After reading the September 14 article on the citizens’ petition seeking School Committee censure and listening to fellow townspeople address this over the past week or so, I offer the following clarifications.
The petition identifies several actions and implies that these actions were ill-timed, due to an alleged state Ethics Commission investigation. First, none of us knows there is such an ongoing investigation; in fact, it’s the Ethics Commission’s policy to neither confirm nor deny such investigations. Second, the town’s external financial audit report was appropriately presented to the selectmen, not the School Committee, for response. It didn’t, and shouldn’t, color the superintendent’s contract renewal process, which is standard operating procedure at the two-year mark.
The decision to renew the superintendent’s contract was well-articulated by Willie Wickman, chairwoman of the School Committee, so I won’t restate those comments here. I would agree on one point within the petition: our schools indeed require favorable consideration from the state government, soon, to mitigate our financial challenges.
I urge those who signed the petition, those who wonder if they should have, and anyone else not yet involved, to visit SOSHarvard.org and learn more about the group’s lobbying efforts and how we can work together for positive change. Most recently, Bruce Leicher and I spent September 12 on Beacon Hill testifying in support of Senate Bill 291, which, if passed, would give Harvard an additional $313,000 for the current fiscal year.
Lastly, I urge you to know the facts, stay informed, and question unsupported rumors being passed along as facts.
See you at Town Meeting!
Stu Sklar
Scott Road
Editor’s note: Stu Sklar is a member of the School Committee.
