Morgan
Thielman
Thielman, on board since 2003, seeks reelection
UPDATED, Jan. 5: A mother of four who has taught statistics has taken out papers for School Committee as nine-year incumbent Cindy Starks has decided not to run. Meanwhile, longtime incumbent Jeff Thielman seeks reelection.
Jane P. Morgan, a former classroom teacher and a close follower of the Arlington Public Schools, took out nomination papers for School Committee on Wednesday, Jan. 3.
Morgan has served on the Gibbs School Parent Advisory Committee, the Stratton School Rebuild Committee, the Stratton School Parent Council and as the co-president of the Stratton PTO. She also worked extensively on the Build Arlington’s Future debt-exclusion campaign to rebuild or add on to the Gibbs School, the Thompson School, Minuteman Regional Vocational Technical School and the very beginning of the Arlington High School rebuild project.
“Since our oldest daughter, Sarah, began kindergarten in 2012, I have followed goings on in our schools closely,” she wrote Jan. 3, “and over time I have learned that while I very much care about my children’s experiences in school, I am also deeply vested in how all children experience school, especially those whose voices may be softer than mine.
“I am excited to bring my experience as a classroom teacher and a parent to the School Committee where I will advocate for our students, teachers and schools and ask important questions.”
Stepping aside
Starks, who was first elected in 2009 to a committee that had been in some turmoil, wrote Jan. 3 that she is not running. “Time to let younger people with kids in the schools pick up the reins,” she wrote.
Asked to comment about her accomplishments, she wrote: “I feel like what we accomplish we do together as a committee. I think that over the 9 years I have served I have seen us come together to be a stronger committee.
“We have made many changes for the better in our reporting and making our decisions more transparent and inclusive of the community, although we still have work to do on that front. I believe that the strength and commitment of our committee is reflected in how well the Arlington Public Schools are doing.”
Thielman runs again for School Committee
The other incumbent on the School Committee is Jeffrey D. Thielman, and he has taken out nomination papers. The committee chairman, he has served since 2003.
Thielman, president and CEO at International Institute of New England, has posted on his Facebook site all of his reasons for running. Among them are these:
“Every game, concert, theater production and work of art that we see by Arlington students inspires and motivates me to do what I can to help my kids and the 5,000 other children in our schools. I remain amazed and inspired by our students, even more today than in 2003 because today I see things through the eyes of my own children.
“I was elected to Arlington’s Town Meeting in 2001 and to the School Committee in 2003. Every three years I do a lot of deep thinking about whether I still add value to the Arlington School Committee.
“With great humility, I believe I do. For the past decade, our enrollment has been rising, and I’ve played a leading role in addressing this critical issue.
“A multi-year process to rebuild AHS is underway, and the AHS Building Committee elected me its chair last fall. I am committed to leading an inclusive process in which everyone in town is invited to give input and ideas for the new school.
“There are many other issues that are important to me – cultural competence, quality services for ELL and Special Education students, and much more. As a senior member of the committee with management experience in education and human services, I bring insights into how a governing board should support the core functions of a complex organization like the Arlington school district.”
How he’s served
Among Thielman’s roles since 2003 are:
Chair, 2005-06, and 2017-18;
Chaired and served on every subcommittee and played a role in writing and modifying most of the district policies;
Cochaired the 2005 operating override;
Served as the School Committee representative to the Thompson School Building Committee;
Served as School Committee liaison to the Massachusetts School Building Committee for both the Thompson and High School projects;
Played a leading role in the School Enrollment Task Force and was a leader in the successful 2016 debt exclusion vote that supported the Thompson expansion, the Gibbs build-out, the AHS feasibility study and the rebuild of Minuteman Tech.
Selectmen, assessors, housing
For the Board of Selectmen, incumbent Joseph A. Curro Jr., the chairman, announced his bid for reelection Dec. 4 and has taken out papers.
Former Selectman Clarissa Rowe is serving until April in the seat vacated by Steve Byrne, a selectman since 2012 who resigned Dec. 11.
Attorney John V. Hurd, whose father was a selectman, took out papers for selectman Dec. 20.
Also pulling papers for selectman is A. Michael Ruderman, a Town Meeting member and treasurer at ACMi, the town’s cable-TV outlet.
For Board of Assessors, member Kevin Feeley says he plans to seek reelection. He has been on the board since 1986.
As for the Housing Authority, no seats are expected to be open
Town Counsel Doug Heim has provided this explanation to YourArlington:
“The Legislature passed reforms to housing authority boards, including reducing the number of town elected members from 4 to 3 in favor of a tenant election for such seat. The same legislation mandated [the Department of Housing and Community Development] to promulgate regulations for tenant election.
“The DHCD hasn’t approved those regulations yet and, according to MGL c. 121B sec. 5, elected housing authority board members can continue to serve (even through the expiration of their term) while DHCD continues to work on issuing the regulations necessary to have one of those seats be determined by tenant election.”
Heim wrote that he was unsure about the nature of the hold-up is, but in short, we don’t want to have someone elected to a seat that they would then be divested from by a tenant election.
John Griffin, executive director of the local authority, has been asked to comment.
Dec. 20, 2017: Attorney pulls papers for selectman seat
April 6, 2012: Feeley faces up to first opposition in 18 years
This news summary was published Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2018, and updated Jan. 5.
