Sees need for a consensus-builder

Brian Stevens. (Photo by Lisa Aciukewicz)

Brian Stevens was appointed to the School Committee last November, when Jeff Shaw resigned from the board after the fall Special Town Meeting censure vote. He volunteered for the spot because he was concerned that the turmoil was bad for the town, and he wanted to work to mitigate some of the negative effects the censure might bring.

“I understand a petition of grievance, the right of the citizens to bring forth their concerns. But I also understand the power of image. The censure was more than what was needed...it creates a negative climate, and can bring a ripple effect,” Stevens said in a recent interview.

Stevens cited the example of North Andover as a town that has suffered because it has a reputation for being a difficult school system to work for. He does not want Harvard to get a bad reputation in the educational community.

“If Harvard gets a reputation for churning superintendents, and overrides get voted down, we could develop a whirlpool effect, and go down,” Stevens warned.

He believes the school board needs a member with a reasonable point of view, someone who is open-minded and works towards consensus. “I get along with the school board well—we’re pulling in the same direction.”

Stevens said he didn’t know Superintendent Tom Jefferson before he joined the board, but from what he has seen since, he believes Jefferson is a sincere person who has given his best efforts to the schools.

“I’m not on the same page as Tom Jefferson on every issue, as I’m not on the same page with anyone on everything,” Stevens said. If there are disagreements, the board can say to the superintendent, ‘please don’t do that again,’ he noted.

Stevens has lived in Harvard for eight years, and has one child at the elementary school and one at Bromfield. He teaches art at a middle school in Andover, has been an exhibiting artist, and has taught art at the college level as well.

Being a public school teacher in a town similar to Harvard gives Stevens experience he believes will be helpful in dealing with certain issues, such as teacher union contract negotiations. Stevens has had extensive experience in conducting complex negotiations, as the contract co-chair of a 900-member bargaining unit. He has also had experience in helping to hire teachers and administrators.

“I am in a unique position, able to bridge the gap” between the board and the teachers, he argued. Stevens said he understands the need for the town to be fiscally prudent, but noted, “teachers don’t go into teaching to become rich, but they don’t go into teaching to become poor.” He would like to see an atmosphere of mutual interest prevail during contract negotiations, with both sides working for the best interest of the children.

When asked to discuss the schools’ strengths and weaknesses, Stevens listed three assets. First, he praised the strong parent community, which cares about the schools and the kids. Second, there are the students themselves, who Stevens described as “easy to teach, so the business of teaching can be addressed.” Finally, he singled out the excellent teaching staff.

“Mr. Cullinane is my kid’s teacher. He’s a great teacher…it’s a hard job,” Stevens noted.

He cited two weaknesses in the Harvard schools. First, it is a small school system, which has good and bad aspects, Stevens said.

“At the high school level, you have a choice of one for an English teacher, or a social studies teacher,” he noted. “Contrast that with Acton-Boxborough—kids have a lot more choices [there].”

Stevens also feels that the large extra-curricular and athletic fees at Bromfield are a problem for the schools. Recently, the entire extracurricular and sports programs have been funded solely by fees on parents, which he says is wrong, making Bromfield feel like a “semi-private school” as he put it.

“I’m passionate about educating kids in terms of their different intelligences,” he said, referring to Howard Gardner’s theory that there are seven different intelligences, with children having varying amounts of verbal, logical-mathematical, artistic, emotional, and kinesthetic and other abilities. “It’s wonderful to have an AP physics class, but the parallel is to have a strong soccer program, or girls’ lacrosse,” for the students stronger in nonacademic areas such as athletics, Stevens argued.

Because Stevens would like the schools to pay more toward extracurriculars, and would like to see fewer override requests, he is in favor of the proposed bid to educate Devens elementary students in Harvard.

“I live on a street where there are a number of retired people with no kids in school, who are on fixed incomes,” he said. “Devens has the opportunity to bring in significant revenues. Each Devens kid brings in twice the tuition of choice students.”

He noted that one of his fellow board members, Virginia Justicz, voted against submitting a bid for taking on the Devens students, and he believes she brought up legitimate concerns about the risks of possibly over-burdening the elementary school. However, he decided that the likely benefits from gaining so much additional income ultimately outweigh the risks the town might face if it wins the contract.

“When I look out my windows, I see the older folks,” who are struggling, Stevens said, and he’d rather see the town avoid hefty overrides if it can.”

 
Note: Brian Stevens is running against Keith Cheveralls, Virgina Justicz, and B.J. Pessia for a three-year term on Harvard's School Committee.