Two candidates are running for one three-year term on the Norfolk School Committee in the May 6 Town Election. The School Committee sets policies, approves the budget, and engages the public in school matters. It also oversees school construction projects. Candidates Lisa J. Sheldon (up for re-election) and Birch Henry Duggins-Warf agreed to answer some questions for readers of Local Town Pages.

Lisa J. Sheldon

Why are you running for School Committee? I’m running because every child in Norfolk deserves access to a high-quality education. As a parent with two children in the district, I’m deeply invested in the success of our schools. It’s a privilege to advocate for our students and to ensure families are heard and valued in the decisions that impact them. I believe in the power of skilled, well-supported educators and the importance of strong partnerships between schools and families. Norfolk has much to be proud of, but I want to continue to improve academic achievement, address our space constraints, and invest wisely as enrollment grows. 

What experience do you have that makes you a good candidate? I’ve served on the Norfolk School Committee for the last three years, and am currently the Chair. I’ve built relationships across local boards and with state representatives, established a liaison program to improve community collaboration, served on the budget sub-committee through two challenging years, and actively advocated for additional state funding. I also bring experience from serving on the King Philip School Committee this year, which has broadened my knowledge and involvement in our community’s education. Professionally, I work in investor relations, where I apply strategic thinking, financial expertise, and clear communication on a daily basis. I’m invested in our schools and committed to fostering open dialogue among all stakeholders. I consider all perspectives and make thoughtful, informed decisions that strengthen both our schools and our community. 

What issues do you think are the most pressing facing the School Committee and what do you think should be done to address them? Our most pressing issues are academic achievement, funding and space constraints. Improving academic achievement remains my top priority. Valued and well-supported educators are key to student success, and I’m committed to advocating for a strong focus on reading, writing, and math. We must ensure our schools are adequately funded—while also being mindful of the financial pressures many in our community face.  I’ve been actively engaging with our state representatives to push for increased funding and a revision of the Chapter 70 formula. We also need to address the space constraints in our buildings in a way that is financially sustainable and acceptable to the community through alternative funding or new solutions along with community engagement. Finally, we must continue building trust through transparency, strong inter-board collaboration, and open communication with families as we navigate these challenges together.

Given the economic and political climate, what is your vision for the school district’s budget? How will you balance the need to support students and educators with fiscal realities? My approach to the school district’s budget focuses on meeting the needs of students and educators while respecting the financial limits and responsibilities of our community. State funding shortfalls and local revenue shortfalls are the biggest drivers of the issues we face with our school budget, so we need to focus our time and efforts advocating in both areas.  I believe in protecting our teaching core, making strategic investments, and pushing for increased state funding, and I’ll continue working collaboratively to explore creative funding solutions. I also believe in engaging the community—because strong schools rely on strong partnerships, and together, we can make decisions that serve both students and taxpayers.

Birch Henry Duggins-Warf

Why are you running for School Committee? Good schools for our three kids (now 11, 9, and 5) is one of the biggest reasons we moved here. Looking for ways to support that quality education, I began to attend school committee meetings each month and I quickly realized what goes on in school directly impacts my life. It matters when the HVAC system needs repairs. It matters when the administration pilots a successful student engagement program and bullying incidents decrease. It matters when the budget needs to be cut and we lose programming or positions. Most of the town’s budget goes to the school, so it matters that we are using those tax dollars wisely to create a school everyone in town is proud of. It matters that we have people at the table who have engaged with the community, who are willing to think outside of the box and come up with creative solutions. Most Americans don’t have their wealth in the stock market or a retirement account--our biggest investment is our homes. A town with enviable schools means property values increase. Thriving schools are a key ingredient to thriving communities and a thriving economy. I want to be a part of protecting our investment in our schools. We have great teachers and staff who come to work every day to teach our kids to think and ask questions. They need to know that we have their backs and we need to set them up for success. Of course, we have issues - budget limitations, space constraints, and academic challenges to address. We need everyone to pitch in to solve those issues. As a school committee member, I want to broaden our engagement with the community. Only by working together can we find better solutions to our problems.

What experience do you have that makes you a good candidate? I have worked in public libraries for nearly a decade, with two of those years in the library director’s office of Virginia’s largest municipality. In that role, I synthesized data about the city’s half million residents and ten library branches to inform decisions about how the library could best serve the community.

Working for a large library system that closely collaborated with the city government, I learned valuable lessons about the operations of local government, strategic planning and setting achievable and measurable goals. I saw first-hand the importance of cultivating relationships, good communication and the unrivaled power of collaboration. After moving to Massachusetts, I switched to working in the private sector as a corporate reference librarian in the financial services industry. Through that work, I built a broad understanding of economic and financial principles and honed my skills in finding reliable data. With my combined private and public sector background, I will bring a fresh perspective to the committee. 

What issues do you think are the most pressing facing the School Committee and what do you think should be done to address them? I have seen a growing mistrust of town leadership, schools, and teachers. Mistrust is a major impediment to the communication and open dialogue that we need to solve our problems. The school committee needs to work diligently to rebuild the trust and partnership between the school and the community. Norfolk residents need to know that the school takes their fiscal responsibility of being the largest expense in the town budget seriously. As a school committee member, I will make it a priority to increase communication, transparency and collaboration between the community and the school.  Once we have that trust re-established, we can work together to find better solutions to our budget constraints, to our space needs, and return the students to pre-COVID academic achievements. Our teachers need to know we trust them to appropriately create a welcoming space for the mosaic of traditions, backgrounds, and family structures in our community. While transparency and parent involvement are key to student success, parents shouldn’t have to sign a permission slip for kids to talk about their families.  

Given the economic and political climate, what is your vision for the school district’s budget? How will you balance the need to support students and educators with fiscal realities? We need to approach any changes to the budget - both cuts and additions - from multiple angles. We need to listen to the advice and expertise of our administrators, listen to the concerns of our teachers and staff, look at other districts in the commonwealth for new ideas, engage with the community for feedback, and examine research from the experts in the field. In Norfolk we are all committed to ensuring our children receive the best education that we can afford. As a school committee member, I will look for ways to get the most return on our investment. I will look for ways to spend smarter - consolidating, streamlining, and re-imagining what is possible. We have faced cuts to services year after year at the schools as the cost of living in our town continues to rise. There are no perfect solutions, but my goal as a school committee member is to find the best ones. Importantly, I want to communicate clearly to the community the choices we made, specifically outlining the costs and benefits of the changes. Good schools affect all of us. Strong schools make a strong community. Our citizens have demonstrated their commitment to good schools with the allotment of tax dollars to the education of our children - the largest portion of our town’s budget. This tangible vote of confidence from the community requires the utmost degree of diligence with our spending choices. As a professional experienced in finding and synthesizing information, I believe that I am well positioned to approach the issues with thoroughness and rigor.