A Crowded Race for Needham School Committee
March 17, 2025
• In a highly contested race for School Committee, three incumbents will defend their seats against three challengers vying to join the seven-member board.
Update (March 24): Incumbent Connie Barr announced she would no longer seek reelection. The story below appears in its original form.
First-term member Alisa Skatrud and her other seasoned colleagues Connie Barr and Andrea Longo Carter seek another three-year term. Opponents Sri Devi Baqri, Scott Marder and Leanne Ratti entered the race with diverse backgrounds and experience, though all three have elementary-aged children in Needham Public Schools. The town election is Tuesday, April 8.
Needham Local spoke with the candidates about their platform, background and reasons for entering the race.
The Newcomers:
Sri Devi Baqri
A good education, in Sri Baqri’s book, is a balanced one. Her collegiate days in Singapore concentrated heavily on math and science, whereas her Canadian high school in India felt more well-rounded, and science kids like her were still taught the value of the humanities.
That upbringing broadened her worldview and informed her outlook on her own children’s schooling. Her two daughters attend Mitchell Elementary, where Baqri serves as vice president of the parent-teacher council.
Through the PTC, Baqri said she encourages the school community to foster a “sense of belonging,” particularly for students in the Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity (METCO) program, who live outside Needham. Through the REAL Coalition, they also aim to build inclusivity, she said.
That work carries over to Baqri’s participation in the Needham Resilience Network, where she and her cohort focus on youth mental health support. That is something Baqri said she would advocate for on the School Committee.
“Collectively, it’s a recognition that our schools are really the places where our children grow and thrive and build a sense of community and belonging and an interest to support that,” Baqri said of her candidacy. “And the School Committee felt like the next level to potentially consider to do that.”
She chose Needham for its large budgetary allocation to its schools, though she cautioned officials to be thoughtful about spending and prioritize “maximizing student benefits,” she said. A microbiologist and molecular geneticist by training — and now an editor at Cell, a science magazine — Baqri said she’s concerned about plummeting nationwide math scores and would like to identify opportunities to better support students’ success.
The committee’s role focuses on high-level policy, Baqri said, so it’s important to align and work cohesively.
Her mother was a teacher for 45 years, and Baqri herself teaches one annual class to students at Harvard Medical School, her alma mater. “I have a great respect for teachers,” she said.
Her free time is spent at the Needham Free Public Library — “we could practically live there,” she said of her family.
Both her personal experience and professional life inform her candidacy and commitment to the committee if elected.
“I am coming from a place of respect and wanting to learn and work and offer, hopefully, a different perspective,” Baqri said. “I’m hoping also that the science mind and different approach in thinking will be something that will hopefully enrich our schools and our community at large.”
Scott Marder
As an elementary school psychologist in Wellesley, Scott Marder has seen first-hand the rise in student needs post-COVID and how the pandemic hurt their social-emotional development. When absenteeism is high, academics will falter, Marder said.
Following NPS budget cuts, which impacted social-emotional programs as well as several teachers, Marder said he felt the need to run for School Committee.
“The current School Committee works really well together, and you can see that, but I don’t necessarily think they always ask the tough questions,” Marder said.
If elected, Marder said he would take a magnifying lens to the budget and think strategically about cost-cutting measures with the lowest impact on students. He suggested negotiating for better contracts with vendors, including those that provide transportation and out-of-district placement for special needs students.
Marder also criticized the district’s decision to pay to pilot Units of Study, a controversial literacy program other residents have vocally opposed at recent meetings.
Needham’s counselor-to-student ratio, as well as resources at its elementary schools, indicate there are quality supports in place, Marder said. High absenteeism rates hurt student learning, but Marder said he feels strong social-emotional learning can empower students and keep them invested and connected.
The parent of a 5 and 6-year-old, Marder moved to Needham three years ago in pursuit of a high-quality school system. He now serves as the parent representative to his son’s kindergarten class. Being around children helps him understand what they need most, he said.
If elected, he also hopes to maintain current class sizes, which he feared would increase after the zoning referendum. “One [additional] student can totally shape a room,” he said.
