LETTER: School Committee Chairman Begins Re-election Process

Submitted by Jean Bertschmann, chairman of the Hopkinton School Committee.

Dear Fellow Hopkinton Residents:

I am happy to announce that I will be running for re-election to the School Committee in the May town election. It has been an honor and a privilege to have served on the School Committee for the last three years, and I welcome the opportunity to continue that service for the next three.

My husband and I made Hopkinton our home more than 20 years ago, and it has been an ideal place to raise our four daughters, all of whom attend or have graduated from the Hopkinton Public Schools. We feel blessed to live in such a wonderful community and believe strongly in being actively engaged in our town.

I joined the School Committee in 2009. Since that time, I have worked with my School Committee colleagues, school administrators, and school staff to provide an excellent education to students at all levels, at a reasonable and responsible cost to the town. We have worked with other town leaders to support school budgets that rose only 2 percent over FY11 and FY12, shrinking the school portion of the town budget from 57 percent to 53 percent. Similarly, we have been very frugal with our capital requests over the past two years, which totaled $302,000, or 6 percent of the total requested town capital expenses. During this time, we have pursued creative new initiatives which have generated thousands of dollars in revenue for the schools, reduced our energy costs, and identified other efficiencies throughout the district. We have made progress toward our Strategic Plan goals and are recognized as an innovative district at the leading edge of education. State and national rankings of our school district continue to climb. Most notably, we were ranked the number two high school in the state of Massachusetts last year by Newsweek magazine. I am enormously proud of the value that the administration, staff, and School Committee continue to provide to the town in terms of public education, and I am honored by the tremendous support the town gives to the schools. It truly is a collaborative effort.

Although much has been accomplished, much more remains to be done.

The economy continues to challenge our ability to meet our Strategic Plan goals while maintaining the excellent classroom experience we provide to our students. Shrinking federal funding, combined with an increase in unfunded state mandates, make it increasingly difficult to continue the austerity of the last few fiscal years.

After the failed vote regarding the Elementary School Project, my colleagues and I have worked hard to better understand the priorities and goals of the voters for a solution to the operational and educational constraints of Center School. As chairman of the School Committee, and one of the members responsible for community communications, I have worked diligently with my colleagues to develop a more effective and sustainable School Committee Communications Plan, to conduct town-wide surveys and forums, and to reach out to all sectors of our community to more clearly understand the priorities for our elementary schools. I would like the opportunity to continue to work toward a solution to the educational and operational constraints of Center School that meets the desires of the town, supports the education of our students, and is affordable in the context of the other important building projects the town has undertaken in the last decade and will consider pursuing in the decade to come.

I would be honored to be afforded the opportunity to continue to serve the town as a member of the School Committee and I hope to be able to earn your support in the May election.