Brookline School Committee Candidate Pushes Back On Voting Record Criticism

BROOKLINE, MA — A School Committee candidate is responding to criticism levied toward her by local advocacy groups.

Dr. Aylit Schultz sent an email this week to potential voters in the aftermath of statements from members of the town’s Rainbow Caucus and its allies expressing concern about the candidate’s voting record as a Town Meeting member. Article 15 of Brookline’s 2025 Town Meeting centered around the public school district actively observing LGBTQIA+ Pride Month through celebrations and events. Article 29 was a resolution that affirmed the town’s support for transgender, non-binary, and gender diverse students by fostering inclusivity in the district. Schultz reportedly abstained from voting on Article 15 and did not vote on Article 29.

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“We are concerned with the message that electing Aylit Schultz would send to the more than 30 percent of Brookline’s middle school and high school students who identify as LGBTQ+ and who report increased rates of mental health struggles,” the Brookline Rainbow Caucus Allies said in a statement. “Our LGBTQ+ community members deserve our unreserved support at this time of increased hostility from the federal administration.”

The Rainbow Caucus itself said that Schultz has not reached out to them to discuss their concerns. Schultz wrote to the Select Board in March that she did not feel the two articles were not thoughtful, balanced, and grounded in evidence enough to be proposed as public policy.

“I have clear guiding principles with respect to this matter: Brookline must always be a welcoming and respectful community where every person is treated with dignity and protected from discrimination,” Schultz wrote in the letter to the Select Board. “And, people of all identities, including LGBTQIA+ individuals, should always feel safe, respected, and fully included in our community and our schools.”

She claimed that the articles made medical and technical claims, which the Rainbow Caucus has refuted.

In her most recent email, Schultz defended her Town Meeting decisions saying abstaining and not voting on any of the numerous warrant articles is not abnormal and she is not exclusively the only person who does so.

“While my non-vote has come under scrutiny, I may be the only current School

Committee candidate who has actively and independently advocated for, and actually created safe spaces for, LGBTQ+ people,” Schultz wrote in her email. “I have always advocated for LGBTQ+ people, and in fact I left my synagogue and deliberately founded a new prayer group in which one of the primary goals was inclusion and full participation of LGBTQ+ members.”

Article 15 passed by a vote of 225 yes, three no, and 12 abstentions. Article 29 passed with a vote of 203 yes, 0 no, and 10 abstentions.

Schultz is a nephrologist who has lived in Brookline for more than 20 years. Schultz graduated from Yeshiva University with a Doctor of Medicine degree before completing her residency at New York-Presbyterian Hospital through Cornell University. She completed her nephrology fellowship at Boston’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in 2007. She has applied her expertise to the classroom having spent time as an assistant professor at both Tufts Medical Center and Boston University’s School of Medicine. She currently works as a physician at the Veterans Home in the city of Chelsea. Schultz resides in town with her husband, Ron Scharf. Her children are graduates of the district.

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