The School Committee’s role can also be one of advocacy, Marder said. He spoke at the committee’s March 4 meeting to draw attention to the Needham Extended Day Program, which provides after school care but fills up too quickly, leaving parents without affordable options. Accommodating more families is complicated, he said, but worth addressing.
It’s their job to put the needs of students first and collaborate with all stakeholders to make progress, Marder said.
“I think the School Committee works for the community, and certainly it’s a volunteer position, but the role of a School Committee member is to advocate for obviously a balanced budget,” Marder said, “but for the community members, for the schools, and I think certainly for the great teachers in Needham, and for the families and for the students, first and foremost.”
Leanne Ratti
When Leanne Ratti isn’t teaching her students in Boston Public Schools, she’s sharing her expertise on the soccer field, in the basketball gym and wherever else her children’s busy schedules take them. Parents come to her, she said, because they trust her.
Those same parents encouraged Ratti to lend her voice to the School Committee. She would be the only teacher on the committee if elected.
Ratti, a certified dyslexia practitioner, has followed the discussion around the piloted literacy programs at NPS and shared her input to the committee. Thanks to public feedback, Ratti said she’s hopeful the district moves toward a knowledge-building curriculum, though she expressed dismay at the district’s perceived lack of communication with parents.
One of her three children qualified for reading support in first grade, but Ratti said the schools only offer a specialized program starting in second grade. After tutoring him, in tandem with the school, he’s now reading at grade level.
But their experience perhaps points to gaps in the district, Ratti said, which she’d intend to correct.
“This is a really important decision,” Ratti said of the literacy pilots. “We’re at a crossroads with what curriculum we can move forward with, and we are educated, and know from evidence, from proof, that some curriculum have proven to be effective and some have not.”
To further address literacy challenges, Ratti co-founded the Needham Literacy Coalition, which is petitioning school officials to institute high-quality literacy alternatives.
Ratti descends from two generations of teachers and began her own teaching career 16 years ago. On the committee, she would advocate for strong professional development for teachers, because “what’s good for students and what’s good for teachers aren’t mutually exclusive,” she said.
As a special education teacher, Ratti said she’d also aim to “enhance and expand” special education resources and ensure students that are placed out of the district still feel included in the school community. She also teaches general education and ESL.
Her oldest child attends High Rock, and her two youngest both attend Sunita Williams Elementary School. The district may convert High Rock into another elementary school, and should the need exist and class sizes be maintained, Ratti said she’d consider it, pending budgetary discussions.
In her view, “it’s time for new faces on the committee.”
“As the mother of three children in Needham Public Schools, and as an educator with 16 years of experience, I have a deep commitment to advancing education for all students,” she said.
The Incumbents:
Connie Barr
In her first term on the School Committee, Connie Barr recalls her desire to work collegially to support the district’s new superintendent. Looking back on the 18 years that followed, Barr said she isn’t one to dwell on highlights, but instead, she keeps her sights on the future.
As she runs for her seventh term, Barr said there’s still more work to be done, namely the renovations to Pollard Middle School and Mitchell Elementary School, as well as negotiating fair contracts with teachers, approving a balanced budget and supporting the success of all learners.
During her tenure, Barr said two of her key priorities have emerged: diversifying their hiring and maintaining and renovating school buildings, which can prove financially difficult. NPS currently staffs a higher percentage of staff of color, which Barr said “is really important to me.”
Institutional knowledge ensures that progress continues and communication is swift, she said, and joining the committee comes with a learning curve.
“One does come to understand that the School Committee to school leadership is sort of a board management relationship. We support and ask questions and think analytically and represent our constituents in their questions and concerns, while the school department is the operational body, is the one who makes the decisions,” Barr said. “So learning that relationship is important.”
This year’s contested races “keeps things vibrant,” the three-time chair said. Garnering public feedback is a crucial part of their job, Barr said — constituent feedback about literacy helps the committee pay even more attention to the needs of staff and students. School leadership is working to pilot “more modern and appropriate” literacy programs, she added.
Barr’s first exposure to NPS was through her stepkids. When her husband couldn’t attend their Needham High School senior’s back-to-school night, Barr filled in. From there, she participated in all levels of her children’s schooling and worked on several override campaigns prior to her role on the School Committee. She’s now lived in Needham for 40 years and is a Town Meeting member for 17 years running.
