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This is why I chose to apply for the position vacated by Andy Schwarz and I was gratified when my colleagues on the Committee selected me. I am both a lawyer and a psychologist. I have previous governmental experience having served on several town committees in Lincoln. I also served as government relations director of the Massachusetts Psychological Association for 10 years and won several awards for my service. My current position is as a risk management consultant to the American Psychological Association. My primary responsibility is to help psychologists all over the country resolve complex problems with difficult cases. These are the most difficult times for town government that I can remember. LS is now experiencing the large population increase that worked itself through the elementary schools during better financial times. Despite experiencing a growth of 10% over the last two years, town financial pressures have resulted in a 0 increase budget for both years. Given the great increase in health insurance and pension costs, this would have resulted in painful cuts in both staff and program. The Governor’s budget calls for additional financial cuts of over $ 1,000,000. If there is no change, these cuts have a potential to seriously damage the high school. The good news is that the Governor has established a mitigation fund. This fund is available to the towns and the towns have made a preliminary decision to divide this money between the K-8 systems, the town and the high school according to the losses in local aid experienced under the Romney Budget. If this decision holds, LS will only lose another $70,000 to $100,000. The bad news is that this funding is temporary. Secondly, it is uncertain. Both branches of the legislature have to agree to the Romney budget and there are likely to be changes. Further, since the town, rather than the school committee, is the recipient of the mitigation funds, the Romney budget would seem to invalidate the Regional Agreement between Lincoln and Sudbury. This can only be accomplished through accompanying legislation in outside sections of the budget that are not yet available for review. The even more serious problem is that the mitigation fund is intended to be transitional. Most or all of it will disappear in fiscal 05. Unfortunately, what this means is that the primary job of the school committee for the foreseeable future is to determine the best ways to distribute the financial pain. I think the fact that I am both an attorney and a psychologist will be of great assistance. This process will require sharp analytic skills. But good listening skills are even more important. When resources are diminished, there is a great danger of serious acrimony between those who have a claim on those resources. The process must be undertaken with great care to avoid resentment, polarization and personalization that often accompany hard financial decisions. While cuts in all areas will be necessary, my primary commitment is to preserving what is special and irreplaceable, the morale and commitment of the dedicated faculty and administration who have always been willing to go above and beyond what they are paid for to educate and nurture an exceptional group of students. In difficult times, continuity is important. Normally, the period after town meeting is slower, allowing new members to get up to speed on the issues. This year, the lack of a clear idea about how much state aid will be available will greatly increase the complexity and make it harder for new members. I have served on the Committee for almost a year and I am deeply involved in the complex and difficult issues that the school committee must address before the next academic year. I am one of three members of the sub-committee that is negotiating a new three-year contract with the Teachers Association. The chair of that committee, Chuck Schwager, is not seeking reelection. If I am not elected, two thirds of that committee will turn over. The Committee functions most efficiently when there are two members from Lincoln. This is not an issue of political power. The Committee makes most of its decision by consensus. Although the members of the Committee are elected at large, each member feels that they are representing the town in which they live. The time commitment and the amount of information necessary to fully understand the issues is too much for one person to master. Liaison activities with town boards and committees is most effective when performed by town residents. Being the only Committee member from Lincoln is a frustrating and isolating experience. I do not think that passing MCAS or any other high stakes test should be the sole criteria for graduation. The LS administration has worked very hard to make sure that all LS students had the resources necessary to allow them to pass. The program has been very successful. There are only very few seniors who have not yet passed the test. The Committee will be faced with the difficult choice of whether to allow those seniors to graduate and risk the cutoff of the state aid remaining to us. While it is tempting to make a statement of political independence, given our budget situation, I think that we need to comply with existing policy and continue to work for change politically. The school building project must be closely monitored to insure that it is completed on time and occupied in a smooth transition. The current building committee is doing an excellent job but the bad weather and the normal exigencies of such a large project have meant that the construction has fallen behind schedule. The legal requirement that the old building cannot be demolished until the new building is ready for occupancy leaves only a small margin for error.
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