Novick, Mailman Seek At-Large Worcester School Committee Seats In 2023

WORCESTER, MA — Two incumbent Worcester School Committee members will seek reelection in 2023 after new districts were created over the last two years in a bid for more fair representation.

Incumbent Tracy Novick announced her intention to run for a third term in an Instagram video Friday morning, and Mailman announced the same in a Facebook post on Dec. 4.

"We are working to acknowledge and to fix what's broken while building on what we do well," Novick said in the Friday morning video.

Following a 2021 lawsuit led by the Worcester NAACP, Worcester agreed to create a new system for electing the school committee, whose members have previously been elected at-large — meaning they could live in any part of the city. The lawsuit claimed that system kept the school committee largely white and unrepresentative of the city's population.

There are now six districts plus two at-large seats. Each district covers a section of Worcester, ensuring that a more diverse group of residents will get a shot at serving on the committee.

The Worcester City Council has a similar system, with six at-large councilors (including the mayor) and five district seats.

Had Novick run for the seat representing her district, she would've had to run against member Jermaine Johnson, who has not yet decided which seat he'll run for in 2023. Mailman and members Molly McCullough and Laura Clancey also all live in the same new district that covers Indian Lake north to the Holden line.

Member Jermoh Kamara, a Grafton Hill resident, is the only sitting member without a colleague on the committee in her district. Seats in three other districts covering downtown Worcester, Webster Square and the larger west side and the neighborhoods between Green Hill Park and Indian Lake will be wide open in 2023. See the full map of new school committee districts here.

Neither Clancey nor McCullough immediately responded to requests for comment about their plans for the 2023 election. Kamara said in a social media post she'll be making an announcement soon.

In her campaign announcement Friday, Novick offered to meet with any city resident who's considering a 2023 school committee run.