While we still don’t know why someone would want to sit on both the school committee and the town council, we support and believe William J. Felkner will win his case against the Chariho Regional School Committee.

This is not and has never been a matter of whether or not we agree with all of his ideas (though we do like the idea of someone battling the status quo), it is about Felkner’s legal rights. And, as we have mentioned, we’re not entirely sure why he would want to tackle the additional work and attend additional meetings. But it almost goes without saying that he appears to legally have every right to sit on both the School Committee, on which he’s in the middle of a four-year term, and Hopkinton Town Council, to which he was elected last November.  

Nowhere in either the Chariho Act or Hopkinton Town Charter is it clear that he cannot hold both positions. The only language in the town charter is muddy at best and certainly not clear enough to justify his removal

It is also worth mentioning that Hopkinton is currently under-represented without Felkner on the school board The town is now down to three representatives, one of whom, George Abbott, has missed several meetings. Though it should be noted that Felkner has not attended numerous Chariho meetings himself.

To play devil’s advocate, you cannot blame the School Committee for booting off a member who has consistently challenged and questioned its actions and motives. And without Felkner at the meetings, the board has few voices of opposition to deal with. While we would not exactly call it a whistle-blower case, with his Chariho School Parents blog, it sometimes seems like it.

All of that aside, it’s a shame that this entire case could have been handled differently had the committee followed the appropriate protocol. If its members had consulted with the state Attorney General’s office for an opinion, this entire mess might not have happened.

Locally, it comes as no surprise that the Hopkinton Town Council supports Felkner, while the surrounding towns of Charlestown and Richmond stand behind the School Committee’s decision.  
Now we are forced to wait and see how the state’s highest court gauges the matter. And, if they act how we think they will, Felkner will be rightfully placed back in his seat.