In lone school board race, distinct visions, resumes
On the surface, the only contested School Committee race in Brookline looks like the Democratic presidential primary: a white woman and a black man, seeking election to the position for the first time.
On the issues, though, the candidates have some significant differences.
For the past two months, Susan Ditkoff has served as an appointed member of the School Committee. She cited her seven years at her current job doing strategic planning for schools and nonprofits, but has little direct experience with Brookline's schools, as her children are 1 and 3 years old.
By contrast, Arthur Conquest has raised two graduates of the Brookline schools (ages 31 and 33) and got involved as a PTO parent shortly after moving to town in 1982. He's also served on Town Meeting more than 10 years, as well as on the Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Committee.
In a recent debate held by the League of Women Voters of Brookline, Conquest stressed his interest in guaranteeing that all children in the system be treated equally. Conquest has been in the news of late for his allegation of racial discrimination by the town and police after a Zoning Board incident May 24, 2007. Last month he filed a formal complaint with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, and Town Meeting will discuss the issue again at its May 27 meeting.
By contrast, Ditkoff stressed the importance of the Proposition 2 1/2 override, which will be on the same May 6 ballot as the school races (the other four School Committee incumbents are unopposed), and of the community's "pulling together."
Conquest also supports the override, and is active on Selectman Gil Hoy's reelection campaign. But Ditkoff, who was voted onto the School Committee by sitting members and selectmen, has the endorsement of all eight remaining committee members.
If voters don't pass either of the two override options, the schools will have a $1.5 million deficit, and both candidates were asked how they would address that. Conquest said he would start by taking away central office perks, such as cars and BlackBerries, then look at central office staff.
"The last thing you tamper with is direct services," he said.
By contrast, Ditkoff has already voted on the schools' non-override budget, which cuts programs such as fourth-grade instrumental music and elementary world languages.
"You can't bring these pieces back," she said. She cited the Override Study Committee report, and said she supports implementing the detailed, long-term strategies outlined in it for trimming costs.
Asked about the "achievement gap" between members of different racial and socioeconomic groups in Brookline, Ditkoff explained how she analyzes these matters in her professional capacity - needing to pinpoint what and for whom there is a gap, and then applying strategies such as lower class size and differentiated instruction.
Conquest, noting that the gap is also national, took a more personal tack, saying that he had to fight with the schools about how his adolescent son was treated starting in seventh grade.
Ditkoff made the case for elementary world languages, saying that Brookline children would be competing in a global marketplace, and that by not providing language at an early age, the schools create a two-tiered system: one in which well-off families pay for private language lessons, and poorer kids do without.
"We need to lead or be left behind," she said.
Conquest agreed, but said that the achievement gaps within the system are more important, and that to get more progress for children of color, the schools need "diversity at the top."
"I am committed to uplifting African-American students in the system, and have been for some 27 years," he said. "I want to further broaden that effort by running for School Committee."
