AMHERST - A senior at Amherst Regional High School was appointed Monday to a vacancy on the Amherst School Committee in a divided vote that took three ballots and disappointed many who gathered to watch the proceedings.

Solomon Goldstein-Rose, of Poet's Corner, will serve until the April 3 municipal election, filling the seat vacated by Steve Rivkin who resigned in December. He will not be a candidate for election to the three-year term because he expects to be away at college in the fall.

Goldstein-Rose earned five of the nine votes cast by the Select Board and other School Committee members on the third ballot, winning the temporary position over seven other candidates. Goldstein-Rose said he would like his service to be an inspiration to other students. "I'm hoping it will pave the way for more student involvement in the future," he said.

It could not immediately be learned if he is the first high school student to serve on the School Committee.

Goldstein-Rose has been an active member of the student body, pushing for preserving and expanding music programs, supporting the town's Proposition 2½ tax-cap override two years ago and advocating for school buses to stop idling outside school buildings.

As a member of the Amherst School Committee, he will also have a vote at Amherst-Pelham Regional School Committee meetings. Goldstein-Rose said doing the greatest good for the greatest number will be his guiding principle.

"I know elementary students, middle school students, high school students very well," Goldstein-Rose said,

Some disappointed

The decision to bypass other qualified candidates, in particular Amilcar Shabazz of Chapel Road, the chairman of the department of Afro-American Studies at the University of Massachusetts, disappointed many who gathered to watch the proceedings.

Pat Ononibaku said she was one of about 15 black parents and community members who came to the meeting to lend support to Shabazz out of concern for the plight of children of color in the school system.

They had hoped that Shabazz would join the five-member committee, whose only other black member is its chairman, Irv Rhodes.

"We need more representation because our children's needs are not being met," Ononibaku said.

Shabazz said he would bring an "abundance of patience and a sense of irony" and an expertise in dealing with budgets and policies, as well as ways to handle diversity issues such as the disproportionate discipline to some ethnic and minority groups.

"I have real expertise and interest in those matters," Shabazz said.

He also offered to be a peacemaker on the committee and bring a sense of community that has been missing in recent years.

"I feel as though I can deal with whatever disagreements may exist out there on whatever course of action you might have to take," Shabazz said.

Only Rhodes voted for Shabazz on the first and second ballots. On the third ballot, Rhodes voted for longtime teacher Amy Brodigan.

She and former Pelham School Committee member Joan Temkin were the only other candidates besides Goldstein-Rose to get multiple votes on any ballot.

Temkin, of Middle Street, offered to serve only as an interim member, bringing 12 years of previous experience and a sense of respect back to the committee.

"It is not appropriate, in my opinion, for members of the Select Board or School Committee to go on about their own personal opinion if the decision doesn't reflect that opinion," Temkin said.

Brodigan, of Aubinwood Road, said she is worried about cuts to programs and wants collaborative dialogue to set common goals.

"I think the issues can be contentious, but the dialogue doesn't have to be contentious," Brodigan said.

Lawrence O'Brien of Harris Street was the only candidate who said he is committed to running for the three-year seat April 3. A social studies teacher, O'Brien said he would use data-driven assessments but also would work under the assumption that administrators have the children's best interests in mind.

"I think that's one of the things that's been absent the past few years," O'Brien said.

The candidate most critical of the current school administration, Michael Aronson of Old Farm Road, described the School Committee as going from an oversight body to a cheerleader.

"I will listen to administrators, but not kowtow to policies that fail our children," Aronson said. "We have a bloated administration and we waste a tremendous amount of money."

Aronson said he would always speak candidly.

"Pleasant dialogue may be nice, but it also may not serve the children in the district when bad decisions are made after pleasant dialogue," Aronson said.

Larry Kelley of South Pleasant Street, a founding parent of the Pioneer Valley Chinese Charter School, said he would push for online classes and urge UMass to make more contributions to the schools.

"I have no complaints with the system now, but like anything, it could be better," Kelley said.

Vincent O'Connor of Summer Street said he would support changes in the schools by hiring more minority teachers and holding administrators accountable for progress in eliminating what he called "over-reactive discipline faced by the children of color in our schools."

Aronson, Kelley and O'Connor received no votes from the Select Board or School Committee members.

A ninth candidate, Anastasia Morton of Southpoint Apartments, was not a registered voter and thus was not eligible for the position.

Anyone interested in running for the three-year seat must submit 50 signatures of registered voters to the town clerk's office by 5 p.m. Feb. 14.