LETTER: Supporting Rainey and Bergen for Concord School Committee

To the Editor,

Lisa Bergen and Cynthia Rainey have already hit the ground running.

During the past year Lisa and Cynthia have attended almost all of the School Committee and Building Committee meetings as well as many Board of Selectmen and Finance Committee meetings.  In addition Lisa served as Chair of the Citizen's Transportation Committee and as a member of the School Committee's transportation committee. She knows how to ask questions, listen, research and come to an actionable conclusion. She served both committees gracefully although they came to very different conclusions.

Cynthia's dogged research during this past year uncovered the Keystone study, a report on the experience of towns in Pennsylvania with outsourcing of school transportation. It concluded that initial contracts are usually attractive but that subsequent contracts are substantially more expensive. This report was key in Concord's decision not to outsource busing this year.

Cynthia is not only a careful researcher she is also a software engineer whose understanding of technology would be an asset to the School Committee at a time when Concord's schools are investing heavily in technology.  Concord’s schools need to justify their expenditures at a time when school budgets grow faster than household incomes.

Both Cynthia and Lisa have committed to work with the Finance committee on their five-year projections to provide a complete picture of school finances to taxpayers.

They have demonstrated in depth knowledge of Concord's school and town issues. They have both been doing the kind of research that school committees traditionally do.  They have demonstrated that they have the commitment, the time and skills to serve on the School Committee. 

I support Lisa and Cynthia because they have proven they will work on behalf of all of us for positive change. Visit LisaBergen.org and CynthiaRainey.org to learn more about them. 

Janet Rothrock618 Annursnac Hill Road