Harvard benefits greatly from having Stu Sklar on School Committee. I appreciate his forthright, direct manner and ability to solve problems. Stu understands that financial management is a major component of serving on School Committee, given that the schools constitute 70 percent of Harvard’s budget. He not only talks the talk, but walks the walk, as Harvard’s representative to the Suburban Coalition. The Suburban Coalition, which Stu persuaded our Board of Selectmen to join, is a statewide group of elected officials from towns like ours that lobbies Beacon Hill on our behalf. Setting a floor for state aid to local school districts is one of their signal accomplishments to date, which has benefited Harvard.
Because of Stu’s focus on the larger economic picture, he has never pitted senior citizens in town against parents of school-aged children. Though I no longer have children in our schools, I firmly believe our community is a better place to live because of our excellent school system, a sentiment shared by many of my friends. It takes the ingenuity and tenacity of local officials like Stu Sklar to keep Harvard vital and diverse, and I for one am glad to endorse him in the next election.
Janice Goodell
Hillcrest Drive
