The Harvard Press put out a survey through Nextdoor, Facebook, and the Press website asking residents what they were looking for in candidates for various town positions. Based on those responses, the Press posed questions by email to candidates for Select Board, School Committee, and Warner Free Lecture and Harvard Public Library trustees.
SusanMary Redinger
Candidate for Select Board
SusanMary Redinger moved to Harvard in 2006. She served more than 12 years on the School Committee, seven of them as chair while she simultaneously chaired the School Building Committee for the new Hildreth Elementary School. She has been a member of the Capital Planning and Investment Committee, the Devens Jurisdiction Committee, and the 2016 Master Plan Steering Committee.
Q:
Our town faces the challenges of long-term residents who want little change and low taxes and a newer population that wants growth and improvements. At the same time there is lower attendance at Town Meeting and fewer volunteers. How can you increase engagement to ensure that the voices of all people are reflected in the decisions of the Select Board?
I would suggest to Select Board members that we try some of the things that have been successfully implemented in the schools, such as frequent community forums and surveys to gain input from residents on issues; exploring ways that social media might be a beneficial avenue for sharing information; and regular updates from the board out to the community. All voices need to take part in these discussions to find the right balance for Harvard between frugality and investing in improvements.
Q:
A number of residents expressed concern about what they see as “combative relationships” among the Select Board, the school district, and other town boards. Do you agree with this perception, and if so, how would you restore a sense of collegiality and partnership?
In an era of Zoom meetings, I think we’ve lost some of the benefits of sitting down in person to discuss issues outside of regular meetings. I’ve long suggested that the chairs of the Select Board, School Committee, and the Finance Committee meet throughout the year to see what information would be useful to share with one another and how they might work collaboratively together to help each committee achieve their goals, etc. I would expand the gathering to include the new town administrator and the school superintendent to ensure the success of the new administrator and to address whatever misunderstandings or challenges that have resulted in discord between boards and departments.
Q:
Do you share a concern about the state of our playing fields and if so, how reasonable is it for Harvard to keep up its playing fields to the same standard as towns with a more extensive tax base?
What Harvard needs are fields that allow residents, children, and students to practice and compete on fields that are safe and playable. The lack of adequate fields has been a known problem for over a decade, and every study done has confirmed the need for at least one, if not two, additional fields. Whether it is the need for more fields, renovating the DPW building, expanding the fire station, replacing the outdated air handlers at Bromfield, or a myriad of other important and desired services and facilities, Harvard’s residents will continue to be challenged with determining what is “reasonable” and what is “affordable.”
Laurie Lingham
Candidate for Library Trustee
Laurie Lingham (write-in campaign) has lived in Harvard for 28 years. She has been active with the Friends of Harvard Public Library and a volunteer for recycling at the Transfer Station and on the Fourth of July Committee.
Q:
What are some of the roles and responsibilities of a trustee and how are you qualified to fulfill them?
The role of the trustees is to govern, overseeing library policy and funds. Most of my career was spent in libraries of various sorts, including the Harvard Pulbic Library, as children’s librarian. I managed two school libraries for the bulk of my career, so I have extensive experience managing a library’s budget and creating programs and curricula to meet pedagogic needs. With budget pressures on the one hand and the needs of library users on the other, I have a firsthand understanding of the balancing act required.
Q:
How do you think the library can best position itself for future growth, given competing budget pressures?
The library is a vital community resource, potentially serving every single Harvard resident. That message should be shouted from the rooftops. Growth should involve reaching everyone. A larger user base may result in a greater sense of the collective vested interest in our public library.
Q:
Do you support increasing the open hours of the library, and if so, how would you do it?
Increasing library hours has been a longtime concern. I need to know more about the costs and benefits of an increase.
Steve Peisch and Billy Salter
Candidates for Warner Free Lecture Trustee
Steve Peisch (write-in campaign) has lived in Still River for 40 years. He taught music at Hildreth and Bromfield schools before becoming chair of the arts department and music director at Lawrence Academy, and he has given several composition concerts in town. Peisch was on the Fourth of July Committee for several years and helped fundraise for the Evergreen Garden School, which began in Harvard.
Billy Salter (write-in campaign) has lived in Harvard for 36 years. He has been active on several committees and task forces concerning the town center.
Q:
How can you best fulfill the role of a Warner Free Lecture trustee? What ideas do you have for attracting younger audiences and partnering with other town organizations?
Peisch: I joined the Warner Free Lecture series as a trustee three years ago, and I have enjoyed helping to select, advertise, and produce the various presentations. Our board functions well; our audiences have been terrific; and I have great respect for Mary Wilson, our town librarian, who graciously hosts our series in Volunteers Hall—a wonderful space, with excellent audio-visual capacity and a wonderful piano. I hope to keep working on this board for the next three years.
