School committee votes to declare Brian Otis' seat vacant after resignation

Al, chair of the Marblehead School Committee, asked the committee to act after the recent resignation of member Brian Otis and said he had a recommendation from Thatcher to declare the seat vacant. “So I am looking for a motion so, that we declare the seat vacant that was left by Brian Otis' resignation,” Al said.

Committee member Jen raised a procedural question about whether the recommendation had been reviewed by legal counsel. “Did you run that by counsel?” she asked. Al replied that he had not run it by counsel and said the recommendation came from Thatcher.

After a motion and a second, the committee voted. Jen, Henry, Kate and Al voted in favor; the motion passed 4-0. Al announced, “The motion passes 4 0.”

The committee did not record any follow-up assignment or timeline tied to filling the vacancy during the open session. Thatcher was cited as the source of the recommendation, but no written legal opinion or counsel memo was presented at the meeting.

The action recorded at the meeting was a formal declaration that the seat is vacant; the committee did not discuss a timeline or process for appointing or electing a replacement in the open session.