THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – Friday, October 11, 2019 ~ Political Announcement ~ Page 7 Town Meeting Member Fisher wants a seat on the Saugus School Committee M y name is Ryan Fisher and I’m running for Saugus School Committee! This is where other candidates may wow you with their decades of community involvement and how their lives have been building to this announcement. I wish I could! Until last week, I’d never even considered myself a true Sachem, even though I’ve lived in Saugus my entire life. My wife and I own the home I grew up in, and we’re raising our daughter Ella (and three cats) here, but I wasn’t a part of the school system after first grade and in a town like Saugus, school means everything. Like so many others, my parents were nervous about the quality of a Saugus education. To afford private schools, my Dad drove a car held together with clothesline, cutting every corner he could. He passed away before retiring, but was always proud of those sacrifices. His job was to make sure I got a great education. I naively assumed I’d provide just as good an education for my daughter. That’s my job, but times are harder. She starts kindergarten in two years, and her part-time daycare alone costs more than my senior year of high school. K-12 could top $200,000. I’ll break my back if necessary to pay her tuition bills, but what if our public schools were exceptional? What if she could be a part of her community, and never felt like an outsider in her own town? I strongly supported the 2017 middle/high school vote, and was so excited it passed overwhelmingly that I ran for Town Meeting as a write-in candidate in Precinct 9. I never missed a session. I voted to increase our GAIESKI | from page 6 to a system functioning at a much higher capacity where student achievement and rigor are prized assets in our educational process and pride in our schools is an everyday occurrence. Furthermore, my fifteen years of experience as a middle school administrator gives me a unique perspective on the management, operations, and budgetary concerns involved in the effective running of a school system. It is my distinct hope that you, the citizens of Saugus, will consider me for one of your five votes for the office of School Committee and allow me to continue to advocate for the education of the students of Saugus and, thereby, the very future of this town. SCHOOL COMMITTEE CANDIDATE: Ryan Fisher and his threeyear-old daughter, Ella. (Courtesy photo to The Saugus Advocate) stabilization fund, replace aged town vehicles and street lighting, eliminate single-use plastic bags and polystyrene takeout containers, and rebuild our playgrounds so Saugus kids would have a safe place to play, in town. As the custodian issue began to pick up steam, I was frustrated that Ron Wallace, an impassioned Town Meeting member, was told he couldn’t speak on their behalf before Town Meeting. I helped collect signatures overnight to give him that opportunity. I questioned the Superintendent about why he was comfortable with a $188k school budget cut, fearing custodial salaries would plug the gap. I published a letter to the editor loudly protesting the School Committee’s June 20th session, where members openly degraded not only each other, but students, parents, and residents, including a Vietnam veteran. I proudly voted to support our custodians in Town Meeting. The vote was 34-2, and the town stood behind us. Today, the town is digging even more into custodial savings trying to make privatization work. We were right. This lack of civility and professionalism is unacceptable. At Town Meeting, I found the member I was most likely to disagree with and sat next to him all term. Easy decision, and we got along great. There is no reason you can’t find progress in disagreement and no reason to make it personal. I’m concerned about a lack of academic rigor. I’ve talked to parents whose kids have little homework, get top marks, but then see weak MCAS scores. Comparatively, we’re not measuring up. I’m concerned about school safety, because without it, nothing else matters. There has been little discussion of free, guaranteed full-day kindergarten, so critical for children and so helpful in convincing parents to stay in the district. I’m also concerned about what happens when the private custodial low-price promotion ends in less than two years. I’m running for School Committee with a promise to restore civility to the committee. I don’t care about who is who, who knows who, or who said what when. I’m not the most well known candidate. That’s my advantage. I was recently told that I am and always have been a Sachem. That means a lot. I’d love to win, but I’m not one of those people that will say whatever I have to to get your vote. I care about my daughter’s future, all of our kids, and our town. I don’t want to live anywhere else, and it’s time we bring our kids home, starting with mine. Vote for Ella’s Dad on November 5th! (Editor’s Note: Saugus residents wishing to announce their candidacy for public office in the fall’s town elections may submit a statement along with a photo to The Saugus Advocate, which will be published as a courtesy to town voters. Friday, Nov. 1, is the last day for publishing these announcements. www.reverealuminumwindow.com * A Delta Dental Premier Provider Dr. Mario Abdennour, Dr. Bhavisha Patel, Dr. Priti Amlani, Dr. Bruce Goldman and team.
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