[Editor’s note: This spring, Southborough voters will be able to choose among three candidates for two seats on the Southborough School Committee. To help you make that decision, each candidate is invited to submit one letter to readers promoting their campaign. (To find other candidates’ letters click here.)
As in past years, you may use comments to endorse the candidate. No mudslinging allowed here.]
To the Editor:
Thank you to My Southborough for the opportunity to share with the Southborough residents why I am running for a seat on the K-8 School Committee.
My husband, Jason, and I moved to Southborough in 2013. We now have 3 children (Drew – 7, Bennett – 6, and Olivia – 4). Next year, Drew will be in third grade at Woodward Elementary School, Bennett and Olivia will be at Finn Elementary School in first grade and kindergarten, respectively. Jason and I both attended public school systems in Massachusetts and had very positive experiences. We chose to live in Southborough because of the school system’s reputation, the location, and the strong sense of community. Turns out, it was a great fit for us and I have had the opportunity to get involved in the community by coaching, volunteering in the schools, and serving on town boards and committees.
I have served on the Select Board for the past three years and as the Vice Chair for the past two years. It has been an incredible experience and I will always be grateful to the voters for giving me the opportunity. I have learned a lot about our community, town government, and how to generate consensus. Currently, I am the Chair of the Southborough Board of Health and serve as an alternate on the Greater Boroughs Partnership for Health Advisory Board. Through my work there, I have had the opportunity to improve services that are available to residents and collaborate with other towns on programming to benefit Southborough. Prior to the Select Board, I served on the town’s Advisory Committee for two years. On any board or committee that I have served on I strive to be transparent and follow the proper process to lead to my decision. I worked in hospital finance for 13 years and have a transferable skill set that will help me solve issues and make good decisions for our school community.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Keturah Martin and Jessica Devine who are leaving the School Committee after this term. They served during an extremely difficult and unprecedented time for all school systems, and they did it with great respect for everyone involved. I decided to run for the School Committee to provide stability due to my background. I have experience in chairing meetings, participating in public meetings, preparing to make decisions in the public eye, and working with others to come to the best decision even if it’s not exactly how I envisioned it initially. I am very proud of the school district, and I want to contribute to its continued success. We are fortunate that we have a great reputation in our school system, but we also have had declining enrolment over the past 10 years. This needs to fit into the long-term plan on how to best utilize the facilities that we have in conjunction with ways to manage the cost associated with providing top rate education. We also have looming questions surrounding the MBTA Communities legislation and the potential development in our community, which will have an impact on our school enrollment. Many of us chose to live in Southborough because of the strong school reputation so we need to ensure we provide educators with what they need to provide an excellent education while being fiscally responsible. The school budget is the largest part of the overall budget for the town, and I will work to make sure that we continue to be mindful of how we spend every dollar. The school administration has done a great job over the last several years of recommending reasonable increases in the budget and we need to continue that pattern while enhancing our children’s education.
The conversations will not be easy but are necessary. I will always do my best to listen, evaluate, weigh all options, and make what I believe is the best decision for all students and educators. I will not always agree with every opinion but I will be respectful of all viewpoints and we may agree to disagree. One of the main themes I have learned on the Select Board is to take input from employees to make our town better. I have learned so much about the services we offer the town and have worked to collaborate with those who do it on a day-to-day basis. I would continue to do that with our school administration, educators, parents, and students to make our school community better. There is always room for improvement and there is also an appropriate and professional way to handle those instances, especially in the public sector.
To learn about my thoughts on specific topics, please visit the Community Advocate: https://www.communityadvocate.com/2023/04/27/southborough-candidate-statement-school-committee-chelsea-malinowski/
Feel free to contact me at any time at Malinowski.chelsea@gmail.com and follow my Facebook page Chelsea Malinowski for Southborough School Committee. Link: https://www.facebook.com/chelseamalinowskiforsouthboroughschoolcommittee/
Thank you for taking the time to vote and I hope I have your support.
Thank you,
Chelsea Malinowski
7 Lorenzo Drive
