Four jockey for two at-large seats on Worcester School Committee
WORCESTER — When voters fill precincts this fall for the election, their list of School Committee candidates is going to look smaller compared to past years.
While all School Committee members were previously at-large, there are now only two seats out of the nine-member body. The rest, labeled Districts A through F, will be represented by one member and the mayor serving as the chair of the committee.
The four members running for the two at-large seats include incumbent members Laura Clancey, Sue Mailman and Tracy O’Connell Novick, as well as Maureen Binienda, the former Worcester Public Schools superintendent.
The four candidates shared why they decided to run, their priorities and why voters should choose them on Nov. 7.
Laura Clancey
Age: 45
Education: Bachelor's degree from Worcester State University, M.A. from American International College
Occupation: Counselor working with youth in juvenile system throughout Central Massachusetts
As a parent of students in the school district, an educator working in schools throughout the region and an incumbent member of the School Committee, choosing to run for reelection was an easy decision for Laura Clancey.
Drawing from all of those perspectives, she said, have helped guide her work as a current member and helped shape her priorities as a candidate.
“There's a lot of things that I'm well versed in,” Clancey said. “I’ve helped create some policies and looked at budgetary items as our top priorities for the school district, and those experiences that I've had with those things have been very important.”
Because she works in schools and the nature of her work, as well as being a parent of children in the district, Clancey said school safety is her first priority.
She said she has a “broad spectrum” of what is going on in schools but is looking forward to receiving the safety audit in November so she and the committee can see what the district needs to prioritize.
She is also focused on “being a sounding board” for families and maintaining close communication with them.
Clancey said people feel comfortable reaching out to her with their concerns, not only because she is on the committee but because she has knowledge about things like working with students who have individualized education plans or helping students with behavior issues.
“I think people feel very confident reaching out to me and asking for some help. I’m very responsive to people when they reach out,” Clancey said. “And because I’m a parent, and because of my role as an educator, I'm very well versed in all the hot topics that surround the school district.”
One of the reasons she decided to run for School Committee in the past was because she felt there was a lack of “parent voice.” Although the committee has improved since then, and developed into a strong group with diverse voices, she wants to make sure that is maintained.
She also wants to continue working to support the superintendent, she said.
“What they were able to accomplish in that one year was incredible to me, and I think supporting the initiatives is so important, because we've seen huge changes in our district,” Clancey said. “Her (Superintendent Rachel Monárrez's) administration team is moving forward and I want to help keep that momentum going.”
And while she is coming up against two of her co-members and a former superintendent, Clancey feels confident voters will vote for her this fall. Not only because of her priorities and the work she’s done since becoming a member, but also because she brings an “interesting perspective” to the committee.
“I’m in the school buildings, I’m a parent, I’m also PTO (parent teacher organization) president at Nelson Place (School),” Clancey said. “I know our students, I know today's students, I understand.”
Maureen Binienda
Age: 69
Education: B.S. and master's from Fitchburg State University, master's from Harvard University Graduate School of Education
Occupation: Interim superintendent of Easthampton Public School District
With nearly five decades of experience in education and a career that has included stints as a teacher, principal and superintendent, the next natural step, Maureen Binienda said, is School Committee member.
And although she is coming up against three incumbent members for one of two at-large seats, the former superintendent of Worcester Public Schools feels confident that both her previous work in the district and community and her priorities will push voters to cast their ballot for her in November.
“What I know most about is school,” Binienda said. “I have so much experience in so many areas that I draw from every single day. And it's because of the time I spent in Worcester Public Schools and the various positions I held.”
Four of Binienda’s priorities are looking at policies to improve school safety, developing academic success and improving equity in schools, budget accountability and then strengthening school-community partnerships.
Having also worked as interim superintendent for two other districts in Massachusetts, Binienda said she has different safety policies and protocols Worcester could draw from to improve safety for students and staff.
“They have to have a safe school environment so that staff can teach and kids can learn,” she said.
Binienda also wants to focus on making sure that students are being given the tools and resources they need to be academically successful and that they have equitable access to those things.
One of her top priorities, she said, is focusing on the budget and making sure that is being allocated appropriately toward the district’s priorities, while also meeting the needs of students and staff.
“Going from Worcester’s large budget, to Quaboag’s $21 million and Easthampton’s $30 million budget, is amazing to me because, even with all of that, there still isn’t enough,” Binienda said. “Budget is so key to what opportunities we can provide for students, and that has to be a priority.”
But one way to make sure the budget is meeting the needs of the district and its students and staff, she said, is working with the community and forming partnerships with organizations and businesses.
Those partnerships can be helpful with providing the district resources and also creating opportunities for internships, volunteering and community services, and networking with professionals and politicians.
But while she hopes people will vote for her because of her priorities and vision of what she wants to achieve as a School Committee member, Binienda also hopes voters look to her experience.
“Certainly some of the other candidates have limited experience, but none of them have worked 48 years in public education,” Binienda said. “Not one person has my experience.”
