Public Comments - December 18, 2024

Along with a couple of my colleagues on the School Committee, I attended the initial meeting of the Steering Committee to map out the vision of the district. It was a great turnout with representation from across the community. The Executive Team laid out what seems to be a solid plan, and I’m glad Dr. Ware has commissioned this work.

I also want to extend my gratitude to the folks at Barry Elementary who welcomed me for a visit yesterday. Principal Lambert took me on a tour and provided some insight about the happenings. I was very impressed by the work they’re doing.

It was fantastic to see that we have competent people in place, but my visit highlighted the infrastructure issues that we face in the district. We’ve recently discussed the age of the schools and the great work the facilities team has been doing to make improvements. There are some sticky issues in addressing Barry’s needs, and every school has their wishlist of improvements, but I’d like to see our students attending top-notch schools: we have great people, we need to have great physical spaces.

Entering into 2025, whether you believe we are remaining great, returning to a lost greatness, or achieving it for the first time, we must keep in mind that greatness comes from sustained effort. We can be great. We need the collective will to invest in our nation, our Commonwealth, and our city. We need to prioritize the long-term best interest of our students by investing in our infrastructure and bringing in more great people to fill our staffing vacancies.

I want to extend my gratitude to the teachers, administration, staff, and all the employees of the district. May you all find time to share joy with loved ones and to rest and recharge over the upcoming break.