Stoughton School Committee Candidates Partake in 'Definitive Debate' Before Town Election

The four women vying for two positions on the Stoughton School Committee came together to debate Wednesday night.

Incumbent School Committee member Joyce Husseini joined challengers Carol Brown, Debra Cote and Patricia MacNeil in the community room of the Stoughton Police Station to answer questions relating to the position and the state of Stoughton Public Schools, less than a week before the town's April 30 election.

This is the only contested town-wide race this election cycle. The forum, dubbed the 'Definitive Debate,' was moderated by columnist Mark Snyder, with questions asked by Stoughton Patch editor Jeffrey Pickette. 

While the candidates disagreed at times one question they all found common ground on was that they would like to see better communication from Superintendent Marguerite Rizzi and administrators.

The question asked was "One of the School Committee's core duties is to evaluate the Superintendent of Schools. With that in mind, what is one area you feel the Superintendent, or administration in general, is doing well, and one area where you would like to see improvement?"

MacNeil, President of the Stoughton Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SSEPAC) who also works in Emergency Services for Family Partners at Riverside in Norwood, said she would like to see better and clearer communication from administrators.

“I would like to see the communication improve. I do not think that we’re getting full information. I think we get parts of information and not a full picture of things and I really think that we need to be respected by giving us all that information and we can handle it,” she said. “We can help make our town grow but when we only get parts of information it’s very, very difficult.”

Husseini, former Chair and current Vice Chair of the School Committee, and former GIS Director for the Town of Stoughton, agreed with MacNeil.

“I agree it’s communication,” Husseini said. “I think it’s very difficult in this day and age on how people get and digest information to reach everybody. And that is certainly a case where we expect her to focus her attention.”

Cote said: “Over the past few months I’ve been speaking to a lot of parents, a lot of community members, teachers, professionals in the community, business owners and the parents that I’m talking to there are quite a few times where they feel like they are not being heard.”

Cote has a B.S. in Nursing from Fitchburg State University. She keeps a blog called "On My Way Home," and has been active in the West Elementary School.

Brown said she agreed that communication was a weakness but Dr. Rizzi was not fully to blame.

“I do see it as communication but, you know, communication is two ways. I have known her to be very approachable," she said. “I spoke with her on many occasions and our superintendent is trying to meet the needs of all students.”

Brown is an administrator for the Boston School System, and holds a B.S. from Northeastern University, an M.Ed. from Leslie University, a CAGS from Bridgewater State University, and an Ed. D. from Nova Southeastern University. 

The positives they saw in administrators, particularly Dr. Rizzi, was that they have assembled a good team of teachers and principals, they have found ways to provide programs that don't strain the budget and they have a focus on creating programs that support childrens' different learning styles.

Another question, posed by a Stoughton Patch reader, was how they would go about handling the so-called divisiveness between members of the school committee and with other boards in town.

Brown said that any divisiveness would be met by a group approach.

“Part of my job is conflict resolution and I think I always try to go for a win-win situation,” she said. “As a team player we would sit down and analyze the facts. The school committee is a group. Not a single person. So together we’ve got to sit down with each other and figure out how to fix this divisiveness.”

Both MacNeil and Cote said that discord between board members could be solved with being respectful of others' views and strengths.

“I think that being respectful of other peoples’ ideas, other peoples’ viewpoints is the first thing that we need to do. And that is one of the things that I can bring to the table. I really do listen to different people. Listen to their viewpoints and find out what they’re trying to say and I think that’s the place we need to start,” MacNeil said.

“It goes back to playing on peoples’ strengths, building up peoples’ strengths, Cote said. "And I really do think it would be helpful. Once something is done and an issue is already resolved it has to be moved. People have to look at each other’s strengths and they then they have to be able to play up on those instead of focusing on their weaknesses.”

Husseini, a member of the board, said she did not see the divisiveness that others do.

“What divisiveness? You have to be able to take a lot of criticism and a lot of lumps but I tell you that I think that our board works together quite well. Sometimes because people are a bit more passionate things get a little heated but quite honestly I feel that the blogs and the Facebook and the media make more of an issue of it being divisive than it is,” Husseini said. 

“We’re really all fighting for the same thing which is a better community. If that comes through as divisiveness it truly is really just more about being passionate about what it is that we were elected to do,” she said.

Asked how they would go about funding potential renovations or the replacement of Stoughton's aging schools if the town's statement of interests were to be approved by the MSBA, each of them said that taxes would probably have to be raised in order garner the funds.

“Realistically, yes. Taxes will probably have to go up to pay for such a huge expenditure. But it is an investment. It’s an investment in Stoughton. A town is only going to be as strong as its schools,” Cote said.

Said MacNeil: “I agree I don’t want to raise taxes to have [the funds] raised but I think they’re going to have to be. If we don’t have a viable school building, if we don’t invest in our schools we’re not going to see those [test] numbers going up, they’re going to be going down."

"They’re all aging. Just putting it off and putting it further down the line isn’t going to do us any good. We have to start now,” MacNeil said.

Candidates also answered questions about SAT scores, the budget, and took turns asking each other questions. 

The debate was taped by SMAC and will air on Verizon Channel 28 and Comcast Channel 9 at the following times: 

• 7:30 p.m. - Friday, April 26
• 10:30 a.m. - Saturday, April 27
• 8:30 p.m. - Sunday, April 28
• 7 p.m. - Monday, April 29
• Noon - Tuesday, April 30