Candidate for School Committee: Melissa Holleran
By Ellen Putnam
Photo From Melissa Holleran
Melissa Holleran is running for a position on the School Committee because, she said, “our city is at a critical point right now, and I grew up learning that you don’t just help out when it’s easy - you help out when it’s hard. Right now it’s going to be really hard, but I want to be involved and participate, and make sure that everyone’s voices are heard.”
Holleran became involved in the Melrose Public Schools through the Roosevelt PTO, and she has volunteered as a room parent and in the library - “anywhere I can throw my hat into the ring,” she said. “I’ve been doing my best to support the teachers, students, and the community. That gave me a starting point, and I see the School Committee as the next step and a way to not just impact the school that my kids are currently in, but a way to impact all of the schools in the community that I love - a way of continuing that work on a larger scale. When it comes down to it, all of our students attending our schools should all receive a strong education and feel confident in our schools.”
Holleran has a background in social work, and she keeps up her LCSW certification. “I’ve worked in systems where multiple parties are trying to meet the same goals,” she said, “but they’re trying to do it in different ways,” a skill that she sees as essential for work on the School Committee.
“I see one of the School Committee’s biggest jobs as communication,” she went on, “with the superintendent, with teachers, with students, with parents, with the community - really listening to each group and taking all of that information to make the best decisions possible.”
Holleran currently works for Education First in operations management, although she has held a number of roles in the organization that have included counseling, events management, budgeting, and interfacing with different positions and people.
“I believe in hard work,” Holleran said of her own values, “and that we should all get involved in our own ways. I like finding solutions to problems, and I believe that working with other people to do that is really important. I see the School Committee as a team - not just within the Committee itself, but as a team with the schools, the students, the community, and the parents. I really like teamwork, and I have a really strong work ethic to make sure that we’re all participating, coming to the table and working together to find the best solutions possible.”
“I also believe in compassion,” she went on. “Public school is a place for all students, and I want to make sure that we’re listening to our teachers and their needs in supporting our students, and we’re looking at our student population and making sure that everyone has the services they need and their needs are being met. We should be using compassion to make sure we’re implementing programs, policies, procedures, and funding in a way that can have the most impact across the school system.”
“One of our schools’ biggest strengths is our community of parents and students and teachers,” Holleran went on. “There is a lot of passion there - people care about the schools, and they care about the students and making sure they get a good education. There are families who are moving to Melrose and want to be in the school system; there are families who are staying in Melrose because they love the community and want to stay in the school system; and I think that’s a testament to how wonderful Melrose and the school community is.”
“Another of our strengths,” she added, “is the creativity in what teachers and administrators have been able to do with such a limited budget. They’ve been dealing with cuts and spending freezes, and the teachers and administrators are still there, trying to provide the best education possible for students, even though they are doing so on limited resources and means. I’ve heard from a number of parents this school year about how happy they were coming out of the open house and meeting their child’s teachers. I am so appreciative of what the teachers are doing, and their hard work and flexibility and creativity is translating into their classrooms. They think outside the box - we can’t do this, so we’re going to do that - and that has really translated throughout the school system, and I applaud them all for their hard work.”
Photo From Melissa Holleran
At the same time, Holleran went on, “Our budget is very limited. In the past two years, we’ve had to lay off almost 50 school staff - teachers, paraprofessionals, and administrators. We’re seeing increased class sizes. We need more resources.”
“We are at a critical point right now,” she continued. “Yes, our teachers and administrators have been creative and strong, and if we need to cut another $4 million because we can’t pass an override, they’ll still continue to work hard. But there’s only so much they can do when more and more resources are taken away from them. If more teachers are laid off, class sizes will have to go up.”
“There will be drastic conversations if an override doesn’t pass,” Holleran went on, “and it won’t be just on school level, it will also be on the city level. If that happens, we will need to prioritize our main goals within the city to make sure that students are receiving the education they need and deserve, and I see my role on the School Committee as prioritizing the schools and pushing to make sure that our students are receiving the best-quality education they can on the budget that we have.”
