ATHOL – Jason Savoy, a 1999 graduate of Athol High School, is one of two people running for a one-year term on the Athol-Royalston Regional School Committee in next Monday’s annual Town Election.

Savoy is seeking to fill the vacancy created by the departure of T.J. Mallett III, who relinquished his School Committee seat last May. Savoy’s opponent in the race is School Committee veteran Lee Chauvette.

Christie Lynn Wehmeyer—appointed to fill the vacancy left by Mallett’s departure—is running for one of a pair of three-year School Committee seats in the April 1 Town Election.

Following high school, Savoy said he worked in several different fields, including manufacturing and landscaping, after which he traveled to Ft. Benning, Georgia, to undergo infantry training for the Massachusetts Army National Guard, based in Gardner. Currently, Savoy is a machinist at ARCH Cutting Tools on Main Street in Athol.

Savoy said he doesn’t have any children in the Athol Royalston Regional School District, but has have many friends that do.

“Running for School Committee was just something that kind of intrigued me,” he said. “This is my first foray into any sort of government, and I figured School Committee is kind of the lower level of government that I could step into.”

Savoy said he knows several people that currently work in the district “and there are a few things that have been brought to my attention and I figured the best way to get a perspective on it is to get a look from the inside.”

Asked about the issues that have been raised, Savoy said that one is staff retention, adding that there seems to be considerable turnover in the district. Savoy said he could be helpful by bringing fresh eyes and a new perspective to the committee, along with the potential for offering new ideas. He said that, while he believes he has the time and drive to serve on the committee, he thought it best to first seek the one-year seat rather than potentially committing to three years of service.

“I’d like to try it for a year and then potentially transition to a three-year seat,” he said.

Athol’s Town Election is Monday, April 1. Polls at Town Hall will be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. In addition to the race for School Committee, voters are being asked to approve changes to the Town Charter, and approve a $286,000 Proposition 2 ½ override to pay for the hiring of three new firefighters.

On Monday, Town Clerk Nancy Burnham told the Athol Daily News her office had received several hundred ballots in early voting.

Greg Vine can be reached at gvineadn@gmail.com.