Candidate Profile: Shawn Brandt, Reading School Committee

READING, MA — Shawn Brandt is one of three candidates running for two seats on the School Committee April 6. There are contested races for Select Board, School Committee, Municipal Light Board and Board of Library Trustees in the 2021 Town Election.

Reading Patch asked candidates to answer questions about their campaigns and will be publishing candidate profiles over the coming weeks.

Brandt currently serves on the School Committee and is a former member of the Finance Committee. He faces challengers Geoffrey Coram and Sarah McLaughlin.

Are you running for office in Reading? Contact Alex Newman at alex.newman@patch.com for information on being featured in a candidate profile and submitting campaign announcements to Reading Patch.

Shawn Brandt

Age (as of Election Day)

39

Position Sought

School Committee

Family

Wife Lauren, three daughters - 8, 5 and 3

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

Brother - police officer; Mother - police communications manager; Father - retired police officer; all in Florida

Education

B.S. Economics, Duke University; MBA, UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School

Occupation

Head of Health Care Strategic Insights, Fidelity Investments. 10+ years related experience

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office

Former appointed member of Finance Committee (2018-2020), Elected to School Committee since 2020

Campaign website

www.facebook.com/shawnbrandtfo...

Why are you seeking elective office?

I ran to ensure that young families are well represented on the School Committee. Most members, currently and historically, have either had older kids or kids who have aged out of RPS.

The single most pressing issue facing our (board, district, etc.) is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

Defining our post-pandemic educational system. The best thing our School Committee can do is provide the new Superintendent and our educational leaders the space and the budgetary flexibility to think differently about how we deliver services to our students. The best path forward may not be scraping and clawing to maintain the same budget year over year, but to take a step back and ask what our district would look like if we used those same resources and built a district from the ground up. New leadership and the uniqueness of this moment create a once-in-a-generation opportunity for us to move forward with a fresh outlook.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

My experience as a School Committee member during the most intense and challenging year in recent history. My understanding of the ins and outs of the town and schools budgets and what is and isn't possible from my time on the Finance Committee.

How do you think local officials performed in responding to the coronavirus? What if anything would you have done differently?

I think the town has generally responded quite well. I think the schools did a nice job of striking the right balance to get kids back in school as often as possible. Where there was opportunity to do something differently was to anticipate where our back-to-school plans might fail (specifically, staffing limitations) and have clear and specifically defined deadlines and / or benchmarks for when we would call the moment and change direction.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

Respecting the boundaries of the roles of the Committee and ensuring that our educational professionals have the ability to make the decisions that are in their purview without undue interference. Finding a path to providing universal full day Kindergarten, which is available to more than 95% of students in Massachusetts. Re-evaluating our approach to ALICE / intruder drills to evaluate whether our youngest students should be participating in these anxiety-inducing experiences.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

Much of my professional career was spent in strategy consulting, where my job was to start a new project every 3-4 months, often facing off with clients much more senior and experienced than me. I learned how to approach problems, how to focus on gathering the right information, and how to bring stakeholders together. All of these skills are critical to success in this role. Additionally, I have a year of experience under my belt, and those that have watched the meetings have seen somebody who clearly lives his values, but also is a productive and effective member of the committee that can collaborate with all other members.

The best advice ever shared with me was:

You don't have to be the expert, you just have to be good at figuring out who is and listening to them.

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

My positions are rooted in my own values and experience, but I also know that voters may have very different beliefs or opinions on matters before the Committee. I hope that voters know that I'm accessible to all, and will always reach out to me directly if they have a different perspective to share or want to better understand my positions.