A week before the deadline, a second candidate has pulled papers in the race for K-8 School Committee. Strawberry Hill resident Gerald V. Capra pulled nomination papers this morning, according to records from the Town Clerk.
Capra attended the K-8 School Committee meeting on Wednesday to voice his support for the schools. The Metrowest Daily News captured his comments after sitting through a presentation on the district’s academic performance, which has come under fire lately.
“This is probably the easiest thing you’ve worked on all year,” Strawberry Hill Road resident Gerald Capra told the committee of its defense of the district.
Capra said he went through all the data he could find and it all pointed to a healthy district that, while experiencing some problems in math, is graduating some of the most well-educated young people in the state.
“I was so bothered when I saw that one metric placed up in the newspaper, and some person in this town saying this school system has failed,” Capra said, referring to a recent Daily News article in which Selectmen Vice Chairman John Rooney presented some concerns about MCAS growth data.
Capra joins incumbent Marybeth Strickland who pulled papers earlier this month. Both have until Monday, March 26 to collect signatures and file with the Town Clerk in order to be listed on the May ballot.
There are two spots open on the K-8 School Committee, so even if Strickland and Capra both complete their paperwork, the race will still not be contested. Incumbent Susan Dargan said earlier this year she does not plan to run for reelection.
At this point, the only potentially contested race is that for selectman. Earlier this week, Leo F. Bartolini Jr. pulled papers to challenge incumbent Bill Boland for a seat on the board.
Sounds like more support for the unions coming. Capra is simply providing the stock statement that he supports the schools. Well, believe it or not, so do I. Who doesn’t? Sad really that no one wants to find out whether there is value for money, and why we spend more and get less. Best not to look at actual MCAS results if they don’t provide the answer you are looking for. So, the obvious will likely again be ignored. People who buy property actually look at MCAS results.
Perhaps Capra will provide links to his reaearch leading to conclude that despite mediocre results we are “graduating some of the most well-educated young people in the state”.
We need to graduate some of the most well-educated young people in the World! The next generation will be competing with students educated in Beijing, Tokyo, Delhi, Dusseldorf, St. Petersburg, Cairo, Johannesburg, and Tel Aviv. Our childrens peers in those countries are working very very hard to eat our children’s lunch!
i don’t think any of those children from the countries you listed are vying for our children’s lunches. My daughter had the experience of going to school for a day in Europe with a friend when she was in the 1st grade and the lunch was homemade, including the 1st course which was soup. Healthy bodies. Healthy minds.
i think tomorrow is deep fried, frozen then reheated chicken patty
Dont’ forget the delicious “Pink Slime”
Neil,
There is a strategy called ” bullet voting or strategic voting” where you withhold votes from one candidate when the ballot allows you to vote for two or more in a candidate field.
I don’t know if I can vote for either SC candidate yet. It would be interesting to see how many vote in the town election and then compare it to the total number of votes both SC candidates receive. If there is a difference greater than 10% ( less than 10% is considered statistically insignificant) perhaps it would send a ” bullet” message to the winner of the SC position.