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Six potential candidates have pulled papers for the Sudbury Public Schools (SPS) School Committee. Incumbent and current-Chair Silvia Nerssessian is joined by official candidate Karyn Jones, and potential candidates Danielle Stackpole, Jean Nam, Carla Curley, and Mary Stephens. If all potential candidates become official candidates, this will be one of the most contested elections in recent memory for any Sudbury board or committee.
The crowded field for SPS School Committee is forming at a time when SPS parent concerns have been bubbling over into public meetings and online forums. Controversies surrounding Valentine’s Day activities, the extended closure of the Loring Elementary School playground, and lack of access to after-school care have been swirling in recent weeks. Last year the SPS budget, an override, and controversy around the district’s handling of Chapter 70 state aid were hot-button issues.
The backdrop for all of these issues is the ongoing student recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, which includes widespread academic, social and emotional challenges across the district according to comments from Superintendent Brad Crozier over the past year.
Whomever wins a seat will also be involved in negotiating the next teacher’s contract. The current contract runs from 2022 to 2025. That contract was finalized in January of 2022, months after the prior contract expired. And the nurse’s contract is still not settled. Notably, the current contract provided teachers a 2% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) each year according to reporting by the MetroWest Daily News. However, inflation wreaked havoc in 2021 and continued to do so after the parties signed the new contract in 2022. Though inflation has softened recently, it remains well above the 2% in the current teacher contract.
The teacher’s strike happening in Newton highlights the impact of inflation on teacher compensation and school budgeting. The Boston Globe reported the Newton Teachers Association wanted a 3-5% salary increase per year for four years, and cited that current increases were not keeping pace with inflation. The Newton Public Schools School Committee proposed 2.5-3.25% for four years, which was heading in the opposite direction, as their current contract provided a 2.5-3.5% increase each year for three years. It’s conceivable that the outcome in Newton may influence the approach of negotiating parties at SPS, though the composition of the SPS school committee at the time of negotiation is a major factor as well.
It’s still early in the local election process, so it’s unclear what platforms the potential candidates will be running on, or what issues will become the focus of their campaigns. But the sheer number of candidates pulling papers signals that change is in the air, at least for some. Furthermore, there’s only one incumbent that has pulled papers, ensuring that at least one member will be new to the committee if the field stays as-is. In contrast, last year’s school committee races were completely uncontested even though three seats were available. Two of the candidates were elected incumbents (Mandy Sim and Sarah Troiano), and one was already serving (Nicole Burnard) after being appointed to fill a vacancy.
The deadline to return completed nomination papers to the Sudbury Town Clerk’s office and L-S District Clerk’s office is this Friday by 5 p.m., at which point the offices will need some time to certify the signatures. Once a candidate is official, they still have the option to withdraw, so there’s still a chance of the field shifting after Friday.