Confusion in Braintree:
Petitions Seek To Change Town Meeting Date

Braintree town and school officials have been scrambling to respond to petitions filed Dec. 22, which seek to move this year’s annual Town Meeting and School Meeting from Tuesday, March 7 back to the previous Saturday, March 4.

The petitions, which met the required 5% of the voters threshold, were delivered by Janice Thresher and Julia Haupt, said interim Town Clerk Richard Bowen.

Timelines were crucial, as the petitions were delivered just a few days after both the select and school boards met in December and a few days before Christmas. There are statutory requirements stipulating a 15-day window for board action on a petition, and then a minimum of 30 days to warn special town and school district meetings in order for voters to consider changing the meeting date, local officials said.

And those special meetings—to consider whether to change the meeting date—must be held at least 30 days before the annual meeting dates themselves, so that those meetings can be properly warned for 30 to 40 days.

After consulting with town attorney Paul Gillies, the Braintree Selectboard voted Tuesday night to deny the petition, as it relates to Town Meeting. However, Board Chair Jocelyn Stohl noted this week that the board agreed to include an article on the Town Meeting warning, asking voters if they wish to change the meeting date, effective, 2007.

Stohl said the board voted to deny, primarily, because of timeline problems. Another problem was that the petition, as worded, asked specifically to change only this year’s meeting.

According to Supt. Brent Kay, the Braintree School Board convened an emergency meeting Dec. 26 to consider how to respond to the petition with regards to the school meeting.

The board decided to hold, and has warned, a special school board meeting (not a school district meeting) Tuesday, Jan. 31, 7 p.m. at the Braintree Town Hall, to discuss the requested change.

That date ensures that the annual school meeting date won’t be changed this year, as there would be too little time to go through the mandated warning periods.

Supt. Kay said this week that he felt the question of when meetings should be held should be "up to the townsfolk"—but he felt if was vital that proper process was followed. Filing the petitions in late December "forced action" over the holiday period, he noted.

Kay suggested that the Braintree School Board might wish to follow the selectboard’s lead, and add an article to the March 7 warning, asking voters if they wish to change the meeting date starting in 2007.

By Sandy Cooch