Haverhill School Committee Elects Wood as Vice Chairman; Reappoints Early to Whittier Tech Board

School Committee member Scott W. Wood Jr. (Jay Saulnier file photograph for WHAV News.)

The Haverhill School Committee elected veteran member Scott W. Wood Jr. as its vice chairman during its annual reorganization Thursday.

Wood, who has served on the School Committee more than 17 years, was elected unanimously and succeeds Richard J. Rosa. Mayor James J. Fiorentini, who serves as chairman, congratulated Wood while commending Rosa for his service during a very challenging year.

“I’m very, very pleased that, for the first time in several years, our School Committee is united as we need to be in these times, and I look forward to working with you Scott. I really want to commend you attorney Richard Rosa. Thank you very much for a job well done,” the mayor said.

Richard Early Jr. was also re-appointed as one of Haverhill’s two representatives to the Whittier Regional Vocational Technical High School Committee. The other member is Wood.

Early, who has served on the Whittier Tech board for more than 20 years, was appointed to a three-year term. He told WHAV his lifelong work in his family business, Early Contractors, gives him a unique view of needs in the trades.

“We need craftsmen coming out of school and Whittier gets these kids ready for that. They go into the real world to work. That’s what I like to see as the final result,” he said. In particular demand are masons and diesel mechanics.

In other action, the Committee ratified a Memorandum of Agreement with the school nurses affiliated with the Massachusetts Nurses Association. The agreement centers around a one-month pilot program for COVID-19 pool testing of students and staff.

Members also unanimously agreed to an increase in the pay rate of school employees who earn minimum wage. The previous rate of $12.75 per hour was increased to $13.50 per hour in order to match the same increase recently enacted in the private sector.

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