[Amended 11-5-1996; 11-5-2000; 11-10-2002]
The School Department shall be under the control and supervision of the School Committee which shall consist of seven members, five who shall be elected by Council voting districts of the Town and two who shall be elected at-large, all elections to be nonpartisan. Such members, unless otherwise specified below, shall be elected at the regular Town elections on the first Tuesday following the first Monday in November of even-numbered years and their terms shall begin on the first Tuesday of January next following their election except as stated herein. Their terms shall be for four years and shall be staggered so that three members of the Committee shall be elected at the Town election of June 1999, who shall be elected to serve until the first Tuesday of January of 2003, two members of the Committee shall be elected at the election in June 1997, to serve until the first Tuesday of January of 2001, and two at-large members of the Committee shall be elected at the Town election of November 2004 to serve until the first Tuesday of January 2009, and thereafter the electors shall at the biennial election of Town officers vote for three or for four members of the School Committee as may be required to fill the vacancies caused by the expiration of terms.
Members of the School Committee shall have the same qualifications and shall be subject to the same restrictions as are provided by this Charter for members of the Town Council.
[Amended 11-2-2010]
Any vacancy in the membership of the School Committee shall be filled by written ballot of a majority of the whole number of members of the Town Council for the remainder of the term of office of the Council; provided that the person appointed to fill said vacancy shall be a resident of the same district, except for the at-large members, who may be from any district in the Town of Lincoln. If the unexpired term of any vacancy is for more than two years, a member shall be elected at the next regular Town election to fill the vacancy for the remaining two years.
[Amended 11-2-2010]
Members of the School Committee shall receive such annual salaries or stipends as may be set by the Town Council, provided that any increase in pay shall not become effective during the term of office of any member of the School Committee at the time the motion for said increase was passed.
[Amended 11-10-2002; 11-2-2010]
(1) 
The School Committee shall elect one of its members as Chairperson who shall sign any orders or official papers of the committee, and the School Committee shall elect a clerk who, under the direction of the Committee, shall keep a journal of the proceedings of the Committee. Either Chairperson or clerk may be removed at the pleasure of said Committee. The Committee shall adopt its own rules and order of business and shall hold at least nine regular meetings in every year, at such time and place within the Town as the Committee shall by general order fix and determine.
(2) 
The School Committee shall determine and control all policies affecting the administration, maintenance and operation of the public schools, and shall have all the powers and perform all the duties as prescribed by the laws of the state.
(3) 
The School Committee shall appoint, and establish the compensation of, a Superintendent of Schools as its chief administrative agent, who shall have, under the direction of the School Committee, the care and supervision of the public schools. No person shall be employed as Superintendent of Schools unless such person holds a certificate of qualification issued by, or under the authority of, the State Board of Education. The Superintendent shall be subject to removal at the discretion of the School Committee by vote of a majority of all members of the School Committee, with a public hearing, if the Superintendent shall request same. There shall be no right of appeal from the decision of the School Committee.
(4) 
The appointment and removal of all school employees and fixing of salaries shall be made by the School Committee upon recommendation of the Superintendent of Schools, except as may be provided otherwise by the laws of the state. Except for the purpose of inquiry, the School Committee, as far as is consistent with the laws of the state, shall deal with the administration of the public schools solely through the Superintendent of Schools and neither the School Committee nor any member thereof shall give orders to any subordinate of the Superintendent of Schools, either publicly or privately. All details of administration shall be handled by the Superintendent or other administrative officers to whom he/she delegates the work.
(5) 
The School Committee shall submit budget estimates in the same format as outlined in § C4-5 in the same manner as other departments, to the Town Administrator on or before February 1 and the budget estimates and appropriations shall be considered by the Budget Board. The allocation of the amounts appropriated shall be determined by the School Committee.
(6) 
The School Department, under the oversight of the Finance Director, shall assume all the purchasing functions of the School Committee, in accordance with the requisitions of the School Committee, and shall purchase and distribute such supplies and materials as are required by the public schools. The costs for such supplies and materials shall be charged against the appropriation for the public schools.
(7) 
The School Committee shall be responsible for the location of school buildings and for the maintenance, care and upkeep of such buildings and grounds, but at the request of the School Committee the Town Administrator may direct the Department of Public Works to do any such work, provided that the costs are charged against the appropriation for the public schools, and provided further that in the construction of new school buildings the responsibility shall be placed by the Financial Town Meeting on a School Building Commission of five members, two of whom shall be members of the School Committee. The Superintendent of Schools shall serve as ex officio on said Commission.
(8) 
The School Committee shall prepare a complete report of its finances and activities annually no later than December 31 and make available for public inspection copies of the report at the offices of the School Committee and of the Town Clerk.
(9) 
The School Committee shall have the power to issue subpoenas to compel witnesses to testify and produce records as prescribed by law.
(10) 
The School Committee shall exercise such other powers and perform such other duties as prescribed by law and as are not inconsistent with this Charter.