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Candidates address local residents Region - Residents of Shrewsbury and Westborough will head to the polls Tuesday May 6, while residents of Northborough and Southborough will vote Monday May 12. Last week, in the April 25 issue of the "Community Advocate," we presented statements from the candidates for Board of Selectmen in both Shrewsbury and Westborough. This week, we are presenting statements from the remaining contested races in all of our towns: Northborough Board of Selectmen, Shrewsbury School Committee and Southborough School Committee. There are two seats open on each. We asked the candidates for those positions to address our readers and respond to these questions: (1) What type of experience/personal traits do you feel makes you a qualified candidate for this position? and (2) What is the most significant problem the town faces today, and how do you plan to remedy that problem? The following are the statements submitted by the candidates. Northborough Board of Selectmen Fran Bakstran Incumbent
Volunteering in your community is the best way to make it feel like home. While I am not originally from Northboro, from the time my husband and I moved here, in 1987, I knew it was going to be home. I have been volunteering one way or another since 1989. Early on, it was with the Northboro babysitting co-op and a playgroup organization, Parents in Action. In 1993, I began volunteering at the Senior Center as the SHINE Counselor, helping seniors with Medicare questions. I sat on the Open Space/ Recreation Master Plan committee in 1998. Then came volunteering in the elementary schools. I continued my commitment to the seniors for 12 years both with SHINE and as a member and former Chair of the Council on Aging. Asked what is the most significant problem the town faces, I respond, "We don't have problems, we have challenges." Staying fiscally sound, aff ordable, and providing quality services, that is the challenge. The Board of Selectmen needs to work together to meet this challenge. I am a hard-working team player. I want to serve my community. Northboro is my home. Dawn Rand Incumbent
To those of you who do not know me, I am Dawn Rand, and I am running for re-election to the Northborough Board of Selectmen. I am a lifelong resident of Northborough and a graduate of Algonquin Regional High School and Framingham State College with a Bachelor of Science in Biology. I have owned Dawn's School of Dance in Northborough for 36 years. I have been a Selectman for the past 15 years, and before that, I was a member of the Northborough Appropriations Committee for 21 years. As a Selectman, I have been a member of the Northborough Southborough Regional Agreement Working Committee, a member and proposed the formation of the Negotiation Committee that mitigated the financial impact to the community of the Loop and Avalon Bay Projects, and I am currently sitting as a member of the Northborough Senior Center Building Committee. I have always worked to keep Northborough as affordable as possible for all our residents while maintaining the high level of services we provide for our citizens. I feel that is the biggest challenge facing the Northborough Board of Selectmen in this difficult economic environment. I have remained opposed to municipal tax overrides and will continue to advocate for being fiscally responsible while searching for creative ways to maintain services with the least impact for taxpayers. Please vote on Monday May 12. Robert Rosenberg
The five years that I've served on the Planning Board have made me very aware of the numerous challenges our community faces. Coupled with my business experience, this has prepared me to work with the staff and other governmental groups in further enhancing Northborough as a desirable place to live, for residents of all age groups. And my 21 years of living in town, with two daughters in the public school system, demonstrates my commitment to this community. Money is always a most significant issue in local government. While budgets are projected to remain tight, I feel that Northborough is very favorably situated to maintain services. We need to keep control of expenditures, and seek equitable ways to raise revenues to address the needs of our residents. I'll also strive to have Northborough's interests considered in any discussion regarding state local aid and school construction reimbursements. And I will work to assure that mitigation monies on large projects like the Loop are received in a timely fashion to match the town's related cost burdens. Shrewsbury School Committee Sandra Fryc
Sandra Fryc has announced her candidacy for a seat on the Shrewsbury School Committee. Sandra is entering the race for School Committee because she believes all children deserve a quality education. "One of the greatest returns we can expect from our investment in education is students who achieve success and, in turn, continue to invest in our town and our country. This return is more difficult to obtain with the uncertain future faced by our schools," Sandra said. "I am committed to listening to the concerns of all members of the community and to work collaboratively with the town boards in order to continue to provide the children of our town with a quality education." Sandra has a BS in Business Management and an MBA. She is a Senior Dispute Resolution Consultant for Unum Insurance. Her volunteer roles include School Council member on Floral, Sherwood and Oak School Councils, and she is a long-standing member of the Shrewsbury School Committee's Coordinating Council. She has been a Town Meeting Member since 2003. Sandra's skills in finance, mediation and communication, her years of experience specific to Shrewsbury schools and government make her an excellent candidate for a seat on the Shrewsbury School Committee. John Martin
