Cyrus Vaghar, a recent graduate of Newton North, sent Village 14 a press release announcing that he is running for the Ward 2 School Committee seat. Margaret Albright currently holds that seat.
Vaghar’s press release follows:
Cyrus Vaghar, a 2015 graduate of Newton North High School, today announced that he will be running for School Committee from Ward 2 in Newton, Massachusetts.
An 18-year-old resident of Newton, Vaghar has lived in Newtonville for his entire life and his gone through the Newton Public School system (Cabot Elementary School, Bigelow Middle School, and Newton North High School). Vaghar played travel soccer on a BAYS team for ten years. He will be entering Regis College in Weston, MA, in the fall.
Vaghar would bring a student’s perspective to the School Committee. He has direct personal experience with a number of important topics currently being discussed. For example, during his time at Cabot, Vaghar was impacted by redistricting: his friends were split up between Day and Bigelow. Vaghar understands the social toll redistricting has on students who are forced to be separated from their friends.
In high school, Vaghar experienced the problems of early start times firsthand. “During my freshman year I played on our freshman soccer team. I never tried out past my first year, mainly because of our school’s early start time. If I were to get home from a game at 8:00 p.m., it would be extremely challenging to be up and ready for school by 7:50 a.m. the following morning, especially with the amount of homework I would still have to get done.”
Vaghar is aware of the challenges that he will face while running in such a competitive race. “I’m 18 years old and I’m aware that some voters view age as an important factor when choosing a candidate to vote for. That being said, my youth is actually one of my greatest assets. I have been in the Newton Public Schools system for the past 13 years. I am confident that I have more current experience in our public schools than the other committee members. I want to assure every voter that I am well equipped with the insights and creativity that will make me a valuable voting member of the School Committee. I know that I will bring a fresh set of ideas to the table.”
If necessary, the Ward 2 School Committee preliminary election will be held September 17, 2015. The general election will be held on November 3, 2015. Any registered voter in Newton can vote for Vaghar.
To stay connected with Cyrus Vaghar, follow him on Twitter at @CyrusVaghar2015 or send him an email at [email protected]. Website will be launched in the coming days.
The Elections Department confirmed that Vaghar pulled papers and has returned signatures (which have not yet been certified).
As a former supporter of Margaret Albright, I hope this kid kicks her ass. Where do I send my check?
@Mike – if the school start time issue is your driving force, be aware that Margaret has been one of the most supportive on the SC for working on change, both locally and statewide.
Chris– I’m sure my 3 kids will all be thrilled to hear that the SC may finally someday make this change. Regrettably, they all graduated Newton South in the time I’ve been raising this issue. How many kids does this SC have to torture [because sleep deprivation is after all a torture technique] before the adults responsible for making this change actually get their shit together? I don’t give a damn that Margaret has been working on it. She clearly has not been effective at bringing about a change. If this SC really understood the implications of sleep deprivation on teens, they would have made a change to the high school start time on Day 1.
@Mike: Margaret has only been on the School Committee for 1 1/2 years. Do you really believe that someone can be effective from Day One? The issue is on the School Committee’s agenda. I have no idea if Margaret played a role in getting it there, but do you know that she didn’t?
#VAGHAR2015
Mike,
Interesting, because I found Margaret, Angela and Steve ready to listen to my point of view. I didn’t think Matt Hills understood what I was saying, and Margie Ross Decker was clueless about the issue I was raising. Margaret has earned my vote by being willing to listen and work with community members. Matt and Margie didn’t care that their proposal was hurting Newton working parents.
I have talked to Margaret several times, and she seems to be the minority on the board, and many others are quick to rubber stamp Mayor Warren and Superintedent Fleishman.
I am interested in his views of OTHER things other than the early start time.
So many issues are at hand.
What is his view on FULL DAY kindy for ALL (not this half day)
What is his view on the teachers and the GIC?
What is his view on class size?
What is his view on SPED?
Having one topic to stand on is not what we need. We also need members who are willing to work together on many topics to solve the issues.
The physical and mental health consequences of early morning high school start times on teens are substantial and well documented. Newton students are paying with their health because this SC has failed to take action. When our school system is doing something detrimental to the health of thousands of students every day, there is NO excuse for delay. It is a disgrace that this issue which should have been resolved years ago, hasn’t been dealt with 3/4 of the way through the current SC’s term. They have contributed to creating and sustaining a culture of stressed out teens, many of whom suffer from depression, some of whom commit suicide. The members of this SC are not only ineffective in regards to this change, they are derelict in their duty and responsibility to the health and safety of our children. Not one of them deserves to be reelected.
I’d like to see at least 2 of the multitude of critics on this blog be bold enough to put themselves out there and run for public office. There are too many incumbents who never had to prove themselves by running in a competitive race. There are others who ran as supposed “reformers”, who wound up being the worst examples of the status quo. There is enough irony (sometimes comic) in Newton politics to have our own “Daily Show”!