Tell us a little about yourself. You can include your personal background, family, outside interests that are important to who you are as a person and a candidate.
Born in communist Czechoslovakia, severe shortages of food and housing taught me how to build something from nothing. In 1968, after the Soviet invasion I emigrated to Canada, learned English, and earned an M.S. in Computer Science and an M.Ed. I taught Montessori math, high school math and science, and computer science at the University of Toronto, USC and Boston University (BU). I followed my fiancé to the United States to study. We married, I taught at Wentworth IT, got a Ph.D. in Computer Science from BU and lectured there. We had a child, and in 1983 moved to Lexington for its schools. Privileged to become a “professional volunteer,” I focused on our growing family (we have 4 children) and volunteered on many projects serving children. I lobbied for legislation mandating that kids use bike helmets. I volunteer-produced nationally televised bike safety PSAs starring Celtics players. I love gardening and architecture, and in 2010 I was the general contractor to rebuild our old moldy house. In 2013, exposure to mold made me extremely ill, but now (though disabled) I am back to life.
Why are you running for Town Meeting?
After I served my term on the School Committee from 2004-2007, I tuned out of Town politics until February 2024 when I became aware of the SBC’s work on renewing LHS and the HUGE cost of $660 million dollars for this project, and later learned about the possible problems of the MBTA excessive rezoning.
Once back to paying attention, I started to talk to my friends and neighbors about how they envision Lexington to look and be governed, I learned about other concerns they had about projects I was not aware of: Merriam Street/Edgewood development, ADA trails in Willards Woods (duplicated in Parker Meadow), gas blower ban enforcement, how to control invasive plants such as knotweed and the scope of spending and changes made for our Lex250 celebrations.
Lexington has significant challenges ahead – I have the perspective, research skills and persistence to contribute to Town Meeting and to represent my Precinct.
How has your past experience — whether in your professional life, elected office, or as a community leader — prepared you for a role in Town Meeting?
I have held leadership roles in privately-funded projects: $25,000 landscaping of the old Fiske grounds, over $70,000 for the old Fiske playground and a $225,000 Lexington Skate Park (still in use). As a volunteer I worked 60+hrs per week as a client representative for the duration of the early 2000s renovations of Diamond, Clarke and LHS. According to a letter from Superintendent Benton, I saved our school system over $1 million during this period.
I served in Town Meeting and then on the School Committee from 2003-2007. I helped resurrect and coach the LHS Science Olympiad team which was terminated because of a failed override. We found that our house was contaminated by mold causing various illnesses. I spent 2 years researching building materials and techniques that provide a healthy indoor environment. We built the first (in New England) ADA compliant house with solar and geo-thermal systems, which provide a healthy indoor environment. My current main interest is the renewal of LHS.
What is the most important issue in this election to you personally, and what ideas do you have about how to address this issue?
I will support any motion in TM that reduces the current 228 acres to close to the State-mandated amount (50 acres), for now.
I do NOT support the current LHS proposal called Bloom. Bloom is to be built in the fields on land protected by Article 97, costing about 2/3 of a billion dollars (architects not given a budget!!!) and will likely be the wrong size because of expected new students from MBTA housing. Along with others, I have spent months looking for a solution that would satisfy the educational plan, eliminate overcrowding that results in loss of electives, and retain the $100 million MSBA grant approved for Bloom.
I now have such a plan: rebuild LHS in TWO STAGES, satisfy all of the requirements that MSBA has for their $100 million grant, and deliver a complete modern high school by 2032 (2033 at the latest). Unlike Bloom which will never be able to educate more than about 3,700 students (with same overcrowding), my plan will have space for a set of buildings that will be able to educate somewhere between 4,000 and 4,500 students at 85% (optimal) capacity. Since Dr. Hackett’s preferred high school size is around 3,000 students (she can imagine one with 3,300), this implies that if we exceed 3,300 (e.g., 4,000 students of high school age), we’ll need multiple buildings to re-arrange grade-groupings. Unlike Bloom, my staged plan can have multiple buildings built on the current site.
Stage 1 can be a large building with academic classrooms (and science labs) in place of Foreign Language Building, completed 2028-2029. Stage 2 starts once new enrollment numbers are known – 2028-2029, is adjusted for size, and completed 2032-2033.
I believe in data, and do the research I need to form an opinion. I believe that if people are presented analysis that includes pros and cons of options for getting a project done (LHS, affordable housing, accessible Willards Woods, etc.), they will almost always make the best choice. The key is to listen to differing points of view, ask the right question and do the analysis. I found that during the LHS design process, opponents of the selected design were not listened to by the SBC.
In Town Meeting and in Town Hall we need to rethink how we communicate with residents, how we listen to their concerns and how we look for solutions that are acceptable to the largest number of Lexingtonians. If elected I REPRESENT my constituents.
I do not want to live in a town (or a country) where a 51% majority dictates their priorities while I have to pay for them.
If elected to Town Meeting I will work to insure that we have not just this year’s but a multi-year plan for sufficient operating budgets commensurate with top schools WITHOUT OVERLOADING TAXPAYERS. I hope to help improve timely communication to residents while decisions are developed, and hope to foster better collaboration among wider groups of interests.
Please give me one of your Precinct 6 Town Meeting votes on March 3rd. Even if you don’t like what I stand for, please exercise your right and VOTE!