Natick belongs to all of us. Our next generation. Our older generation. Long-time residents. Newcomers. Divisive issues have tested us in the last few years. And the challenges have only begun.

We don’t need to agree on everything, and we don’t need to be all alike. Nor are we ever all going to get everything we want, especially today. But we can make the hard choices that have to be made and still share a town. It will take fairness, openness, and only making decisions for good reason. I’m committed to that thoroughness, and to reaching out and finding ways to move forward together. My record in these areas is strong.

• I helped build broad support for the schools and community with the Yes for Natick campaign: My extensive work with the Yes for Natick campaign helped encourage school families’ engagement in the greater community – and community commitment to the schools – by helping to keep the Yes for Natick effort inclusive and broad-based.

What’s next: We need a new or renovated high-school building, and we need it as soon as possible. We may very well also need to accommodate expanded enrollment at the elementary level. At the same time, there are other priorities in town important to all of us -- very much including building a new community/senior center and maintaining our fine police and fire services. I continue to encourage the enhanced engagement of the community in pursuit of these priorities.

• My work on the School Committee has improved communications: Three years ago, communications were a low priority in the schools. It was hard to get answers, hard to get in touch, hard to keep up. Real strides have been made in this area and more are underway. I’ve pushed for some of the improvements, like the district newsletter. I’ve supported enthusiastically others, like teacher and school websites. Still other improvements I’ve had a a direct hand in, like the now-much-used direct e-mail access to School Committee members that I proposed, and the first ever updates from the School Committee sent home to parents.

What’s next: Transparency and collaboration is always important, but never more so than at a time of scarcity. There is more to do, but we now have a foundation of foundation of open communication that will help us through these hard times together, and that will allow us to benefit from a diversity of ideas from the public.

• I work to bring our school and senior citizen communities closer: Every month I hold office hours at the senior center on behalf of the School Committee. I've met a lot of great people, and have been able to share information and address concerns about the schools, and hear about the perspective of our senior community. This month, it was my pleasure to help distribute the new NPS Pass Cards, which admit Natick's senior citizens to most school events for free. I'm proud to say that the NPS Pass Card program is something that, in collaboration with Moira Munns of the senior center, Superintendent Sanchioni, and Sharon Reilly of the central school office, I helped initiate and make happen.

• I strive to participate in and understand non-school-related issues: In addition to my work on School Committee, I am a member of Town Meeting and the Charter and Bylaw Review Committee. With the Energy Crisis Task Force, I’ve helped think about ways to address the impact the financial crisis is having on families.

The team-name controversy

In May 2008, I voted with the rest of the School Committee to end the use of the team name “Redmen.” I still think it was right choice. But the process caused pain and loss and anger to many good people. It raised bad feelings among neighbors who care about the town and the schools. It made some long-time residents feel unheard and disrespected. Those things made the vote very, very difficult.

When I voted to change the name, I knew perfectly well that it might cost me my seat on the School Committee. I would regret that deeply. But my duty was to be thorough, serious, and fair in thinking about the issues, and in the end to make the right choice, as I saw it, for the schools. That’s what I did.

Why did I vote to change the team name? Because it was against the mission and interests of the Natick Public Schools to make official use of a name that gave racial offense.

Most of the people who loved the name wanted to honor Indians. But by far, most of the native people who weighed in said the name did not make them feel honored. Indeed, they said it hurt them. That meant that even though no one intended racial offense, the result was racial offense. Causing racial offense is not an acceptable thing for a public institution to do.