As of Monday, June 24, Town Hall has received three applications for the open School Committee vacancy: Kyla McSweeney, Deborah Mihaley, and Brendan Tedstone.
Both Ms. McSweeney and Mr. Tedstone will be well-known to our readers; the former having recently run unsuccessfully for Select Board, and the latter a two-term Select Board member.
Ms. Mihaley, however, is less well-known, and it remains unclear if she actually resides in Hopkinton.
Deborah J. Mihaley’s LinkedIn profile lists her as “Lead Teacher at Woonsocket Head Start and Child Development Assoc.”, and from May 2021 – 2022 she held the position of Special Education teacher at Littleton Academy. The profile also indicates she received her Masters in Education from Boston University in 2000.
Noticeably absent from Ms. Mihaley’s LinkedIn page is her past teaching experience.
Mihaley was first hired in 1997 by Athol Middle School, but was terminated a short time later. According to a sworn affidavit filed at the Middlesex County Courthouse, Mihaley then began “hallucinating” and suffered from “insomnia and paranoia“. She was committed to UMass Memorial Hospital in Worcester and diagnosed with Bipolar disorder. Mihaley was later released and placed on medication.
In 2004, Mihaley had another episode that required her to be hospitalized. She was “full-blown manic” reads the affidavit.
Following the birth of her sons in 2004 and 2006, Mihaley returned to teaching in 2008, joining Marlborough High School. But two weeks later, Mihaley was terminated by the school after accusing (without evidence, according to administrators) a student of conducting a drug transaction in her classroom.Â
For several years, Ms. Mihaley was in and out of hospital for evaluation.Â
Mihaley has had several run-ins with law enforcement, including Hopkinton Police Detective Sergeant Gregg DeBoer and Chief Joseph Bennett, both of whom are named in various court documents.
- On October 6, 2009, Mihaley’s then-husband Joseph Marcinowski filed for divorce, stating that their marriage was irretrievably broken. Marcinowski petitioned for sole custody of their children, citing a “pending criminal case for Assault with a Dangerous Weapon” in Clinton District Court. On April 30, 2010 the divorce was granted and Marcinowski was awarded sole physical custody.
- On March 4, 2015, Mihaley was charged with Disorderly Conduct in Hopkinton. The case was dismissed on March 5 without a hearing.
- On December 26, 2016, Mihaley was again charged with Disorderly Conduct. She was later found Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity.
- On March 31, 2017, Mihaley was charged with Assault & Battery in Natick District Court. The charges were dismissed on May 21, 2018.
- On August 28, 2023, Mihaley was charged in Framingham District Court with Disturbing the Peace and Resisting Arrest. The case is still pending.
- On December 16, 2020, Mihaley petitioned the court to seal her prior case records, but the motion was denied by Judge Jennifer Stark.
Ms. Mihaley listed the address of a home on Wood Street in her application for School Committee, but it’s unclear if she actually resides there. According to the Middlesex Registry of Deeds, Ms. Mihaley Quit Claimed the property in 2012, and according to recent records, lives in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. But that information is contradicted by a 2023 court filing that lists her residential address as an apartment unit on Bridgeport Street in Worcester.
Ms. Mihaley is a registered voter in Massachusetts, but her status is listed as “Inactive”.
HopNews attempted to contact Ms. Mihaley for a comment on this article, but thus far has received no reply.
WTF is all I can say, she should run for the hills, not the school committee.
Per the above she lost custody of her children AND has a history of drugs and violence so why is she even a contender? Mental Health care stinks, I think we can all agree but someone with bipolar disorder who has tendencies towards acts of violence is not fit to be considered for anything children related, no?
Thank for responsible reporting. As a citizen it’s important to KNOW who’s running.
It is obvious that Ms. Mihaley has been struggling with mental illness for a long time. Anyone who knows anything about healthcare will likely agree that our mental health ‘system’ in this country is woefully inadequate in serving those who are in desperate need of support and services. Mental illness in all its forms is heartbreaking. I wish Ms. Mihaley the best in her journey but I do not think she should be running for this seat.
Has the town verified that Ms. Mihaley personally submitted her election papers, and did the addresses match what is legally on file? Regardless, I wish her the best moving ahead.
CS
I wish Ms. Mihaley the best. Unfortunately she isn’t going to get the mental health treatment she needs while living in Massachusetts. That said, I personally don’t believe she should be put in an environment, based upon her past history where she will have an impact on our children. I’m sure the HDTC will be supporting her. Equity, Inclusion and Diversity at any cost.
I’m curious about where you got her medical history so you could print her personal health information in an online newspaper. Asking for a friend.