Shawsheen Tech Candidates Q&A: Who Are You Answerable To?

(Editor's Note: This is This is Part 1 of a three-part series of questions and answers with incumbent Patricia Meuse and challenger Rick O'Neill, candidates for the Shawsheen Tech School Committee.)

Question 1: As a member of the Shawsheen Tech School Committee, who are you most responsible to?  How do/would you balance responsibilities to stakeholders?

Rick O'Neill

Shawsheen Tech School Committee members have direct or indirect responsibility to balance the interests of a number of stakeholders, including students, parents, teachers, applicants, partnering communities, superintendant, school board members, taxpayers, current and future employers and alumni. 

These stakeholders each have influence over Shawsheen Tech’s goals to educate young people for new and emerging occupations and to provide a high-quality educational experience that  effectively equips students to enter their respective trades as skilled workers and technicians and / or to competently pursue postsecondary educational opportunities.  

It is the responsibility of each School Committee member to first and foremost guarantee that students are provided with viable individual academic and vocational career paths that are most likely to allow each student to become economically secure. 

It is frequently suggested that education is everyone's business and that each stakeholder has a role in the decision making process.  Therefore, while balancing responsibilities to our many stakeholders, I will work to create a new environment so that the Tewksbury schools and the Tech can begin to work in tandem as true partners to assure that the delivery of comprehensive educational programming is available to all of our students within available resources.  I will also consider the best interests of our taxpayers, the Partner Districts, our employers, and our faculty and staff.  We must all work together to assure that we achieve success in meeting the needs of all our students.

Patricia Meuse

First, I see public service as a public trust.

I am responsible to the students who attend Shawsheen ensuring they are in programs that meet labor market demands, have modern equipment, and have teachers that engage them in learning. I am responsible to the residents of Tewksbury who deserve the finest vocational technical high school in Massachusetts and to the taxpayers of Tewksbury to make sure the funds for the school are spent in a cost efficient manner.  I am also responsible to the staff at Shawsheen to make sure they have the tools they need to help our students excel and prepare those students for life after graduation.

The School Committee has done everything to keep the budget low while producing the best education possible for our students.  Since 2005 Shawsheen’s per pupil cost has only increased by 8.17% while Tewksbury’s per pupil cost increased 50%. Our on time graduation rate is 98%, our drop out rate is .2%, the average daily attendance is over 97% and with one of the top MCAS scores and high student academic growth in Massachusetts, Shawsheen received Commendation Status. (The only public high school in the Merrimack Valley and the only Vocational Technical High School to receive this status in 2012.)  

Shawsheen’s success has made it a school parents and students desire.  The admissions process is fair as required by state and federal law.

In order to save our communities money in the future the committee budgets enough funds each year to keep the building well maintained.

Again, I am committed to the residents of Tewksbury and ensure them that I will always vote to keep the budget low while producing the best education possible for Shawsheen students.