Four seek a seat on Hudson School Board
HUDSON – Four candidates are vying for two vacant seats on the Hudson School Board, and on March 10 town voters will head to the polls to determine who fulfills those positions
The school board is made up of individuals elected by residents to serve three-year terms, and there two terms coming due this election: Chairman Malcolm Price and Member Gretchen Whiting.
Whiting, however, is running for re-election. Current board members include Vice-chairwoman Darcy Orellana, whose term ends March 2021; Member Gary Gasdia, whose term ends March 2022; and member Diana LaMothe, whose term also ends March 2022. Jack Gasdia is the student representative, and Susan Piper is the recording secretary.
Voters may cast their ballots in this year’s election from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Hudson Community Center, which is located at 12 Lions Ave.
Of the four candidates, running, they may select two from the following:
PATTY LANGLAIS
Patty Langlais served on the school board from 2008 to 2018. After taking one year off, she now looks to return to the decision-making table. During her 10-year tenure, she said she and her fellow officials worked hard to get to a good spot and be very supportive of staff. For Langlais, education truly is her passion, as she owns several child care centers.
“I really enjoy it,” Langlais said. “Serving on the school board, also, I worked really hard negotiating the teacher contract that is currently in place, and I know that contract is coming up again this year.”
Langlais said she believes in making sure there is a good contract in place again for teachers, among other things. Langlais describes herself as more of a people person and said she seeks to bring the people’s perspective to the board. Langlais said she does not look at the numbers and use that to determine if they are doing good or doing bad. She said she is not data driven, but rather is the type of person look at everything as a whole.
GRETCHEN WHITING
As Gretchen Whiting seeks re-election, she also aims to bring her experience to the board. She said she believes , in the last year, board members have accomplished a lot, and she cited an up-to-date mission statement and creating a policy review committee as examples of success. Whiting said members were able to review almost 90 percent of policies, either updating some or creating ones that were not there previously, and making sure that the policies to be enforced are up to date.
“That’s huge, because policy is what enforces the school board, superintendent, principals, staff, teachers and the students with what’s the right way to get things done,” Whiting said.
Whiting said a previous board member had stepped down after two years of their three-year term, and that she was able to get elected and fulfill the remaining year of that term. If elected to continue serving on the board, she would like to make sure to look at a five- and 10-year roadmap as officials get further into the strategic plan. She said she believes there needs to be a long-term plan with strategic vision.
“I’m bringing questions to the table that maybe the others aren’t thinking about, just due to my professional experience,” Whiting said.
While her professional experience entails being in the IT field, she said she also has worked with the schools,having three children who have attended Hudson schools.
ETHAN BEALS
Ethan Beals said he is looking to bring a unique perspective to the school board if elected, both as a relatively recent Alvirne High School graduate and former seasonal employee of the school district. Beals was born and raised in Hudson, and spent all 12 years going through the district’s schools. Beals graduated from Alvirne High School in 2014, but ended up returning to Hudson while he was in college to work in the facilities department for the school district on his summer and winter breaks.
Beals said the school system has been such a large part of his life so far, and it is something he is very passionate about, referring to the schools as the “lifeblood of a community.”
“The way I see it is the school system is kind of the heart of a community,” Beals said.
“The unique perspective I’m trying to bring is that of a student and former employee from the inside of the district and really trying to enable those teachers and individual building administrators to interact and do the best job for their students,” Beals said.
PEGGY HUARD
Peggy Huard said she believes she has some ideas that will positively contribute to the school district if she is elected to the board. Huard said she has followed the school district beyond the budget process, interacting with the school board for a number of years now, pulling actual budget transfers to see what money is being spent on and where it is going.
“The reasons why I’m running is to bring some sort of balance to the school board,” Huard said. “I am a more conservative person. I ask a lot of questions.”
Huard also said that, right now, it seems there are few questions asked, and that decisions are being made rather quickly. Her hope is to bring a balance between providing the students, teachers and taxpayers with what they deserve and need, not just a special-interest group.
Additionally, Huard said she would like to participate and assist the school district in bringing up test scores for some of the students who are struggling.
“I hope to bring a balance and a more inquisitive, analytical decision making approach,” Huard said.
Adam Urquhart may be contacted at 594-1206, or at aurquhart@nashuatelegraph.com.
