Wilton school board fills vacancy in split vote

WILTON — With a 3-to-2 vote, split along party lines, the Board of Education recently returned former BOE member Laura Schwemm to the vacancy left by outgoing Chair Deborah Low.

Schwemm, who served two terms from 2011 to 2019, and then filled a short vacancy on the board in 2021, will hold the seat until the November election in 2023.

The three seated Democrats, including new Chair Ruth DeLuca, newly elected Secretary Nicola Davies, and member Pam Ely all supported their fellow Democrat Schwemm.

Both newly elected Vice Chair Jennifer Lalor and member Mandi Schmauch, Republicans, voted against her.

Prior to Schwemm’s nomination, Lalor nominated Matt Phillips, but it was defeated in a comparable 3-to-2 vote.

The votes came after an executive ses

sion. Neither person was spoken about during the public part of the meeting when the votes happened.

DeLuca said the BOE received 10 applications for Low’s open seat, which it was required to fill within 30 days.

Low, a Democrat and former superintendent of schools in Ridgefield, had won reelection in 2021 after serving for four years. Low said she was resigning because she is leaving town.

“The board received 10 applications and invited seven finalists to interview,” DeLuca said, which was done in an executive session prior to Thursday night’s meeting.

She said the board put out a notice on Nov. 18 seeking volunteers.

“The board extends its gratitude and appreciation to all the applicants,” she said.

Prior to the nomination, the BOE elected its new officers, including DeLuca, Lalor, and Davies.

Both DeLuca and Lalor were elected with four votes and one abstention, while Davies was elected with three votes and two abstentions.

Immediately after, Lalor announced she wanted to see the process of how board officers are elected looked into at a future meeting, “how it takes place and maybe what the procedure is,” she said.

DeLuca said the BOE could put it on a future agenda to “open up the bylaws for discussion.”