Lindbergh candidates split on House Bill 2937 but agree on broad community review of special-education options

House Bill 2937 — described at the forum as a bill that would allow a school board to ask its community whether to remain in a special school district — produced clear differences among the four Lindbergh School Board candidates.

Christy Watts, Andrew Lawson and Matt Alonzo said they would support the board’s option to give voters a say. Lawson framed the bill as ‘‘giving us the option to bring the choice to the community’’ and said the district must ‘‘go to the community and find out what are the concerns’’ before proposing any change. Alonzo said that if the bill passes, a board would need a year to investigate logistics and gather information to help voters decide.

Richard Breeding opposed the measure. He said he favors clear communication (town halls, social media and the district website) but expressed skepticism about moving quickly on structural changes without broad public input.

All candidates emphasized staffing and service-delivery questions if Lindbergh were to assume more SSD responsibilities. Lawson said Lindbergh ‘‘would be able to build the workforce’’ to meet special-needs requirements, while Watts said bringing assessments in-house could reduce student and parent wait times; Breeding framed staffing shortages as a broader labor-market issue requiring cooperation with SSD.

None of the candidates claimed a final plan for assuming SSD services; each said community engagement and consultation with SSD staff, parents and Lindbergh educators would determine feasibility.

Provenance: The forum referenced House Bill 2937 and included candidate positions and descriptions of community‑engagement plans.