Town Edition
Essex County
North Andover, Massachusetts
The first poet published in colonial America lived and died on the hill above your town common. Anne Bradstreet wrote here in the 1600s, when North Andover was still the north parish of Andover, gathered around Lake Cochichewick and its mills. The town split off on its own in 1855, grew on textile money, and now runs the old New England way: no mayor, a Town Meeting any registered voter can walk into, a five-member Select Board, and a professional Town Manager who does the daily work. This guide shows you how North Andover actually runs, and where you can push on it.
The North Andover Civics Handbook
A plain-language guide to how your town works: who represents you, how decisions get made, and how to make your voice heard. Read it online.
North Andover at a Glance
Sources: Massachusetts DESE, district profile · US Census Bureau (data.census.gov).
- County: Essex. North Andover sits in the Merrimack Valley, north of the city of Lawrence, wrapped around Lake Cochichewick, the town’s protected drinking-water supply.
- Government: Open Town Meeting with an elected five-member Select Board and an appointed Town Manager, Melissa Murphy-Rodrigues, who has run the town since 2019.
- Schools: North Andover Public Schools, about 4,360 students across seven schools, led by Superintendent Pamela Lathrop.
How North Andover’s Government Works
North Andover runs on Open Town Meeting, the old New England form in which any registered voter can show up, debate, and vote directly on the town’s budget and its bylaws. Voters also elect a five-member Select Board to set policy and a School Committee to oversee the schools. The Select Board hires a professional Town Manager to run the town day to day. So the levers are split on purpose: residents elect the people, Town Meeting votes the money, the Select Board sets direction, and the Town Manager carries it out.
Town Meeting
The legislative body. Any registered North Andover voter can attend, speak, and vote on the annual budget, the bylaws, and major spending. It is direct democracy, in person.
Select Board
Five members elected town-wide to three-year terms. They set policy, grant licenses, appoint many boards, and hire and supervise the Town Manager. There is no single elected executive.
Town Manager
The appointed chief administrator. Runs the departments, builds the budget, and answers to the Select Board. Hired under contract, not elected.
School Committee
Five members, elected by the voters of the district the schools serve. It sets school policy, approves the school budget, and hires the Superintendent.
- Residents elect the five Select Board members and the School Committee, and every voter is a member of Town Meeting.
- The Select Board hires the Town Manager and sets town policy.
- Town Meeting votes the budget and the bylaws up or down.
- You take part: speak at a Select Board meeting or stand up and vote at Town Meeting.
Explore the North Andover Edition
- Town Manager’s OfficeThe town’s chief administrator
- Select BoardYour five board members
- School CommitteeSuperintendent & committee
- Town DepartmentsWho does what at Town Hall
- Boards & CommissionsWhere residents serve
- LegislatorsYour voice in Boston & D.C.
- North Andover HistoryFrom the north parish to today
- DemographicsWho lives in North Andover
- Non-ProfitsCommunity organizations
- Student DataNorth Andover Public Schools by the numbers
Civic Calendar
- Select Board: meets on Monday evenings at Town Hall, 120 Main Street, and the meetings are open to the public.
- Town Meeting: the Annual Town Meeting is held in the spring, and a Special Town Meeting can be called during the year for added business.
- Town elections: North Andover votes for local office in late March. The next annual town election follows in March 2027.
- State and federal elections: even-numbered years. The 2026 primary and general are this fall.
Your County Officials
Two of the people with the most direct power over your life are elected countywide. The district attorney decides who gets charged with a crime, and what they get charged with. The sheriff runs the county jail. Both of them answer to the voters of Essex County, and that includes North Andover. They appear on your ballot. Now you know what to look for.
Every county in Massachusetts elects its own, and the job is the same everywhere: the charging decisions, the jail. Look up any town in the state and see who holds these two offices there.
Your First Civic Action in North Andover
Government here is unusually easy to reach, because the biggest votes belong to residents in a room, not to a distant board. Here is how to take your first step.
- Pick the right body. The Select Board sets town policy and licensing, Town Meeting votes the budget and the bylaws, and the School Committee runs the schools. Match your issue to the right one.
- Find the meeting. The Select Board meets Monday evenings at 7:00 p.m. at Town Hall, 120 Main Street. Agendas are posted on the town website ahead of time.
- Know your members. The five Select Board members are elected town-wide, so all five answer to you, not just one district.
- Speak. Most Select Board meetings hold time for public comment, and any registered voter can speak and vote at Town Meeting in the spring.
- Or skip the trip. Report a pothole, a broken streetlight, or a missed pickup online through the town’s Report a Problem tool at northandoverma.gov.
- Town Hall: 120 Main Street, North Andover, MA 01845. Main line 978-688-9500.
- Town Clerk & agendas: Carla Dawne Warren, 978-688-9501, dwarren@northandoverma.gov.
- Public schools: North Andover Public Schools, 978-794-1711, northandoverpublicschools.com.
Local government works best when residents show up. Find your Select Board, speak at a Monday meeting, or vote at Town Meeting.
Sources
This guide draws on public sources, refreshed July 2026: U.S. Census Bureau, Massachusetts DESE School and District Profiles, Massachusetts Legislature (malegislature.gov), and the official North Andover government website.