East Bridgewater Appoints Two New School Committee Members
Leslie McDonough and Crystal Hudson fill vacant positions after joint interview process with Select Board
EAST BRIDGEWATER - August 11 - East Bridgewater's Select Board unanimously appointed two new members to the school committee Monday evening following a joint meeting and interview process.
Leslie McDonough, an educator with 20 years of experience in public schools, and Crystal Hudson, a finance committee member and parent of three students in the district, will serve until the next town election on May 17, 2026.
The appointments fill two vacant positions on the school committee. The committee originally received 12 applications but narrowed the field to 10 candidates after two applicants withdrew. Following 15-minute interviews, the school committee selected three finalists and recommended the top two vote-getters to the Select Board.
"I think that my experience as an educator in the classroom and seeing how the policies of the school committee and budgeting cuts, how that plays out real time within a public school classroom, I've seen it," McDonough said during her interview. "And then I have skin in the game with my two little guys here at the Central School."
McDonough has children in first grade and pre-K at Central School. She emphasized her goal to listen extensively during her first year while contributing her classroom expertise to committee decisions.
Hudson brings financial experience from her current role on the town's finance committee and has three children in the school system. She also attended East Bridgewater schools herself.
"I think it's going to be interesting to go from my perspective of at least the finance committee, where it's all numbers, that's really what you're seeing, and then now from the school committee side of things where I get to see behind-the-scenes," Hudson said.
Select Board Chair Peter Spagone praised both appointments, noting the value of having parents with young children involved in school governance, particularly as the town moves forward with the Central School building project.
The school committee's communication efforts proved crucial in generating applications. Only two people had applied before the committee sent information through ParentSquare, the district's communication platform. After that message, 10 additional applications were received.
The meeting also addressed ongoing challenges with the Public Safety Building Committee, which has struggled to maintain quorum for its meetings. Sergeant A.J. Voisine, who chairs the committee, presented an update on the group's progress toward developing a new facility for police and fire departments.
"We've held about 10 meetings. Quorum has only been met at five of them," Voisine told the Select Board.
The committee has determined that both police and fire departments need new buildings and has discussed potential locations on town-owned property. Voisine proposed expanding the concept beyond public safety to create a community complex that could house other town functions.
"I would love to see this facility not just be a public safety building but more of a community complex that just happens to house the police and fire department," he said.
The committee plans to begin a feasibility study process, interviewing companies including KBA and Pomeroy Associates. The town has approximately $50,000 already allocated for this purpose, though additional funding will likely be needed.
To address the quorum issues, the Select Board voted to make Police Chief Michael Jenkins and Fire Chief John Dzialo voting members of the committee rather than non-voting participants. Both chiefs regularly attend meetings, and the change should help ensure the committee can conduct business.
The meeting covered several other municipal matters. The Select Board approved minutes from multiple previous meetings and appointed Rebecca Johnson as municipal hearing officer and Catherine Wolfe and Sean Willett to the Historical Commission.
Willett, a historic preservation architect, expressed enthusiasm for contributing his expertise to the town's preservation efforts. "I think the craftsmanship and the work that our ancestors put into our built environment has never been more important than now," he said.
The board also established dates for two fall special town meetings. The first, scheduled for Oct. 27, will address various municipal matters. The second, on Nov. 10, will focus solely on the Central School building project, pending approval from the Massachusetts School Building Authority.
Other business included approving an education incentive request for a library employee and a one-day liquor license for a memorial gathering.
Police Chief Michael Jenkins used the meeting's open forum to commend three officers who responded to a recent incident involving an emotionally disturbed person with a machete. He praised Sergeant Flint, Officer Lang, and Officer Pat O'Brien for their de-escalation techniques and professional handling of the situation.
The Select Board will next meet Sept. 8, when Town Clerk Katie Cavanagh will discuss the upcoming election schedule and polling location changes.