So, just what does a School Committee member do? What are the limits to the committee’s authority over the administration of the schools? What are the boundaries to its lane? What constitutes an overreach?
There’s probably no one in Massachusetts who has spent more time around school committees than Glenn Koocher, the longtime executive director of the Massachusetts Association of School Committees. MASC is a clearinghouse for all things school committee. It holds training sessions for newly elected school committee members and educational programs for incumbents. Koocher has led MASC since 2000 and also served 12 years on the Cambridge School Committee.
“The school committee is the legislature for the school department,” Koocher answered when asked to describe its role. “The superintendent is the executive.”
Asked how a job description for a school committee member might read, Koocher said the main jobs are budget and policy. The single biggest task is hiring, evaluating and possibly firing the superintendent.
Curriculum, he said, is mostly in the domain of the administration.
“We opine at this association that if curriculum is of a major nature, and is of interest to the entire community — like sex education, or even some of the major controversial questions around curriculum itself — that the School Committee may want to weigh in,” he said.
The Observer asked the five candidates for School Committee how they see the job. This includes two candidates who’ve been doing it for a while, incumbents Andrea Longo Carter (nine years) and Alisa Skatrud (three years), and three challengers who’d be new to the board, Sri Baqri, Scott Marder and Leanne Ratti.
ALISA SKATRUD
“Our job is policy, and there’s an awful lot that is driven by policy. There’s a lot that is driven by broad strategic planning.”
“But the job also has its limits. The committee is really not a shadow superintendent.”
The School Committee role “is not a matter of opinion on how involved the School Committee gets in the day-to-day. That is a matter of state law. It’s a matter of Needham School Committee policy. We don’t get involved.”
“My view on literacy is nuanced. I think that there are plenty of issues to move the ball forward regarding literacy. And I don’t think that the most important issue is the selection of the curriculum. I think there are issues around practice, around early identification of struggling readers, around how much time we are spending in the elementary school on the LA (Language Arts) block, around how quickly we are getting kids interventions and how willing we are to accept scores for some of our subgroups that are not as high as they should be.
“I look at MCAS data and I see no evidence that our current LA scores — which by the way, are like top 20 in the state — are being impacted by adopting ‘Units of Study’ (the controversial literacy curriculum). We have already remediated the worst parts of it in terms of always having a strong evidence-based phonics program. The most problematic part of Lucy Caulkins is not in the school system anymore.”
LEANNE RATTI
“The role of the School Committee is really ensuring that our educational system is effective, transparent and responsive to the needs of our students, families and communities. This can come in the form of thoughtful questions, guidance and oversight, especially regarding major district initiatives. Literacy is a major district initiative. This is critical. I’ve done a deep dive on the law, on school committee and responsibilities, I do think this is a broad systemwide curriculum issue.”
On parents making specific suggestions on which curricula to implement and when: “When Literacy Coalition members say schools should buy a particular curriculum at a particular price and do it now, I think they were offering alternatives and solutions that cost less, knowing that there’s a budget deficit. I, personally, as a School Committee candidate, I’ve only advocated for the criteria of the curriculum, not naming a particular curricula. We must include the whole school community in that decision. I do feel that our current School Committee has chosen not to take the responsibility of talking about curriculum.”
“I have a background in special education and an ESL teacher. I know what it’s like to navigate the challenges of our school system, both from the perspective of a parent and educator.”
“There’s been so much focus on literacy and, and I appreciate that. But I do have other priorities, like community engagement. I feel that our schools will work best when the community’s involved as much as possible.”
SCOTT MARDER
“I always associate it with budget first. And then certainly advocating for your students, for your educators, for your families. Advocating is probably a really, really important role that I think is kind of understated a little bit. One of the things that I had advocated for was the NEDP (Needham Extended Day Program). I got pushback that the School Committee doesn’t deal with them directly. I totally agree with that. They don’t. But it’s still something that really impacts the students and the families.”
On literacy pilot: “I know there’s been a lot of controversy with the whole literacy curriculum right now, and I agree with the School Committee members in that they’re doing the right thing right now. They’re piloting the program as they should be. They’re going to take the data from that and then make an informed decision.
“I will say though, that there’s so much controversy around the Units of Study revised edition that I don’t think it should be considered, even if the data is slightly better, because there’s such a stigma attached to it.”
On budget: “I wasn’t thrilled that they cut a school psychologist from a 2.0 (FTE) to 1.2 (FTE) this year. That didn’t really sit well with me.”
“One thing, if elected, I would be advocating for is to have office hours when residents can speak with the School Committee. It’s hugely helpful.”
ANDREA LONGO CARTER
“When it comes to the budget, it is the role of School Committee to really dig in. But at the end of the day we’re guided by the educational professionals, led by the superintendent — who we hire, fire and evaluate.”
On curriculum: “We’re advocating for a process to review the curriculum to make sure it’s current, it’s relevant, it has teeth behind it in terms of evidence showing it’s effective. But we’re not the ones picking the specific books. That, to me, is sort of a fundamental difference.”
“Once we have that vision, it’s the job of the School Committee to advocate for the resources we need to achieve the vision.”
On literacy curriculum in particular: “We’ve taken the position, ‘Let’s go through the pilot and really be thoughtful about it.’ Visiting the classrooms, it’s so complex and nuanced. There’s so much to unpack here.
“In talking with teachers, everyone is a little burnt out right now, after COVID and everything. I think it comes down to who gets to pick, and how fast is it going to happen.”
Contract negotiations: “Negotiations doesn’t seem to be out there very much but it’s important. You learn so much by being at the negotiating table and hearing the teachers and the staff talk about what their day-to-day is like. What are the challenges that they’re facing? Where do they need support? What are they struggling with from what’s going on in the classroom?”
SRI BAQRI
“It is important to recognize that School Committee members will approach the job with the best intentions and work together as a team. They are trusted with advocacy and policymaking for the education of our children. Through this they are responsible for the governance as well as direction of the public schools through evaluation and review of educational policies and standards, educational needs, budget, staffing decisions, child and staff well-being and mental health, performance and development. This requires strong teamwork and collaborations with various town governance bodies. Being a member of the School Committee is a public service and means clear communication and working closely with various stakeholders while always keeping in mind that the utmost priority is the success of our children and the public schools.”
“School Committee members bring unique expertise and experiences to the table but act as a single governing body. The recommendation around adopting, changing or implementing curricula comes from the superintendent in partnership with the educators and the committee works based on their recommendation to approve this.”
“Open communication between the community, the superintendent and School Committee members is key at all times, whether there are concerns or feedback.”
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