“We need to advocate for our students,” Holleran emphasized, “and I believe that strong schools build a strong community. If we are able to provide our students with what they need - services, materials, teachers who feel valued - we are going to be able to keep our community thriving.”
As for the override questions themselves, “I’m excited about the questions,” Holleran said. “I see some people who are hesitant about having three different options, but I see it as an opportunity for the Melrose community. We’ve had a number of override votes throughout the 45 years of Prop 2½, and only two were successful. Our community values choice, so I think that putting multiple override levels onto the ballot allows the community to decide what they value and how much they want to invest into the community. And for anybody who’s confused or concerned about the three options, Yes! for Melrose provides a lot of information about the ballot. Whether you’re for the override, questioning it, or feel you don’t want to support it, their website does have a lot of information about why the ballot questions were designed that way.”
“If I am elected to the School Committee,” Holleran emphasized, “no matter what happens, we are going to be having difficult conversations.”
“If an override doesn’t pass,” she said, “then the School Committee, the City Council, and the mayor are going to have to work together to prioritize: what does the city need and want? We’ll need to make sure that, as a community, we are supporting our students and all of our residents. We’re going to have to identify what our priorities are as a whole team, because if there are cuts, the whole community is going to be affected.”
“If the override passes only at the lowest level,” she went on, “we will only be able to bring back three school positions. It will allow us to work on the upcoming teacher contracts and remain stable, but there’s still not a lot of flexibility, so we’re going to have to be talking about: Now that we have these funds, what are our priorities within the school system?”
“And if the override passes at one of the higher levels,” Holleran continued, “we’ll be able to bring back some of the services that we had to cut over the past two years, and we’ll have to decide: How are we going to allocate that money? Will we just put those positions back exactly as they were? We’ve been trying to be creative over the last few years, so we’ll have to see what’s working and reevaluate what isn’t, so that we are able to use the funds to prioritize student success.”
Photo From Melissa Holleran
Outside of budget issues, Holleran said, “I see my role as a person who is going to be listening to everyone: the superintendent, the teachers, the students, the parents, and the community. People have different needs at different times, so we need to be flexible and adaptable and ready to learn and listen.”
“I would love to look more closely at how we improve teacher retention and stability,” she went on. “When there’s stability among teachers and administrators, that translates into the classroom experience. When teachers feel valued, they bring that into the classroom. When they feel secure, that is going to enhance student learning, and it benefits everyone.”
“I also want to talk about class sizes,” Holleran continued, “because no matter what happens with the override, class sizes are a big topic this year. We have seen the effects of teacher layoffs with increased class sizes, and while I don’t think that it’s impossible to learn in a classroom that has more students, the research does show us that smaller class sizes are more conducive to learning. In smaller classes, teachers are able to take the time to meet each student’s needs.”
“And something we should always be talking about,” she added, “is how students in marginalized populations are doing in the district. Are they feeling safe and welcome? Do they have access to the same things that typical students are receiving? Are they feeling supported? Are our policies and procedures meeting the needs of a diverse population? We need to make sure we’re learning and growing so every student feels like they are part of the Melrose community.”
Holleran supported the School Committee’s one-year agreement with teachers’ union this winter ahead of this year’s budget discussions. “It really shows that the union and the School Committee were willing to work together and willing to do what’s best for students. Since they knew we had this override vote coming up, the agreement allowed the School Committee to hold off on negotiations for a three-year contract until they knew exactly what funds would be available, in order to have the best negotiations possible for the teachers. I think it’s really important that they looked at the contract holistically and people were willing to adapt, and put what’s best for the students first.”
Holleran has twin third graders who attend the Roosevelt Elementary School. “I love the community here in Melrose,” she said, “the schools, the people, the events. It’s been such a pleasure living here. My family loves to hike in Fells, travel around New England, spend time with friends and family, play board games, hang out with our neighbors, and just be a part of the community.”
