Waterbury’s new members on the Harwood Unified Union School District (HUUSD) board are Pam Eaton and Dan Roscioli and Duxbury’s new member is Emily Dolloff. The HUUSD appointed the new members on April 16, after the Waterbury Select Board met on April 7 and recommended two of the four candidates interested in representing Waterbury on the school board.
At last week’s board meeting Waterbury Select Board member Tori Taravella (sitting next to Eaton) spoke during public comment and recommended Eaton to serve on the board. The Waterbury Select Board recommended Roscioli and Elizabeth Brown, both of whom had represented Waterbury on the board from Town Meeting 2024 to Town Meeting 2025.
Taravella said Eaton was a good listener, motivated and well-connected within the Waterbury community. Taravella served on the HUUSD board until elected to the Waterbury Select Board.
HUUSD board chair Ashley Woods invited each of the potential board members to address the board, noting that this year, the process by which vacant seats are filled by the board would be different.
“Last year we had the exact number of spaces as we had applicants. This year, it’s different. We have three applicants and two spaces for the Waterbury seats. We’re going to interview each of you, some we know, some we don’t,” Woods said.
“The Waterbury Select Board has recommended our former board members Dan Rosioli and Elizabeth Brown to come back That was their recommendation,” Woods said, adding that the board would be making one nomination at a time and voting on it.
Roscioli addressed the board first, followed by Brown, Eaton and Dolloff.
Roscioli noted what he had learned in his first year of service on the board and said his style is to ask questions and also said the board needed to be working more strategically and long-term on budgeting and other issues.
Brown emphasized her work as a strategic planner, pointing out that what she’d heard at the Waterbury Select Board meeting was a need for more planning. She said she thought going through the process of strategic planning would help the district be prepared for what might be coming down top-down from the governor or legislature.
Eaton said that introducing her son to Brookside Primary School opened her eyes to how welcoming the school was and left her surprised about community support for the school budget last year, which took three votes to pass. She said she felt the lack of support was due to communication failures.
Emily Dolloff, a native of Duxbury, said she discovered a passion for the school board last year when the budget was not passing and said she had the ability to see both sides of an issue and offer a perspective that represents both sides.
Woods opened the floor to nominations and Waitsfield board member JB Weir nominated Roscioli whose nomination was seconded and passed by 51.65% of the weighted voting. Of the 14 board members, only eight were present and voted due to absences and the three unfilled seats. Roscioli got eight yes votes and zero no votes. Woods, as chair, did not vote.
Woods then opened nominations for the second Waterbury seat. Warren representative Jonathon Young nominated Pam Eaton and Woods called for discussion.
Several board members spoke in favor of Eaton and Fayston board member Mike Bishop asked if the Waterbury Select Board had given any indication of why its members did not recommend Eaton.
“I was just curious. I know her law firm represents the town of Waterbury. It’s been paid lots of money by the town and I see she is down here with a select board member. Did they given any reason why they didn’t recommend her?” Bishop asked.
Woods said Eaton did not get a nomination or vote at the Waterbury Select Board meeting.
The board moved into a protracted voting process that ultimately yielded a 7 to 1 vote for Eaton, with Bishop as a no vote. That weighted vote was 46.65% in favor before Woods cast a yes vote. Her weighted vote added 7.2% and meant the nomination passed with 53.85%.
The board then nominated unanimously approved Dolloff to represent Duxbury.
For more reporting on the Waterbury Select Board recommendations for school board from the Waterbury Roundabout, see page 10 of this week’s issue. For reactions from Waterbury Select Board members and others to the school board’s disregard of its recommendations, see Waterbury Roundabout coverage here:
