |
| Website | medwayschools.org |
The School Committee
Five members, elected town-wide to staggered three year terms at the May town election. Medway runs its own single town district, so every seat on this committee belongs to Medway and no other town shares it. The committee sets school policy, reviews and approves the school budget, hires and evaluates the superintendent, and advocates for the district’s students. Its own summary of the job cites chapter 71, section 37 of the General Laws.
Cindy Sullivan
Melissa Greenfield
Lauren Nassiff
Kailene Simon
Preston Gales
Terms run to 2027 for Cindy Sullivan, to 2028 for Lauren Nassiff and Kailene Simon, and to 2029 for Melissa Greenfield and Preston Gales. The roster is published on the district’s own School Committee page.
Meetings & How to Take Part
- When: generally the first and third Thursday of each month during the school calendar year.
- Where: the Presentation Room at Medway Middle School. Meetings are public and run under the Massachusetts Open Meeting Law.
- Agendas & minutes: posted with every other town board at medwayma.gov/meetings, and carried live and on demand by Medway Cable Access.
- Vocational school: Medway students also attend Tri-County Regional Vocational Technical High School. Medway’s representative to that district’s committee is not elected: charter 4-1-4 has a committee of three, the Select Board chair, the School Committee chair and the Town Moderator, appoint a resident to a three year term.
- Run for it. Two School Committee seats are usually on the ballot each May, and nomination papers come from the Town Clerk’s office at (508) 533-3204.
Curious how the numbers behind the district compare across Massachusetts?