ACCOMPLISHMENTS ON THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE

I want to start by saying that I has been an honor and privilege to serve, especially given the awesome challenges of the COVID-19 crisis.  

 

During my first term, I have shown that I can bring people together with various points of view and data considerations, and come up with consensus or other ways to move forward.  For example, as chair of the building & grounds subcommittee, I have listened to our community members with expertise in health care, science and education who have volunteered to provide us with invaluable advice.  I helped bring together all this information in the form of the district’s COVID-19 health & safety manual, which enabled us to bring our youngest and most-at-risk students back to the classrooms safely earlier than many other districts.  The manual and its successful implementation have served as a model for other school committees in and outside the state.

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I have also used my professional experience to ensure long-term considerations are fully incorporated in the School Committee’s decision making.  For example, in March 2020 the onset of the pandemic coincided with the discussion of the 2020-2021 budget.  I urged that we needed to integrate the likely effects of the pandemic into our discussion for the budget.  This meant that the budget discussion took longer than normal, but also pushed us to have conversations with the City Manager and City Council that resulted in the City’s commitment to cover the additional costs of responding to the pandemic during the 2021 school year.

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Lastly, through that and the following budget cycles, I noticed that most of the discussions centered on new initiatives to be funded as an increase to the base budget.  I have requested that for future budget discussions that we also focus on areas that should be changed or discontinued if they are not showing the intended results. It is key that the School District and School Committee continue to adapt and course-correct based on monitoring and evaluation of our programs, and to clearly and openly communicate these changes to the Community.