my name is andrea prestwich and i'm seeking reelection the school committee or a currently serve as secretary it has been an honor to represent the good people of belmont and to advocate for the schools for the past three years but i want schools have a well deserved excellence when i st joined the school committee we are facing a crisis due to spiraling in rome and the increase in roman led to unexpectedly large class sizes and overall stress to the city over the past few years we have made very good progress in addressing these issues money from the two hundred and fifteen overwrite has been used to hire teachers and reduce class sizes the town authorized the purchase of modular classrooms finally the town came together in a spectacular way last november the high point of my st term i'm incredibly grateful to the people who worked so hard on to the project and to the voters for approving it if we elected my st priority is to maintain excellence in belmont schools firstly that means thoughtful and effective oversight of the new high school as we go forward secondly and most importantly i will work to preserve funding for belmont schools i'm going to make two seemingly contradictory statements belmont schools are funded per student well below the state average and the town of belmont is incredibly supportive of the schools so why does a town that is justifiably proud of its schools fund them in such a low rate is because belmont is a town of homes and most of the revenue for the schools comes from hardworking belmont residents but i want residents dig deep into their pockets to pay for the schools even at such a modest level but i want teachers were in miracles with what they have organizations like the foundation for belmont education step in and provide generous support we cannot afford to lose funding without seriously impacting belmont's excellence we must continue to fund the schools at least at the current level another issue that is dear to my heart is that of school start times as children age into as lessons their body class clocks shift so that they fall asleep later and wake up late this shift in circadian rhythms is one of the main reasons why so many of our students are chronically sleep deprived and why the american academy of pediatrics and the centers for disease control both state that middle and high schools should start no earlier than eight thirty am see the start school data website for more high school so that the st class starts at eight o five this is a great start and will allow most belmont high school students to get more sleep but it's still too early and it does not help middle schools to if reelected i will continue to advocate for healthy start times for the new high school there are several other issues i want to highlight access to quality after school care appropriate education for all students including those with special needs and access to quality vocational training many belmont students were born overseas we should strive for a school culture that embraces diversity and welcome students from many faiths traditions we should value l g b t q students and non traditional families i support efforts to make belmont schools environmentally responsible please see my website for more details now i get to the part i like least explaining why you should vote for me rather than the two other candidates who would make excellent school committee members there has been considerable turnover on the committee in the past couple of years and i respectfully suggest that experience and corporate memory is important i have served on the finance policy and curriculum subcommittees i participated in contract negotiations with the belmont education association and served on the board of ed co i am very familiar with all the issues currently before the committee i will advocate for adequate