Education

Gray resigns from Oysterponds school board

Thom Gray
Thom Gray

Thom Gray resigned Tuesday night from the Oysterponds Board of Education, less than a year after he was elected to the board last May.

He wasn’t at the board’s Tuesday night meeting, and has not attended its last two budget sessions.

He tendered his resignation in a letter that was not immediately made available. The resignation was announced Tuesday night but members of the board didn’t comment.

When Mr. Gray ran for a board seat last year, there was speculation that work-related travel might make it difficult for him to do the job. He is chief financial officer for the Catholic Medical Mission Board, a philanthropic organization that provides health care programs for people throughout the world.
Mr. Gray said before his election that he could Skype into any meetings he couldn’t attend in person. He and other members of the Oysterponds board have done that a few times this year.

From the outset of his tenure, Mr. Gray was seen as confrontational by former board president Walter Strohmeyer, who remains a board member. The two engaged in verbal scuffles until the entire board participated in a retreat intended as a fence-mending session. Since then, at least during public meetings, there has been cordiality between the two.

But as recently as last month, board member Krista de Kerillis complained that an unnamed member not in the room that night had treated her in what she described as a demeaning manner during a committee meeting. The only two members absent that night were Mr. Gray and Mr. Strohmeyer, and only Mr. Gray was on the committee to which she referred.

Neither Mr. Gray nor board president Deborah Dumont could be reached for comment. Nor could acting superintendent Joan Frisicano be reached by presstime.

Residents will go to the polls May 17 to vote on the district’s proposed annual budget and open seats on the board. The terms of Walter Strohmeyer and Kathy Syron expire this year, though it’s not yet known if they will seek re-election for full three-year terms.

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