Cinda Guagliumi, Merrimack School Board Candidate

Cinda Guagliumi

Age (as of Election Day)

51

Position Sought

School Board - 1 year term

Party Affiliation

This is a non-partisan position

Family

My husband’s name is Jordan, and we have two sons in the Merrimack school district.

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

No

Education

M.S. Organizational Leadership
B.A.S. Business Administration
Pursuing graduate certificate in Management Information Systems

Occupation

Vice President, Client Engagement
Linkedin.com/in/cindaguagliumi/
32 years professional full-time work experience in business, operations, Human Resources, project management, account management, relationship management, and public relations.

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office

Merrimack School Board - 7 years with last year as Chair
Merrimack School District Budget Committee with last year as Chair.

Campaign website

N/A

Why are you seeking elective office?

I believe that it’s important to give back to the community. Areas of interest for me include education, children and health. There are many reasons why I’m running for office this year:
-Children.
-Drive instruction and innovation in post-COVID world including interventions and extended learning opportunities.
-Improve educational outcomes and pathways.
-I can bring my experience to the 1-year spot without any learning curves that new members would experience.
-Leverage my budget experience to make prudent decisions for the taxpayer. I’m one too!

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

The most pressing issue is the hiring of the superintendent role. This needs to be a transparent and community-centered superintendent search effort. This search is an important and exciting opportunity to coalesce around a shared vision, particularly as we springboard from COVID, with community and stakeholder involvement.

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

I believe my experience is the differentiator between me and the other candidates.
I’ve had over three decades of professional work experience, and I’ve served the town of Merrimack for 10 years. In addition, my children have attended all Merrimack schools with the exception of 2 elementary schools.

If you are a challenger, in what way has the current board or officeholder failed the community (or district or constituency)

N/A

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

Thankfully there is light at the end of this nightmare/tunnel! The worst of the pandemic is behind us and the district must increase focus on more strategic initiatives now that vaccines are becoming so prevalent.
As the pandemic unfolded the district was faced with life-and-death decisions. The district has a concentration of our community's population, and the decisions that were made could either contain or spread a potentially fatal virus throughout the town. If you look at the Merrimack school board’s meeting schedule and the Governor's emergency orders, the district was often one step ahead and addressing the crisis. It’s meetings were posted before he came to the podium and it often made decisions hours in advance of his declarations with comparable action items. Merrimack closed schools a day before he did and the district communicated re-opening plan 2 days before he forced the opening of schools in the state.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

Return to School for All Grade Levels -I support return to full 5 days a week in school for all grades for the remaining of the school year and for the 2021-2022 school year. I also support a remote option for those families that have sensitive situations to navigate in the 2021-2022 school year.
Optimize Delivery of Instruction - I plan to use lessons learned to optimize our delivery of instruction moving forward, with a focus on shared values and responsibilities for student success. Student learning needs to be primary and we need to give the appropriate resources, time, and training to our teachers so they can maximize student learning. Skilled teachers and strong leaders are critical components of any school. I hope to promote professional learning communities where teachers have time to collaborate and continually learn and optimize instruction. I would like to use data-driven decisions to support our district strengths and weaknesses. Collaboration drives success.
Learning Pathways Opportunities - In the 21st century, we have many learning pathways for students including nursing, biotechnology, carpentry, medical coding, criminal justice, culinary arts, welding, and HVAC, to name a few. CTE opportunities give students the experience to explore potential careers. I believe that these programs are underutilized because students are concerned about scheduling versus what’s best for their learning. I would encourage our school administrators to be more flexible in scheduling required coursework so students have the opportunity to explore possible career paths.
Tier of Interventions - I support the tier of interventions for all students to get instructional support during non-traditional school hours, particularly in the higher grades. I believe there are ways to do this without increasing budgetary costs.

This year has been a turbulent year for all of us. Please know that I’ve never wavered in my support of the community of Merrimack. I love this town and am so glad to have been able to sever over the last 10 years. I’d appreciate your vote on April 13th.

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

In addition to my experiences cited in the questions above, initiatives that I’ve supported in the past that nave been implemented include:
-PERC committee curriculum additions.
-Universal Design for Learning.
-Social emotional district initiatives.
-Full-Day Kindergarten.
-Water filtration in all schools to filter PFOAs and other contaminants.
-District technology and infrastructure improvements.
-Doing away with cheese sandwiches and replacing with standard lunch for students with unpaid lunch balances.

The best advice ever shared with me was:

“Don’t ever be afraid to step out of your comfort zone.”
True personal growth happens when we take uncomfortable and intentional steps. This is how we learn, and life to me is about life-long learning.

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

I believe that Merrimack values its support of students with IEPs and 504 plans. Of course, continuous improvement always has to remain top-of-mind. I support professional growth opportunities to have the most current understanding of educational law.