Doucette appointed to fill Manchester BOE seat until November

May 10—MANCHESTER — The Board of Education has appointed Democrat Heather Doucette to fill a vacancy until the November election.

Doucette, former member of the Manchester Public Library Advisory Board and wife of state Rep. Jason Doucette, D-Manchester, was sworn in at a meeting Monday night, after being nominated by the Democratic Town Committee and approved unanimously by the Board of Education.

Doucette will serve until the next municipal election in November, and will be eligible to run for re-election then. She fills the spot left by Dean Ott, who resigned last month.

Ott held the Democratic seat from June 2022 until May 1, 2023. He also was appointed to fill a vacancy left by Melanie Stefanovicz's resignation in April 2022, and would have needed to run in the November 2023 election to keep his seat.

Ott said he resigned from the Board of Education in order to focus on his family.

Doucette said she has always held an interest in joining the Board of Education after living in town for more than 20 years.

"Sending my children to the schools and seeing the potential for excellence our district offers, I wanted to be a part of that, contribute to it, support it," Doucette said.

Board member David Eisenthal, who brought forward the nomination, said he would look forward to working with Doucette and having all of her strengths on the board.

"Heather Doucette will bring to this board professional competence, community involvement, and dedication as a parent of two sons who are students at Manchester High School," Eisenthal said.

Doucette has worked in education for 25 years, starting as a preschool teacher and early interventionist. She later worked at the state Department of Education for eight years and the Capital Region Education Council for 10 years.

She recently accepted a position at the College Board, an organization that produces programs and standardized tests including the SAT and Advanced Placement program.

Doucette has also served on the board of the Lutz Children's Museum, and on parent groups at Highland Park School and Illing Middle School. She recently founded the Manchester High School Marching Band Boosters organization earlier this year.

Doucette said she was a member of the Manchester Public Library's advisory board from 2019 to 2023, resigning as a result of her appointment to the Board of Education.

Doucette holds a master's degree in early childhood education from Central Connecticut State University and bachelor's degrees in English and Psychology from Barnard College.

Joseph covers Manchester and Bolton for the Journal Inquirer.