Sue Mailman
Age: 61
Education: MBA from Northeastern University
Occupation: Owner and president of Coghlin Electrical Contractors
While she’s proud of the work she accomplished in her first two years as a School Committee member, incumbent Sue Mailman said it wasn’t enough to truly see the impact of everything she and the other members have done thus far.
She wants to help push the district forward, she said, and is excited about the possibilities the future brings with both new district leadership and also the members due to join with the new districts.
“Everybody is running to make our system the best it can be, and I am very excited by these people, and I enjoy working with them,” Mailman said. “Why wouldn't you want to be part of helping?”
She said that many of her priorities have not changed since first running for School Committee, with her continuing to focus on forming and maintaining community partnerships, building an educator workforce and making sure the superintendent has the ability to do the work the committee hired her to do.
“Which is really to transform this district, so that families understand that they're sending their kids to schools that are just excellent,” Mailman said.
Additionally, she said, vocational education remains at the “front and center” of her mind. She said she wants to make sure that Worcester Technical High School, as well as the district’s comprehensive high schools, continue to see their vocational programs evolve and improve.
Mailman wants to make sure programs are offering students job and career readiness opportunities, including those outside of the traditional four-year degree. She also wants to see other things available to students like early college programs and project-based learning opportunities to help keep them engaged and succeeding academically.
Her next priority is to look into the district’s “crumbling” buildings and not only push people to pay attention but also to invest into repairing them. She said there are opportunities due to things like the Student Opportunity Act and infrastructure dollars.
She also pointed to legislation proposed by Sen. Ed Markey that would invest $1.6 trillion over the next decade into the nation’s public school system for revitalization and upgrades.
“We’re all on board with that,” Mailman said. “This is the time and place to make a difference with this and get everyone else on board.”
Mailman said that when voters cast their ballots this fall, they not only look toward her willingness to collaborate with people but also her experience.
“I think what sets me apart is my experience — my business experience, my community partnership experience — and my willingness and interest and excitement about working with the next generation of elected leaders,” Mailman said. “I have time in my life to be able to devote the time I think these jobs take.”
Tracy O’Connell Novick
Age: 50
Education: B.A. from Smith College, M.A. in teaching from Boston University
Occupation: Field director for Central Massachusetts, focused on school finance, Massachusetts Association of School Committees
For Tracy O’Connell Novick, running for reelection is both a chance to bring her skills and knowledge back to the committee and to ensure that the work that’s been started by Monárrez’s administration can be “carried forward.”
“This is the chance for Worcester to say, the really strong work that's been going on from Dr. Monárrez and her team, as backed up by the School Committee, is something that they want to see carried forward into the next several years,” O’Connell Novick said.
One of O’Connell Novick’s priorities, she said, is working on the district’s new strategic plan, which she said will serve as the “underlying basis” for the superintendent’s goals and district goals.
She wants to make sure the work being done by the committee is “being faithful” to things they’ve done, like the climate and culture overhaul, the ongoing work to diversify the district’s staff, and focusing on student literacy and “how the schools are relating to our students.”
For her second priority, O’Connell Novick said that, because of the reworking of the committee, it will be important to make sure the group is able to continue operating as a working body, like the current committee, in the first couple of months.
“Everyone on the committee has actually gone through mandatory state training. We've done a fairly good job of making sure that we stay in our lane, and that we keep our eyes on the realms that are ours, in terms of policy and budget, and goals,” she said.
Facilities is not only O’Connell’s third priority but also a topic she has spoken about for years, and a topic in which she sees multiple issues that need to be addressed.
The first is that the $4 million capital budget funds is “incredibly inadequate” for the capital work the district’s buildings need, she said, while the second thing is that the state needs to concentrate funding for school buildings into the state’s Gateway cities.
“We have obviously had an excellent partnership with the MSBA (Massachusetts School Building Authority). I think the world of their work,” O’Connell Novick said. “But we have essentially the same issue that we had with the Student Opportunity Act, which is that we have communities that are least able to fund that have the largest number of schools.”
The third point is that federal programs are also needed to help fund school building projects, as it is not only an issue of infrastructure but also potentially a civil rights issue, due to how some buildings are structured, she said.
“When we invoke civil rights, right, it's when we have created a structure that not only creates inequity but perpetuates inequity,” O’Connell Novick said. “With the way that most school buildings across the country are funded, most school buildings across the country are funded at the local level, and that means that poor communities are simply less able to fund.”
And traditionally, she said, when there are issues involving education, the federal government steps in.
O’Connell Novick said that, when voters cast their votes this fall, she hopes they not only look at her priorities but also her skills and experiences and the knowledge she brings to the role.
“One of the things that I bring is my larger scope, in terms of policy, budget and the perspective of how Worcester relates more largely to the state and the federal government,” she said. “I wanted to make sure that that was something that I could continue moving forward.”
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This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Laura Clancey Sue Mailman Maureen Binienda Tracy O’Connell Novick
