School committee member emphasizes special-education advocacy, community programs and capital projects in re-election bid

A member of the North Attleborough School Committee and co-chair of the Parent Special Education Advisory Council (CPAC) said she is running for another term on the committee and emphasized her record on special-education advocacy, community programs and school capital projects.

"I have owned my home for 17 years, and I have two children in town, one of whom is a typical student, the other receives special education services," the school committee member said, framing her candidacy as rooted in both personal and professional experience. She told the meeting that her children are now 13 and 15, making this an ideal time to expand her commitment to the job.

She described a string of community efforts and district accomplishments she says she helped advance. She said she started a "fuel for the weekend" program in 2019 to tackle child food insecurity; the program is now run by the YMCA. She also identified herself as co-chair of CPAC and said she runs a nonprofit she referred to as "Open Umbrella," which provides free, gently used clothing to students in need.

Recalling the start of her committee service in 2020, she said the early period was dominated by pandemic response: an election that year was moved from April to June, and the committee’s initial work focused on reopening schools, ensuring staff had what they needed and keeping buildings safe. Since then, she said, the district has completed major capital projects — including boilers and roof work — finished the high school stadium and adopted a new strategic plan while conducting a comprehensive policy review.

She called last year’s high-school vote "historic" and said she is excited for the new school to open in the coming years. Drawing on earlier experience as PTO president in Brockton, she said her volunteer history informed how she approached budget and operations questions at the committee level.

She recounted the strain of navigating services for a child on the autism and dyslexic spectrums, describing the workload on caregivers and the challenge of finding supports. She said those challenges, and her son’s subsequent success — completing high school and working in a union job — helped prompt her decision to remain active in school governance. "Something's got to change," she said of the experience that motivated her advocacy.

The school committee member asked voters to consider her community work and committee record ahead of the April 7 election. She said she wants to help the district continue to improve facilities and services so the schools serve the community for decades.

The committee meeting record contained no formal motion or vote on the candidacy; the speaker presented these remarks as a personal statement of experience and priorities.