Looking ahead, Barr said the committee is at a critical juncture, especially given recent federal government action. A practicing physician, she takes the straight-forward approach.
“I just do what I feel needs to be done,” she said. “It’s an important time to hit the ground running, and I’d like to continue to work in these areas going forward.”
Andrea Longo Carter
During her 10-year tenure on the School Committee, Andrea Longo Carter has led “during uncertain times” — namely the pandemic. She chaired during the 2020-2021 school year and said she learned more that year than all of her years on the committee.
Schools once again are facing uncertainty. Teachers are leaving the profession, and the Department of Education is facing extensive cuts, which could jeopardize funding specifically for special education.
All of that is on Carter’s mind as she seeks another term. Her campaign this time is centered on three priorities: negotiations with teachers and school staff — a top-of-mind issue following the Newton teachers’ strike — providing the best education for all students and mobilizing support for the Pollard Middle School renovation project.
The past three years have focused primarily on recovering from the pandemic while also addressing gaps the pandemic exacerbated or exposed, Carter said. The committee sought coherence in instruction, leading to the introduction of the illustrative math program and ongoing literacy pilot.
Beyond academics, student mental health also came into focus.
“Teen mental health problems — that was an issue before COVID, but that dislocation really shined a huge light on that and that,” Carter said. “I think that has certainly come to the forefront as a big initiative for the School Committee, to try and look at ways we can get resources in the schools to support students and to support families. That’s a huge thing.”
Carter said she’s most proud of developing the Portrait of a Needham Graduate, which serves as a “focal point” for student achievement. Despite threats to education and inclusion initiatives, Carter said the committee will “remain committed to ensuring that all students, all families, all staff are welcome and able to achieve in our schools, full stop.”
Similar to her colleagues, Carter joined the committee following her involvement in parent-teacher councils, starting at the preschool level. Carter also campaigned for the 2014 school budget override.
Residents’ commitment to serving their town, even on a volunteer basis, is admirable, she said, and she hopes she and the School Committee continue to challenge each other to make the town a better place.
“Certainly on the School Committee, we have such a collegial relationship with one another, and we don’t always agree,” Carter said. “We really talk about things that come up. We push one another to think about things differently, and I’ve really appreciated that and valued it.”
Alisa Skatrud
If the school district were a ship and the pandemic were choppy waters, the School Committee represents members of the crew, trying to steer the vessel in the right direction. In her first term on the committee, Alisa Skatrud said their energies focused on providing support post-COVID.
Some of that work gained public attention, but other efforts flew under the radar, including the committee’s contract negotiations. Skatrud participated on all three of the negotiations teams, where they settled on competitive contracts. She credits their collaboration and response to market needs.
Getting residents connected and engaged is a top priority for Skatrud, who became involved with the committee following her tenure on Citizens for Needham Schools and participation in parent-teacher councils. Gathering feedback is important, she said.
“[It’s] making sure that people are informed, that we have buy-in and a real coalescing of public opinion about the support for schools and building projects and things like that. Things are going to be increasingly important going forward.”
Pollard Middle School and Mitchell Elementary School “are in dire need” of infrastructure renovations, Skatrud said, and there’s an added focus to ensure administrators make appropriate curriculum choices that close achievement gaps.
Social-emotional needs are also high, with students facing added pressures from social media, technology and artificial intelligence, she said. By giving them tools, support and “guard rails,” Skatrud said students could be more productive in the long-term.
Skatrud is the parent to three children, the eldest of whom has Down Syndrome and recently completed Needham’s post-graduate program. Skatrud served on the Special Education Parent Advisory Committee (SEPAC) and now is a liaison to that group as a School Committee member.
Her family moved to Needham not once but twice — in 2010, they relocated to a Minneapolis suburb but returned to town three years later. “I’m one of those people that chose Needham not just because of the idea of the schools, but because of the actual experience in the schools.”
The committee has significant power, but Skatrud said they wield it well.
“I think the work that School Committee does is vital and important,” Skatrud said. “I think we have an opportunity to influence a lot of things, but our primary work is policy work and budget work. And those can be done superficially, or they can be done thoughtfully and deeply and impactfully, and I am so honored to have been part of a school committee that does the latter.”
