Education Laws and Regulations

603 CMR 41.00:
Regional School Districts

41.04: Municipal Representatives in Regional School District Collective Bargaining

(1)  Selection of Municipal Representative. No less than 21 days before collective bargaining negotiations commence or resume in a regional school district, the superintendent of the district shall send a notice to all chief executive officers of the member cities and towns of the district, or, if there is no town manager or town administrator in a member town, to the chairman of the board of selectmen in that town, indicating the time, place and date of a meeting to be held by the regional school district at which the chief executive officers or chairmen of boards of selectmen shall elect one of their number to represent them pursuant to M.G.L. c. 150E, [[section]] 1.

(a) The meeting shall be held no later than seven days before commencement of collective bargaining negotiations in the regional school district, and shall comply with the open meeting law. In regional school districts where regional agreements provide for weighted voting in accordance with law, such weighted voting shall be employed.

(b) A chief executive officer or chairman of a board of selectmen may designate a representative to attend the meeting and to vote in his or her place.

(c) If the meeting of chief executive officers or chairmen of boards of selectmen does not result in the designation of a representative, the superintendent shall notify the commissioner of education, who shall randomly select one representative from among the chief executive officers or chairmen of boards of selectmen. Failure of the meeting of chief executive officers or chairmen of boards of selectmen to elect a representative shall not delay or otherwise impede the collective bargaining process.

(d) The chief executive officer or chairman of the board of selectmen chosen to represent member municipalities may serve either personally or through a designee, and must serve through a designee if such officer or selectman is barred from service under the provisions of M.G.L. c. 268A. In such cases, the city council or board of selectmen shall designate an alternate.

(2)  Role of Municipal Representative.  The municipal representative shall serve as a member of the school committee on all matters related to collective bargaining by the regional school district. The municipal representative may serve on the school district bargaining team, if any, if selected by the school committee to be a member of such a sub-committee.

(3)   Vote of Municipal Representative. The municipal representative shall have one vote in all school committee deliberations on collective bargaining matters. In regional school districts which employ weighted voting, the municipal representative's vote shall be added to the vote total of the elected members and shall not cause a reapportioning of voting weight among the elected school committee members.

(4)   Term of Municipal Representative. The municipal representative's term as a participant in the regional school district's collective bargaining shall be the same length as the term of office of an elected member of the school committee unless a shorter term is agreed to by the chief executive officers of the member cities and towns at the time of the municipal representative's selection.

Regulatory Authority:
603 CMR 41.00: M.G.L. c. 69, §1B; c. 71, §14B and §16D; c. 150E, §1.
Most Recently Amended by the Board of Education: May 19, 2009