Rob Stevenson
We are now less than a week away from election day! I have thoroughly enjoyed being involved with this process over the last couple of weeks. The support I have received from my friends and all the members of this community, that I have met in the eleven years since I have moved to town, has been overwhelmingly positive and very appreciated.
I have had so many people thank me for stepping up to run for this position. I know that I can be a positive addition to our School Committee. I can leverage my problem-solving skills and my experience
in healthcare and management to help improve the educational experience for our children. I will also be a strong advocate for the parents of this community by making sure that their views are not overlooked.
When a system or process is placed under stress it usually clearly identifies the weaknesses that exist in it. This last year certainly identified the following areas that clearly need to be a focus of our School Committee.
• Communication – Improve the quality and timing of the information provided.
• Transparency – We need to have clear information provided as to the why and how these
decisions are made.
• Objective Decision-making process – We need to rely less on emotion and use the data that is
available to be able to make commonsense decisions that will benefit and not penalize our
children.
The frustration that I see is that these issues listed above are not new and have been identified in many previous campaigns. Last year clearly exposed that these weaknesses still exist. I will work diligently to hold the Administration accountable and work with other school committee members and the Superintendent so that processes can be created and implemented so these long-standing issues can finally be resolved.
Unlike others that have voiced these same concerns in the past, I know that I can make positive improvements in these areas. Since the beginning of this school year, I have already been able to make an impact from outside the system as a parent. This has not been an easy process, but I do not give up very easily. With more than 25 emails and multiple phone calls, I was able to accomplish some significant results that you may not be aware of.
1. Transparency – I was able to successfully have the school district add the negotiated agreement
with the teachers (MOA) that they signed in Sept, to the school website, within a few days after
filing a FOIA request.
2. Accountability and Communication – I was able to have a meeting with the Chairman in the fall,
to review my concerns pertaining to the lack of communication from the district to the parents.
At the very next school committee meeting the Superintendent made a public apology to the
parents for not informing the community of the details of the MOA in a timely manner.
3. Communication and Transparency – I was able to have a call with the Superintendent, where we
reviewed the communication that had been sent out concerning Snow Days. This resulted in a
more detailed email that was released when the next snow related issue occurred.4. Objective Decision-making process – I sent an email to the Athletic Director asking for him to
reconsider allowing parents to attend the home games for the Fall 2 season. With that email I
included the regulations from the MIAA and outlined a rational that clearly identified how we
could allow spectators and still be well within the MIAA suggested occupancy levels. Within a
little over a week, we received notification that parents would be allowed to attend home
games. I received an email from the Athletic Director thanking me for my input and indicating
that my email was instrumental in allowing this request to be approved.
I am requesting the opportunity to allow me to continue to make these types of positive improvements from the inside. For this to happen I need your support and your votes on May 11th. Please share this post with your friends and help me add a voice to this committee that will be there to advocate and represent all the parents and children of our town.
Thank You,
Robert Stevenson