My name is John Martin and I am a candidate for Shrewsbury's School Committee. My wide range of experiences includes six years as an instructor and school manager in the U.S. Navy, which has given me the opportunity to learn about a successful school system. I have observed the Shrewsbury's school district for ten years. I have the right qualities for the position and will work hard to advocate for the students in town. I will bring a fresh perspective to addressing the challenges facing our schools. I am running on a platform that maintains we can educate all students within a balanced town budget. One of my priorities is for all students to obtain at least proficiency on MCAS. I am also an advocate for earlier instructional intervention to assist students not obtaining proficiency or advanced scores. I want there to be zero dropouts in Shrewsbury. If elected to the School Committee, I will work hard, listen, study the issues, attend meetings and do whatever I can to build a closer relationship between the School Committee and all members of the community. I am optimistic that working together we can achieve these goals. Mark Murray Incumbent
While serving on the school committee for the past 12 years, I've gained invaluable experience and perspective. I've demonstrated a willingness to work together in a collegial manner with my colleagues on the school committee and with other boards in town. I have the capacity, commitment and vision to further move our school district ahead in achieving excellence. My personal qualities include experience, perspective, leadership, collegiality, commitment and vision. Moving forward, we are faced with a myriad of challenges related to inadequate and insufficient education funding at the state and local level. I will remain vigilant and pro-active in my eff orts to seek more funding for our schools while always continuing to find new ways to "do more with less." The reality of today's overcrowded classrooms, not enough classroom aid support, excessive athletic, activity and transportation fees, too many study halls at the high school, not enough AP classes to meet the growing demand, no significant funding for technology and diminished allocations for textbook and classroom materials is not only unacceptable, it's reached the level of being intolerable and incomprehensible for a school district such as ours. Clearly, I will support an override because it will begin to address some of these issues but only for the short term. As a community, we need to be more pro-active in developing a long-term plan that will address and resolve our structural deficit. If not, the gap will continue to widen every year between revenues and expenses, leading us back to the same situation we are faced with today. As an elected official, I will continue to lead the effort to focus the discussion on finding solutions that meet the needs of the entire community. Anything less is selling our kids, schools and community short. Southborough School Committee Jack Kessler Incumbent
My first experience on a local School Committee began in 2000 when I was elected to the Regional School Committee. In 2005 I served as chair of the Southborough K8 committee. Substantial change inside and outside our schools has transpired during the intervening years. Internally, our schools have clearly advanced. After an uncertain and difficult time several years ago, we now have leadership clearly dedicated to academic improvement while working in a fully cooperative manner with municipal leaders. The School Committee has fostered site-based management in our K8 system by placing a greater emphasis on the School Council; this, in turn, has increased the visibility and influence of parents. The majority of the Regional School Committee is truly committed to self reflection in an effort to improve academics; an Academic Rigor committee has been formed to examine and challenge our current practices and thoughts. The most significant change in the science curriculum to occur in over two decades is the first product of this mindset. However, our school system is plagued by the external economic factors facing educational systems throughout the Commonwealth and our country. Unfunded legal and educational mandates have escalated dramatically along with health care costs, utility expenses, and salaries. The year-over-year increase necessary to fund a level-services budget is about two times the prop 2½ limit. With regard to educational services, a School Committee is merely a conduit for the political aspirations and goals of parents. The Southborough K8 has consistently encouraged parents to become involved in the political decisions that determine how tax monies are allocated. Susan Ruane
I have lived in Southborough for sixteen years. My children have been through the whole K-12 system. My daughter graduated from Algonquin in 1998. The graduation was in a sweaty, too small gym. My younger daughter was in the old Woodward School for first grade; they wore their parkas and hats in class to keep warm. Thankfully, the town now has modern beautiful facilities. As a parent, I have been involved in the schools, both in the classroom (library volunteer, room parent, team resource, Community Reading Day) and for extracurricular events (Trottier Community Service Club, 8th grade banquet, etc.) for the past ten years. I have co-chaired Trottier School Council since 2005 (part of the No Child Left Behind act) and I think I have a solid understanding of what the educators and children need and want to continue the town's legacy of excellence in the schools. One of the challenges facing us is, of course, maintaining the student-teacher ratios during hard economic times. This year's budget did not allow the hire of a middle school teacher even though incoming 6th and 8th grades will have more than 180 students each. Consequently, some 8th-grade classes may have over 35 students in the fall. I shall work hard to strike a balance between the taxpayers' and the students' needs. Editor's note: Southborough School Committee candidate Kathleen Harragan did not submit a statement. |
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