Meet School Committee candidate Mona Roy

Asked why she wanted to run for School Committee, Mona Roy told LexObserver, “because I deeply care about the community.”

A simple answer, but one that holds a lot of meaning for Roy, who some young people in town call “auntie” or “Mashi.” 

“What it means is, I’m not your parent, disciplinarian, any of those things, but what I am is a trusted source, I’m your well-wisher, I’m here for advice, I’m here to be a shoulder to cry on, I’m here for a hug when you need it, I’m also here for tough love — if you are going down a wrong path, I will say something, not because I’m your parent but because I love you,” Roy explained. She’ll leverage the care she gives as an auntie into her role on the School Committee. 

Roy has built connections with many families in Lexington both through teaching music at a local Bengali school and volunteering in Lexington. She is currently the chair of the Semiquincentennial Commission, through which she helped put on the town’s Lex250 events last year. She was chair of the Human Rights Committee, co-chair of Indian Americans of Lexington’s education committee, and she helped write the bill, “An Act to promote comprehensive and inclusive curriculum in schools.” That bill is still active in the state legislative process for the current session. As the mother of two adult sons, one of whom has special needs, Roy has also done work with Lexington SEPAC. 

“In all of these roles, the core of what I’ve tried to do is listen,” Roy said. “I have deeply engaged with the community to try to be helpful where I can.”  

Roy studied biomedical engineering at Johns Hopkins University and went to law school at Quinnipiac University. She’s now a attorney, specializing in patent and intellectual property law. 

“I think I’ll bring a different brain to this, I think more in engineering terms,” she said. 

Roy plans to use her technical background, coupled with her compassion as an auntie, as a member of the School Committee. 

One of the main issues the School Committee is currently facing is helping to balance the district’s budget and negotiating with the Lexington Education Association on new contracts for its members. 

As the daughter of a school teacher and administrator, Roy has a lot of empathy and respect for teachers.

 “I come from a culture where the word “guru” means teacher, and teachers are venerated,” she said. 

In Indian culture, “guru” signifies a revered spiritual teacher, mentor, or guide who dispels ignorance (“gu” being darkness) with knowledge (“ru” meaning remover). Beyond just a teacher, a guru is considered a counselor, exemplar of life, and a vital source of spiritual wisdom for their disciples. 

“If it was up to me, I would pay them as much as they’re worth,” she said. “But what’s tricky about that is there’s only so much money.”

Roy noted there likely aren’t solutions that will please everyone. But she will try to mitigate the harm that could come with drawing up new contracts while the budget is tight, she said. 

In terms of tackling a budget deficit, Roy said she would prioritize student-facing positions and look for how efficiencies can be made on the administrative side. 

“That doesn’t mean I don’t value administration, but I’m thinking, ‘are we using their time efficiently?’” she said. 

Roy wants to look into how the district can use technology to make processes more efficient. She exemplified leveraging technology to make writing reports or researching ideas for projects more efficient so teachers aren’t as fatigued. 

“One thing I’ve learned from my professional life is that innovation happens out of need,” she said. “Nobody wants to have budget problems, nobody wants to have any sort of problems, but out of problems come solutions.” 

Roy would also like to leverage technology to increase transparency and fiscal responsibility, which can help community trust. 

Roy deepened her understanding of town finances when putting on Lex250, she said. She deduced that there could be more financial transparency between the town and the residents. 

“We asked a lot of questions with [Lex]250 about spending and we couldn’t get any answers,” she recalled. “The fact that we’re struggling and we don’t have the information tells me, it’s 2026, and the answer should not be, ‘this is how we’ve done it.’ I hate that answer.”

Roy said it could be helpful if Lexington looked into using OpenCheckbook, a web-based tool used by governments to provide public access to spending data, including vendor payments, salaries, and pensions. If adopted, residents would be able to better conceptualize how the district, and town, spends its money, she argued. Select Board candidate Doug Lucente has also advocated for the town to adopt the tool. 

“I’m bringing this up as more of a systems thing,” she said. “Whether it’s about what’s being spent or what decisions are being made — how can we demystify these things so we can all be helpful?”

Roy doesn’t view the issue of transparency as having a ‘gotcha’ moment, nor does she believe there are bad actors hiding information from residents. She just wants to give residents as much clarity as possible into how their town government works. 

“We shouldn’t live in a world where we have to file a FOIA request,” she argued. “What we want to do is figure out how to leverage the technology that’s out there to make it easier for people to figure something out or get an answer to a question.”

Roy said she will host office hours to keep in touch with the community. 

Lexington’s school district is currently making some changes to its curricula. It’s piloting a new literacy program for students who are learning to read, altering which AP courses it’s offering and during which years high school students can enroll in AP courses, and phasing German out of its world language department. 

Roy believes in offering rigorous courses, such as APs, when possible, to increase opportunity for students. Growing up in the American South as a child of immigrants, Roy’s hometown did not have a “top-of-the-line school system like Lexington’s” and did not offer rigorous courses, so she ended up going out of district for school. She sees the conversation of whether or not to offer AP courses as an equity issue. 

“Those AP courses matter so students don’t have to take summer courses or can take fewer courses in college,” she said. “It’s important to make sure that we are offering courses where [students] can get the rigor.”

Roy’s two sons also attended Lexington’s public schools. One of her children was moved to a group home at the May Institute for Autism in Randolph. 

“That was one of the most heartbreaking things we’ve ever had to do,” she recalled. 

Her other child graduated from Lexington High School. 

“I have two kids — and, you know, each kid is different — so I understand the honors system and I understand the [system for students with very severe special needs],” she said. 

Roy argued that if she was just a mother to her two sons, she does not think she would be as impactful as she is. 

“The truth is, being an auntie has really given me the opportunity to hear some student perspectives, and it’s really taught me to listen with some humility,” she said. “I hope that I listen to parents with compassion and humility.”

LexObserver asked every candidate running for local office, ‘who is a politician or leader, local or not, who you look up to?’ Roy said Massachusetts State Rep. Vanna Howard, who represents Lowell and Tewksbury and is now running for State Senate. 

Roy is inspired by Howard because she also has an adult child with special needs. Despite not having what some perceive to be a picture-perfect family, as Roy put it, Howard has worked her way up to running to be a state senator. 

“I’m inspired by her because I see that she has also had challenges and now she’s using her experiences to speak up for the people, she’s amazing. I’m excited that we have that voice, that lived experience,” Roy said. “When I was crying in a corner, I felt like, ‘people like us shouldn’t even go to a coffee shop.’ We feel so blamed and shamed for having children with special needs. But when I look at her, she kind of inspires me.”

“For all I know there is a parent out there who’s going to say, ‘oh my God, there’s going to be one of us on the School Committee,’” said Roy. “It’s exciting to see the possibilities for, if not me, someone.”