Tewksbury Boards Appoint Kingston to Open School Committee Seat

Select Board · Meeting of June 30, 2026

Tewksbury fills School Committee vacancy with educator and union veteran Chris Kingston. The Select Board and School Committee voted jointly 3-0 at a June 30 public hearing to appoint Kingston, a 25-year Tewksbury resident and Revere high school history teacher who has served as a local union president, vice president, and building representative and has negotiated six collective bargaining contracts. School Committee Chair Bridget Garabedian, who ran the session with Select Board Chair Eric Ryder presiding, noted the appointment comes as the district heads into a contract year, with the Tewksbury teachers' agreement set to expire at the end of the 2026-2027 school year.

Russo asked Kingston directly how his union background would translate to sitting on the management side of negotiations; Kingston said his guiding standard would be "what's best for kids" and that "conversation needs to happen first." Kingston's term runs through the April 2027 town election, when voters will choose who holds the seat for a full cycle.

In the full story:

• The Vacancy and the Applicant Pool
• Kingston's Self-Introduction
• Kingston gave a detailed self-introduction before fielding questions from either board. The highlights, in his own framing
• Board Questions: Qualifications and Tone
• Recognition of Terry Regan
• The Vote
• Implications and What Is Next
• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report: 1,566 words

Source: the Select Board meeting of June 30, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript. It was corrected where it differed.