I strongly believe that public education is an essential cornerstone of our democracy and is worth our investment as a community.

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I have supported every major public school project since moving to Westwood over 20 years ago and I will do everything I can to support the School Committee’s efforts to move this project forward.  

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The quality of our schools directly affects our local real estate market.  Community investments in our schools pay dividends which are reflected in our home values.

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Of course, rising property taxes also affect these values.

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I will work closely with the School Committee to evaluate the cost of the proposed project, and the population projections on which it is based, in order to be sure that we are investing in buildings of an appropriate scale.

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I will compare the scale and cost of our proposed school (and municipal) projects to those of similar projects in similar towns.

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I will pay close attention to the firms the Town plans to hire for these projects.  

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I will share with residents every other capital project - school or municipal - that is on the horizon for the next 10 (maybe more) years.  I do not support the piecemeal approach to getting residents to approve one project at a time without having access to the “Big Picture.”

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Here are some specific things I’ve done to support our public schools:

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• I worked to support the “Original Works” program at Martha Jones, which used student-created, curriculum-based artwork to produce keepsakes which raised over $1000 per year for the PTO.   The teachers, students, and families loved it.  

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• When our family moved, I introduced the Original Works program to the Deerfield School community, where it was equally popular and successful. 

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• I worked closely with other volunteers at Deerfield to run a very profitable after-school enrichment program known as “mini courses.”  For a reasonable fee, we offered a variety of high quality, on-site, afterschool enrichment activities for students, including sports and games, knitting, playing chess, debating, and cooking.  This labor-intensive group effort raised thousands of dollars for the Deerfield PTO, supported working parents, and provided our kids with many happy afternoons together.  

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• I worked closely with school administration and another parent, who is a Master Gardener, to make the Deerfield school garden a reality.  

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• I worked with other parent volunteers to plan, scrap, and plan again a memorable community celebration to celebrate the 5th graders who were “moving up” to middle school during the COVID shutdown, and created a slideshow documenting their school experience and highlighting each student individually.  ​

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• I was co-president of the Thurston PTO during Principal Mike Redmon’s first year.   My most lasting contribution in that role was working with the School Committee to successfully add, on a permanent basis, a 3rd guidance counselor.  Previously, there had been only 2 guidance counselors for the entire Middle School, which I found grossly inadequate.

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