CANDIDATE ANNOUNCEMENT: Stephen Turner Announces Re-Election Campaign For School Committee

I am excited to share that I am running for reelection to the Wilmington School Committee!  It has been an honor and privilege to serve these last three years and I am looking forward to the opportunity to serve again.  With you, I hope to continue to build the future of Wilmington Public Schools.

I strongly believe that high quality public education is critical to our democracy.  Public schools exist for the public good and benefit everyone in the community.  They are here to prepare our children to take their place as productive and respectful citizens in our society.  They also are a place for the people to come together and build connections within our community (at high school sporting events, high school and middle school arts and performing arts events, etc.).

Throughout my professional career in the software industry, I have developed the ability to keep big picture goals in mind while diving deeply into the details of topics such as budgets, policies, and contracts.  I believe that my experience in finance and accounting, negotiating customer contracts, and strategic planning has and will continue to benefit the School Committee and add to its diverse group of skills.

Over the last three years, the School Committee has accomplished a great deal and I have been an integral and active part of these accomplishments.

We have advanced the school building project to replace the north side elementary schools.  As one of the School Committee’s representatives on the School Building Committee, I have been a passionate advocate for the needs of our students and the educators who work so hard for them.  I have consistently highlighted the educational needs of our students that this building is meant to meet.  I understand the importance of keeping in mind the costs of any new building, and know that we can never lose focus on the primary purpose of the project – providing the best education for our children.

As Wilmington Public Schools has done for years, we continue to provide the town with quality education, while working to be fiscally responsible.  In my capacity as a member of the School Committee’s Budget Sub-Committee, I have helped to ensure we connect all expenditures in the budget to serving our children’s educational needs.

Working with the community, Wilmington Public Schools developed a new 5-year Strategic Plan for our schools.  This has helped guide the educational direction, budget, and school building project for the district.  As one of the School Committee members who was part of that working group, I helped to align the efforts of the working group to the mission of the Wilmington Public Schools.

Recently, the School Committee selected a new Interim Superintendent.  I participated on the search committee for the Interim Superintendent and in the work of the full School Committee to select the preferred candidate.  I worked to bring in a strong steward who will help Wilmington Public Schools continue its progress towards all of our important goals.

We have a lot of important work coming up in the next year.  We need to continue the work on securing the town votes for the School Building project.   We need to lead the search and hire our new permanent Superintendent.  We need to hire a new Director of Finance and Administration and a new Director of Student Support Services.  With many of these key goals, experience matters.  And I am a candidate that has that direct experience.  My time serving on the Committee these last three years focusing on our district goals will be an asset to the School Committee team, the children, staff, parents, and town.  I will be able to immediately get to work for you to help move these important initiatives forward.

The School Committee members I have served with are an excellent group who have volunteered their time and energy to help our community.  I have been an important part of this group’s work.  I bring my passion and dedication to this work in my capacity as a School Committee member.  I am proud to have been part of this group and look forward to continuing over the next three years.

Please consider me for one of your school committee votes on April 26, 2025 – or during the ongoing early voting at Town Hall.  I would appreciate your vote and would be honored to continue to serve on the Wilmington School Committee.

To learn more about me, please visit: https://www.facebook.com/StephenTurnerSchoolCommittee/

Thank you!

Stephen Turner