Who are Brockton school board members locked in power struggle? What does each side want?

BROCKTON — The power struggle for the Brockton School Committee vice-chair position continued Tuesday, as the committee’s eight members deadlocked 4-4 again for a fourth straight meeting, halting some business for the school district.

Each faction — the four members who support incumbent Vice Chair Kathy Ehlers and the other four who support nominee Tony Rodrigues — held strongly onto their vote for an eighth election at a roughly 10-minute special meeting on Jan 23.

The special meeting, where the only prominent agenda item was the vice chair election, was adjourned just nine minutes after it started, with two short rounds of voting taking place both 4-4 ties.

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Who voted for which candidate?

The following four School Committee members voted for Ehlers: Mayor Robert Sullivan — who automatically sits on the School Committee and serves as chair by virtue of being mayor — Timothy Sullivan, Judy Sullivan and Ehlers.

The following four School Committee members voted for Rodrigues: Joyce Asack, Ana Oliver, Claudio Gomes and Rodrigues himself.

What about suggestion to have 2 vice chairs?

School district attorney Sarah Spatafore said at the Jan. 23 meeting that having two vice chairs is not an option. The city's laws state that one person must be elected to the position, according to Brockton's charter.

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Who is Kathy Ehlers?

Ward 1 committee member Kathy Ehlers served as vice chair throughout 2023 — a pivotal year for the school district as it was faced with the discovery of a nearly $20 million deficit, dropping enrollment and safety and discipline concerns and general chaos.

In her career, Ehlers works as the vice president of enrollment management, financial services and marketing at Urban College of Boston and has a master's in education from Southern New Hampshire University, according to her LinkedIn profile.

"We have been through a rough, rough year," said School Committee member Tim Sullivan. "I think Kathy Ehlers has held us together quite well over this past year and looks forward to doing it again in 2024."

In her third year on the board, Ehlers was reelected to her seat on the School Committee, running unopposed, in November. She joined the committee after running unopposed in 2021.

In January 2023, Ehlers was elected as committee vice chair after two tied 4-4 votes at last year’s organizational meeting. Former member Jared Homer, in the third round of voting last year, switched his vote from then-incumbent Joyce Asack to Ehlers.

“Kathy is there for all the members and that's what is really needed,” Judy Sullivan said at the Jan. 3 meeting. “I thank you Kathy for everything that you've done as you've done a lot, and I thank you. And I really stand by you for everything that you've done.”

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Who is Tony Rodrigues?

Rodrigues, who works as a corrections officer in Brockton, joined the committee in 2019. He attended Massasoit Community College and is a Brockton Public Schools parent.

Several community members said they see Rodrigues at many BPS events throughout the year, most recently Brockton High’s National Honor’s Society induction on Jan. 22.

“What Tony has done for us at South has been tremendous,” said Jim Stapleton, a teacher at South Middle School, at the Jan. 3 meeting. “He is, to me, the epitome, of a [School Committee member].”

While some community members spoke at the meeting in support of Rodrigues, some expressed concerns over his becoming the vice chair. Cynthia Hodges, a Brockton resident and mother of former school committee candidate Jamie Hodges, said that he doesn’t “support me as an African American woman” and that he can’t agree with his fellow committee members.

But committee member Joyce Asack, who previously served as vice chair and said the role requires “a lot of work,” said she thinks the committee should switch up the chair.

“We need transparency and we need leadership,” she said at a Jan. 9 meeting. “I nominated Mr. Rodrigues. I like Tony, I might not agree with everything he says, we do butt heads at times, but he knows our policies, he knows our procedures.”

What does vice chair do?

The vice chair’s responsibilities — a point of debate for the board — are succinctly described in the committee’s policy and the state’s charter: they primarily take over tasks delegated to them by the chair, who in Brockton's case, is always the mayor.

While their role is vague, the vice chair works closely with the mayor and the Brockton Public Schools superintendent and runs committee meetings in the chair’s absence.

The vice chair carries the same voting power as all other members of the board.

Repeat of last year’s vice chair deadlock

The 2023 vice chair election witnessed two stalemates before Ehlers was elected — an unusual event for the committee despite an even number of voters. The election between Asack and Ehlers ended in a 4-4 tie twice a year ago.

The same bloc of members — Mayor Robert Sullivan, Ehlers, Judy Sullivan and Tim Sullivan — who voted for Ehlers last year have voted for her again this year.

Meanwhile, Asack and Rodrigues continue to vote against Ehlers, both voting for Asack in 2023 and Rodrigues in 2024. The two new members — Ana Oliver and Claudio Gomes — voted for Rodrigues, replacing former members Homer's and Cynthia Rivas Mendes' votes for Asack the previous year.

Should vice chair be a new person each year?

"I've been on for nine years and, you know, I think it should be a different person every year," Judy Sullivan said at the 2023 vice chair election meeting on Jan. 3, 2023 — despite the fact she now supports the incumbent this time around.

The mayor agreed at that 2023 meeting that the school committee should consider switching out the vice chair every year, similar to how the Brockton City Council does at its yearly organizational meeting.

“Last year at this time, what I said was I believe as a former city councilor it's good to change every year,” the mayor said at the Jan. 3, 2024, meeting. “In a normal year it's good. This isn't a normal year, ladies and gentlemen. We have a multi-million-dollar deficit we have to deal with.”

This article originally appeared on The Enterprise: Who are Brockton school board members locked in battle for vice chair?