Former Wareham School Committee member appointed to two-month seat

Jan 24, 2019

Members of the Wareham School Committee and Board of Selectmen appointed Geoff Swett to a two month seat on the School Committee Thursday night, filling a vacancy left by former committee member Rebekah Pratt in December.

A veteran of the board, Swett previously served on the committee for four terms starting in 2005. He lost his most recent election bid in April of 2018 to Pratt and Micheal Flaherty.

Though Pratt’s term is set to expire in 2021, Swett’s appointment to her seat will end in April of this year, at which point a new School Committee member will be chosen through the town election. 

The decision to fill Pratt’s seat until the election came at the request of the remaining School Committee members, who said it was hard to get work done in Pratt’s absence.

Swett was interviewed for the temporary seat alongside Apryl Rossi and Jennifer Bailey.

Swett received a total of five votes, securing him the appointment. Rossi received three votes and Bailey received none.

All three candidates will run for seats on the committee in April with Swett challenging incumbent Mary Morgan for her three-year seat. Rossi and Bailey will compete for Pratt’s two-year seat.

The passion that I felt in 1999 is still here,” Swett said during his interview with the committee and Selectmen. “And whether it’s two months or three years, I feel I have a lot of knowledge that will benefit the committee.”

Swett said he looked forward to working with the committee during the next two months and hoped that his experience would be beneficial in finalizing the school budget.

“Your very methodical thinking has always been a good thing in my opinion,” said Selectman Patrick Tropeano. “I know I’ve looked for it in the past, and I look forward to having it again.”

Tropeano added that both the Committee and the Selectmen would be looking forward to a spirited race in April.