3 March, 2014
I am excited to announce my candidacy for the Hopkinton School Committee, and I would like to take a few minutes to introduce myself to the community and tell you why I am running for one of the two open seats.
My husband Alain and I moved to Hopkinton in 2009 and we have two energetic children – Colby is in 3rd grade at Elmwood School and Paige is a 5th grader at Hopkins School. Both of them are active in Destination Imagination, soccer, karate and lacrosse, and Colby is a Cub Scout in Pack 97.
For the past 3 years I have served on Hopkinton’s Zoning Board of Appeals as an Associate member responsible for upholding the town’s zoning bylaws. Professionally I work as a Program Manager at CA Technologies, where I balance expectations across all levels of my organization, negotiate contracts, and manage schedules on a daily basis. As a School Committee member I fully expect these skill sets to be put to immediate use as I combine the knowledge I’ve gained volunteering in our town government with my strict attention to detail, active listening and interpersonal skills acquired from a career spent working for technology companies since graduating from Wellesley College in 1996.
I am proud of Hopkinton. When I tell people where I live I almost always hear, “Oh, you have great schools!” It’s true, we do, and we need to be sure we keep them that way by balancing sound and clearly articulated educational goals with fiscal prudence. When we succeed at this, we ensure the strength of our school district while maintaining a sustainable tax base for Hopkinton as a whole. A very important piece of this equation is a strong School Committee, and that is why I am running.
I’ve been paying a lot of attention to the budgeting process this year because it’s a personal interest of mine. A common theme during budget discussions centered on needs vs. wants. When making decisions on things like the 1:1 laptop program, full day tuition free kindergarten, or maintenance items, there are tough choices to be made and many opinions to consider. To build a solid foundation for these types of discussions, over the next few months I plan to get up to speed on our current policies, review the strategic plan, and meet with members of the Hopkinton community to identify issues, and understand suggested solutions.
When it comes to crafting the budget in general, I would strongly advocate for a zero-based budgeting approach next year. This will allow the community to gain visibility into every line item (not just the incremental proposed percentage increase), which will ensure transparency.
I have a great deal of confidence in Dr. MacLeod, and I want to be part of the School Committee that collaborates with her to grow and maintain our excellent school district for the benefit of the entire town.
Thank you in advance for your support throughout this election process – I look forward to earning your trust and confidence and ask that you vote for me on Monday, May 19th.
I can be reached at kelly4hopschools@gmail.com and welcome the community’s input and insights.
Kelly Knight
1 Ledgestone Drive
