AUBURN — Signaling that things will be different, three new School Committee members wasted no time in making changes at their first meeting Wednesday night when they elected Tracey Levesque as chairwoman.

Levesque received a 4-3 vote, beating Tom Kendall, who got a 4-4 vote. Because it was a tie that vote failed.

Voting for Levesque were Larry Pelletier, Ron Potvin, Mary LaFontaine and Mike Farrell, with Levesque abstaining. Voting for Kendall were Kendall, Bonnie Hayes, Larry Pelletier and Laurie Tannenbaum.

Levesque has been more conservative with school spending than Kendall, who has supported larger budgets and has said taxpayers are not spending enough to support education.

Kendall has vigorously supported more technology in schools, while Levesque is still uncomfortable about younger students using iPad tablet computers.

Voting for Levesque were Ron Potvin, Mike Farrell, Larry Pelletier and City Councilor Mary LaFontaine. Voting for Kendall were Kendall, Bonnie Hayes and Laurie Tannenbaum.

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Pelletier was elected vice chairman.

Potvin nominated Farrell for chairman but there was no second so the motion died. Potvin then nominated Levesque.

There was no discussion on the merits of Levesque versus Kendall.

After the meeting, Levesque said she was a bit surprised.

“Honestly, I didn’t think I was going to get it,” she said. “I’m pleased. I think I can make a difference.” She volunteers in schools and sees what the teachers are going through with mass customized learning, she said. “It’s a work in progress.”

Levesque said she hopes to encourage more dialogue and a better relationship with the City Council. “We teach our kids to play nice. At some point we need to demonstrate that,” she said.

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After Levesque was elected, committee members were quick to talk about changes in this year’s budget process so what happened last year is not repeated.

Last summer, voters rejected the school budget in referendums in June and July, demonstrating many taxpayers were unhappy with the direction of the committee.

Before those budget votes, former City Councilor Potvin led a campaign encouraging voters to reject the budgets, saying they were too high. It prompted Potvin and former City Councilor Farrell to run and get elected to the committee, which gives the School Committee more conservative members.

Earlier this month, Mayor Jonathan LaBonte appointed LaFontaine as his representative on the committee, replacing David Young.

Superintendent Katy Grondin passed out a proposed budget schedule, which would have residents vote on a school budget on May 6. That means an aggressive schedule, Grondin cautioned, with budget discussions beginning Feb. 5, followed by weekly budget meetings, a March 10 joint meeting with the City Council and a City Council vote April 15.

LaFontaine said the School Committee and the City Council need “a less contentious relationship.” She recommended a joint meeting early on “to talk about what we all agree on.” That would help provide a more productive process. “In the long run, we’ll get way further,” she said.

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Farrell said the School Committee should soon ask city councilors what kind of budget they have in mind: one with on increase, one with an increase tied to the consumer price index or one even larger.

He pushed LaFontaine to answer his question about what kind of budget she supported.

“I’m not going to answer that,” she said, because not enough information was known.

Hayes said goal-setting should come first. “Before I commit to any type of budget, I need goals. We need to know where this system is going.”

That might not work, Farrell said. They could set a goal of “a TV for every classroom” and other expenses, then find out the budget they have won’t support those goals. “We need to have some sort of baseline. You can’t spend $20,000 on a $5,000 credit card.”

Others agreed that better communication with the council would help avoid what happened last year. “We did have confusion,” Levesque said. “It put us in a mess.”

Potvin motioned that the May 6 budget referendum date be adopted. The committee voted unanimously for that date.

bwashuk@sunjournal.com


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