Candidate Q&A: Balancing Responsibilities

This week we have asked the two candidates for Shawsheen Tech School Committee about the and the

Today, we ask about balancing responsibilities.

3. It can be argued that a Tewksbury representative on the Shawsheen Tech School Committee has two sets of constituents --- the students of Shawsheen Tech and the people of Tewskbury. How do you (or would you) balance your responsibilities to each group?

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(I) Peter Downing: I have been a child advocate my entire life, from serving on both the Tewksbury School Committee and for the past twenty-eight years on the Shawsheen Valley Technical School District Committee. With fiscal prudence and budget discipline Shawsheen provides the finest vocational/technical education in the State of Massachusetts and I am proud to be associated with it. 

Our budgets have increased minimally during the past 4 years in comparison to other local budgets. I take my responsibilities seriously to provide exceptional educational opportunities at a price Tewksbury Taxpayers can afford.

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Michael Kelley: I don’t see these as being mutually exclusive. I believe all of our elected officials, Shawsheen Tech School Committee members included, are required by the voter to provide effective representation while acting in the best interests of our entire community, this includes families in the school district.
 
My own approach is definitely colored by my experience at Shawsheen Tech, which was extremely positive and absolutely key to the success that I have achieved in private industry. I believe this elected position should be spending time in the community advocating for the school but more importantly for the kids like I once was, those that will directly benefit from a vocational education.

That being said, as elected officials representing our entire community, we need to work cooperatively to ensure that the next generation of Tewksbury children have the same opportunities that we had for success, regardless of where they receive their education.