By Patrick Adrian
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CLAREMONT — Just days ahead of the election, 18-year-old Stevens High School senior Tyler Sullivan says he will run for the Claremont School Board as a write-in-candidate on Tuesday.
Sullivan, who serves as student representative on the school board, announced his candidacy on Wednesday evening on the local Facebook group What’s Up Claremont.
“I have nothing against the current school board members,” Sullivan said in his campaign announcement. “But I believe it is time for a student to be on the board.”
Claremont’s School Board elections take place on Tuesday. There are two open seats, currently held by board Chair Frank Sprague and board member Michael Petrin. Both incumbents filed for re-election and were running unopposed prior to Sullivan’s challenge.
Sullivan said Sprague was the member he asked about the eligibility requirements. Sprague told Sullivan that a person only needed to be at least 18 years old and a registered Claremont voter.
As the board’s student representative, Sullivan updates the board about events and news happening within the schools, and the school board invites him to share input from a student’s perspective in school discussions. However, Sullivan would like a student to have voting representation on the board.
“I [want] to make sure that student voices are heard and not overlooked,” Sullivan told the Eagle Times on Thursday. “Student voices are important and it’s time we give them that say.”
Sullivan said that, if elected, his goals would be to see that Claremont’s schools are addressing in-school problems such as bullying and vaping, and to tackle the ongoing revenue problem with the district cafeteria services, which accrues about $30,000 annually in debt from unpaid student bills and is currently not drawing enough students to the breakfast and lunch programs as the district would like.
“The lunch debt is a nationwide issue and we need to solve it,” Sullivan said. “We cannot keep adding to our debt.”
Claremont’s Finance Director Richard Seaman told the school board on Wednesday that he is currently researching historical cafeteria services data and collaborating with other school districts to create a sustainable financial model for the district’s food services. This process will include board discussions about district policies that seem to discourage cafeteria usage and meeting with representatives from The Abbey Group, who provides the district’s food services.
Sullivan also said on What’s Up Claremont that he wants to keep Claremont’s pay to teachers and staff competitive with other districts.
The current school board approved a new collective bargaining agreement with the teachers union, which is part of the 2020-2021 budget proposal. If Claremont voters approve the budget on Tuesday, the starting teacher salary will increase to $40,000 over a three-year period, which school officials say will narrow Claremont’s gap with neighboring districts.
If elected, Sullivan would become the first actively enrolled student to serve on the board.
Sullivan plans to attend Colby-Sawyer College in New London next fall, where he plans to study early child education. Sullivan said he believes he will manage the time commitment effectively, noting that the school board only meets twice a month on average.
Notably, the school board also participates in SAU meetings with the Unity board, about one meeting per month, and bi-monthly joint-meetings with the Claremont City Council.
Sullivan says that he has been engaged in local, state and national political issues since a student at Claremont Middle School. In addition to serving as student representative, he has participated in student leadership programs and organized a student demonstration in support of gun safety. He recently worked on the local campaign for Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s presidential bid.
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