Lunenburg School Committee takes student election appeal under advisement, eyes May 11 ruling

LUNENBURG -- May 6, 2026, Lunenburg School Committee hears formal appeal over student council election rules and authorizes a $750,000 federal literacy grant bid. The committee spent more than an hour on a Policy 5803 hearing brought by Lunenburg High School junior John Bowen Jr. and his father John Bowen, who argued that the administration improperly waived a 15-signature nomination requirement mid-election, allowing other candidates who submitted 14 signatures to remain on the ballot, and that the superintendent's reconsideration process excluded the appellant. Chair Skellinger pressed both the Bowens and Principal Santry on whether student government disputes meet the threshold for committee review under the policy's "triviality" limitation; Santry said he believed the matter fell outside the committee's purview. "Rules are rules and they should be followed," Bowen Jr. told the board. The committee took the matter under advisement and promised a written opinion by the week of May 11, structured to support further appellate review if sought. Separately, the committee unanimously authorized submission of a federal Innovative Approaches to Literacy grant application for up to $750,000 at no cost to Lunenburg taxpayers, and approved filing intent-to-apply paperwork for FY27 DESE entitlement grants, noting a significant anticipated reduction in Title 1 federal funding.