We hope to attract more high school- and college-age people to our presentations, as well as more people in their 30s and 40s, and I hope to make even more sophisticated audio recordings of the excellent music concerts that have become part of our culture.
Salter: I’m hoping to be returned to the Warner Free Lecture board via write-ins, which is how I was elected three years ago.
It’s a challenging job, getting interesting speakers who will appeal to a range of town citizens, are not strongly political, and are willing to talk for the very constrained honorarium we can offer under the terms of Warner’s 19th-century bequest. So no best-selling authors, famous TED talkers, or celebrities.
Katy Covino and Liz Joyce
Candidates for School Committee
Katy Covino has lived in Harvard for 14 years. She has served on both the Hildreth and Bromfield school councils, and during the pandemic she was asked by Superintendent Linda Dwight to co-chair the Remote Advisory Council. Covino has coached soccer, helped out at school plays, been a judge for Destination Imagination, and served in various roles for organizations and groups in town.
Liz Joyce has been in Harvard for a little over two years. She was elected to the Hildreth Elementary School Council in January 2023 and appointed to the School Committee last October when a member stepped down.
Q:
What do you think are the biggest challenges facing our students and what actions will you take to help them meet those challenges?
Covino: Throughout my 20 years as an educator, I have become aware of the many challenges facing our students, our teachers, and our schools. I started teaching high school English in Austin, Texas. Since then, I earned my masters and doctoral degrees. Currently, I am a tenured English professor at Fitchburg State University, where, as the co-chair of the middle and secondary education program area of study, I mentor and support the next generation of teachers. In this role, I have seen that schools are asked to do more and more for the communities they serve, but they are not always funded in ways that ensure consistent and lasting success.
Joyce: There are many challenges facing Harvard students from the broad and overwhelming, (e.g. the climate crisis, the national and international socio-political landscape) to the individual and near term (e.g. balancing school work and extracurriculars, navigating social dynamics, and mental health challenges). The most important action I can take, as a School Committee member, is to engage in all related meetings, communications, and commitments with a curious mind, leading with a spirit of transparency, and prioritizing direct communication.
Q:
People expressed concerns about the budget. What ideas do you have for prioritizing needs?
Covino: The budget of our schools and our town should reflect our mission and values. If we are truly committed to diversity, inclusivity, rigor, care, and belonging, we need to fund the schools in a way that prioritizes positions and programs that reflect these goals. In my view, level-funding is not always sufficient. We must be forward thinking and proactive.
Joyce: Having just experienced my first budget season as a School Committee member, I understand folks having concerns about the budget—the enormity of a school district’s budget (even a district as small as the Harvard public schools) is overwhelming and hard to fully digest. I was impressed with the organized and meticulous approach Dr. Dwight’s team, most notably Ingrid Nilsson, took to creating a zero-based budget, as well as the hours of work put in by the School Committee’s budget subcommittee. My bias (having worked in education for over 17 years) is that program should always come first; when we prioritize our program, we prioritize our students. Prioritizing program also means prioritizing our educators and all they need to deliver the high quality education they do; this includes evidence-based curricula, technology, accessibility needs, and the like. Having only served on the School Committee for six months, I am still learning as I go; that said, I think centering our students and our educators will continue to be the most useful compass when prioritizing budgetary needs.
Q:
Several people mentioned a controversy over evidence-based learning. Can you explain what that is and your position on the issue?
Covino: Evidence-based learning is something I know well. My work as an educator reflects my deep belief in the power, potential, and promise of public education. I am interested in supporting the administration and the faculty in our district as they pilot new schedules, experiment with new initiatives, and field test new teaching strategies to increase the engagement, learning, and belonging for all our students. Currently, I am a research partner on a number of active studies. One research project is investigating how the tools of transformative, anti-racist pedagogy can be used in English classrooms across different age levels to increase connection and belonging. The other study is exploring the ways in which allyship can be a tool of English teachers to build community with parents, guardians, and stakeholders in a time of scrutiny and censorship.
I outline these studies here to share my familiarity with the research processes in education. As in any field, educators must be encouraged and supported in innovation with the goal of continuous improvement. That said, we should be equally committed to a reflective and evaluative review of our findings to ensure that we understand what is working and what continues to need refinement.
Joyce: Simply put, evidence-based learning, or evidence-based education, is an approach to education grounded in research. When utilizing an evidence-based approach, one is pulling from empirical data, researched processes, and a deep vault of academic literature. I am in full support of an evidence-based approach to education. As it relates to my role on the School Committee, my job is not to choose curricula but rather to support Dr. Dwight and her leadership team as they do so. They are the experts who have ensured our schools are among the strongest in the commonwealth year after year.
