Tom Philippou. (Photo by Lisa Aciukewicz)

Tom Philippou wants to serve on the school board to “restore the integrity of both the schools and the town,” he said in an interview earlier this week. The current unsettled teacher contract has left the schools in disarray, with teachers, parents, and students not respected, he believes. “It goes beyond the work-to-rule issue. There has to be a lack of enthusiasm, and the students will pick up on that,” he stressed.

Philippou pointed out how teachers historically had been underpaid, but had excellent benefits to help make up for the lower pay. He is afraid that many of the best teachers will decide to leave Harvard for better jobs elsewhere if the contract isn’t settled soon. “If the best leave, that will be reflected in our MCAS scores and property values,” he said. Both sides of the negotiations have become entrenched in their positions, and they need someone with an outsider’s perspective to help them break through the impasse, according to Philippou.

Philippou agreed with Stu Sklar that Harvard’s Chapter 70 school aid funds from the state are too low, and need to be increased. He is also worried that Harvard faces potential large increases in the cost of educating students resulting from new Chapter 40B housing, unless the town can control the amount and configuration of such housing. “We need to tell the state, ‘Look, we ask for more Chapter 70 money, and we don’t get it. You need to give us more controls with Chapter 40B, like [building] smaller units for seniors, or you need to give us more Chapter 70 funds.’ ”

Philippou has lived in town over 20 years, and is married to the current school nurse. If elected, he will not vote on matters pertaining to his wife, such as setting her salary, he said. He is a registered pharmacist, and works as a pharmacy manager for Walgreen’s. Philippou is also an adjunct professor of pharmacy practice, overseeing the training of interns at his store.

Even though he has not had children attend Harvard schools, Philippou has had a fair amount of involvement with the schools. He is a volunteer EMT in town, and has worked with many Bromfield students who are part of the EMT training program. In addition, Philippou, as chairman of the Board of Health, has served on a committee with parents and school administrators working to fix school maintenance problems that were causing air-quality issues. He is running for another one-year term on the Board of Health, and said he plans to serve on both boards if elected.

Philippou is not as negative about the current finance board as Sklar is. He did say that communication between the Finance Committee, selectmen, and the school board could be improved. His previous experience on the Board of Health has given him experience with working with other boards in town, Philippou said. “Harvard is blessed with wonderful, bright, and hard-working volunteers, but they seem to be at an impasse … the town would be better served by having access to more in-depth information about the school budget.”

Philippou supports having an outside audit of Harvard’s special education program and how the town’s money is being spent on it. He noted that such an audit is different from the state special education audit. “The usual state audit is more superficial … we need to shine a light into the depths. We need an additional layer of responsibility to justify the additional funds we’re requesting.”

When asked what he thinks the schools need, beyond more funding, Philippou mentioned two things. First, he said the schools have to take on more responsibility for teacher development. And secondly, he would like to see a more thorough exploration of the pros and cons of instituting new school programs, among all the school constituencies, before such programs are put in place. “In the past, there would be a discussion of the benefits and costs among the various parties involved, such as the school board, teachers, parents, administrators, even the older students,” he said. “Now, if a new program is proposed, they just implement them.”

Overall, Philippou said he thinks the schools are doing “a good job, but that won’t continue.” With the contract negotiations stalled, “the teachers aren’t performing at their best level.” He admitted wryly that he and former Superintendent Mihran Keoseian often butted heads, but he did praise him for getting the last three contracts settled amicably, with no rancor. “He got the best performance from the teachers,” he noted.