HUDSON – School board members at Monday night’s meeting took turns thanking and praising the service of longtime member Patty Langlais, who tendered her resignation Saturday just months into her three-year term.

Her sudden role as a wedding planner figured heavily into her decision to resign, Langlais said Tuesday.

“My daughters are getting married within three months of each other, one in November, the other in January,” Langlais said. “That’s a lot on my plate that I didn’t have when I ran,” she added, referring to the March election.

Langlais, who owns and operates Stonewood School, a child care agency and school based in Hudson, said that while she has been able to keep the child care and school open through the COVID-19 pandemic, the added duties it created “has been exhausting.

“With all that stuff going on I felt like I couldn’t give what I wanted to give,” she said, referring to her School Board responsibilities.

“I want to enjoy my family while we have good things going on.”

Chairman Darcy Orellana said the board is now accepting applications from Hudson residents interested in filling the open seat until the next election in March 2021.

At that time, she said, voters will elect a candidate to serve the remaining two years on Langlais’s term.

In the meantime, board members will appoint a temporary member from the applications they receive between now and 4 p.m. on Sept. 22.

Applicants are asked to submit a written statement that includes their background, and the reasons they would like to serve on the board. Statements should be sent to info@sau81.org.

The board will then hold a special meeting at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 24 at Hills Memorial Library to interview prospective members. The board intends to appoint someone after conducting the interviews.

The successful applicant will be sworn in at the Monday, Sept 28 meeting, which begins at 6:30 p.m. at Hills Memorial Library.

Langlais, meanwhile, was on the board from 2009-2018, a tenure that began in 2009, when she successfully applied for an open seat created by a resignation.

She chose not to run in the 2018 election. But she decided to run again this spring, and was elected to the three-year term.

Langlais, who served two terms as board chairman, was currrently on the teachers contract negotiations and town municipal budget committees, and was an alternate on the Alvirne Trustees.

“Much to my dismay, I make a motion to accept Patty Langlais’s resignation,” board member Ethan Beals said at Monday’s meeting as members discussed her departure.

Gary Gasdia thanked Langlais for her service, calling her “a staple of this board for many years.”

While she was on the board with Langlais only a short time, Diana Lamothe said she “really enjoyed being on the board with her, and I will miss” serving with her.

Orellana, the chairman, agreed. Langlais brought “a wealth of information, knowledge, and perspective to the board,” she said.

More information on the school board and the open seat can be found at www.sau81.org.

Dean Shalhoup may be reached at 594-1256 or dshalhoup@nashuatelegraph.com.