Thursday, March 29, 2007 Older Editions

School Committee victors' goals: bringing back student programs in the face of tight spending

By April Guilmet

Hours after learning of her victory in this week's School Committee election, incumbent Debra Silberstein already had her agenda set for the week to come.

Silberstein, 47, of Burton Farm Drive topped the School Committee ballot with 3,303 votes. Fellow incumbent Richard Collins, 75, of Lovejoy Road came in second with 2,700 votes and gained the second available seat.

Both said they look forward to another three-year term - the second one for Silberstein and the fourth for Collins. Silberstein also served as School Committee chairwoman in 2005 and 2006.

Silberstein has plans to meet Friday with selectmen and Finance Committee members in hopes of working toward a budget for the next school year.

"(And) next week, my agenda is to set up a meeting with other School Committees, to move towards regionalization," Silberstein said. "I also want to mobilize for increased state aid."

Likewise, Collins also has already defined his hopes for the coming term, with an emphasis on returning programs such as physical education to schools, after they were cut due to budget constraints.

"I hope to restore as many programs as we can without raising taxes," said Collins, a retired teacher and coach. "That's my goal, to give our kids the best education possible without raising taxes."

Adjunct Fitchburg State College professor and former proprietor of an online school, Robert Coffill Jr., 50, lost the election with a total of 1,485 votes in his second attempt at a School Committee seat.

Last year, Coffill announced a run for selectmen, but then changed his mind and made an unsuccessful run as a write-in candidate for School Committee.