On Monday, August 17, a Special BOE Meeting was called by Republican BOE Secretary Karen Krause to discuss the vacancies, the revised timeline, and to vote on an orderly selection framework and process.

We commend Ms. Krause on the establishment of a transparent, merit-based screening rubric – on the public record.

Following are key qualifications and preferred attributes for the available positions:

Formal/Policy Requirements (per Board Policy 9210)

These are the baseline legal and policy qualifications:

• At least 18 years old
• U.S. citizen
• Greenwich resident (resident elector of the district)
• Not employed by Greenwich Public Schools (or the school system)

Qualitative Screening Guidelines / Preferred Attributes Discussed by Board Members

The board adopted a motion that included “adopting qualitative candidate screening guidelines.” Board members explicitly discussed the following as desirable:

• Relevant professional expertise, such as:
  • Construction management
  • Finance
  • Law
  • Education
• Track record of public service
• Daytime availability (important because residency/expulsion hearings occur during the day and Building Committee meetings are often held early morning)
• Experience with labor negotiations (noted as helpful because LIUNA negotiations start in the summer; LIUNA represents ~350 town and BOE employees, including professional staff, managers, and paraprofessionals)
• Strong interest in supporting the public education of students of all needs in Greenwich Public Schools
• Ability to represent the entire town of Greenwich (including residents without children in the public schools), recognizing the schools’ impact on property values, taxes, and the broader community

Board members also noted that as they are not required to interview everyone, they can make an initial cut of candidates and may use written responses to questions or interviews in executive session. Names of applicants are being held confidentially by the board clerk.

The meeting ended with a Sense of the Meeting Resolution, motioned by Karen Krause, as follows:

“I move that the sense of the meeting is that the Board of Education adopt a transparent, policy-compliant process to fill the two vacant Board seats, establishing a target application deadline of Monday, August 24, 2026, at 5:00 PM; authorizing the Board to schedule Special Meetings for candidate shortlisting and finalist interviews during the weeks of August 24th and August 31st; with the target of taking a final appointment vote no later than September 2, 2026; and adopting qualitative candidate screening guidelines.”

If you or anyone you know wishes to apply for the position, please follow instructions in the BOE Call For Candidates which is posted on the BOE website: Board of Education – Greenwich Public Schools.

These Republican positions will be up for RTC nomination next year. Therefore, we ask you to send a copy of your letter to: [email protected].