 Hello, my name is Paul Schlichtman, and I'm here to ask for your vote for school committee in the annual town election, Saturday, April 1st. I have 37 years experience as a teacher, central office administrator, and principal. I served four years on the Minuteman Regional School Committee and 17 years on the Arlington School Committee. In 2004, I served as president of MASC, the Massachusetts Association of School Committees. I'm running for re-election because I want to continue to be part of our excellent team. It's an honor and privilege to work with my outstanding colleagues on the school committee as we work to provide an excellent education for our children. We have met many challenges in the past three years. We reopened our schools as we emerged from the depth of the pandemic. We hired a new superintendent who led us through an excellent visioning process, and we adopted a new five-year strategic plan. We opened the first two wings of our new high school. However, we can't rest on our laurels. Otterson Middle School will be 102 years old this year and 26 years beyond its last renovation. We have 27 years to reach our Arlington's net zero emissions goal by 2050. We will need to make significant upgrades of our HVAC systems as we remove fossil fuels from our schools. The Otterson will be the most challenging renovation as it needs significant work to meet current code and standards. Our task of recruiting and retaining great educators is becoming more challenging. Over the past eight years, housing costs in Arlington have increased 56 percent. Teacher salaries have not kept pace, increasing 22 percent. Housing prices are pushing our teachers to live further and further away from Arlington. They are experiencing longer commutes, driving through towns that pay significantly more than Arlington. A 30-year teacher with a master's degree earns almost $2,000 more in Chelmsford, $5,900 more in Burlington, and $6,200 more in Concord, Carlisle. I want to thank the voters at the Finance Committee and Town Meeting for supporting our efforts to make our salaries more competitive. We've made progress, but there's more work to be done. Arlington seeks to hire more educators of color because we want our teaching staff to reflect our students. In Arlington, 68 percent of our students identify as white compared to 90 percent of our staff. We're not alone. Many Massachusetts districts are also looking for highly qualified educators of color for the very same reason. Massachusetts has a unique, expensive series of teacher tests required for licensure. Applicants can pay hundreds of dollars to sit for general and content area testing. This discourages successful out-of-state teachers looking to relocate from less supportive environments from choosing Massachusetts. Why jump through our hoops when other states offer reciprocity to incoming teachers? Written tests are not good indicators of successful classroom practice. School districts can successfully screen and evaluate teachers moving from an initial to a professional license. As past president of MASC, I've been working with school committee members across the state to change state law and state policies that are barriers to successful school governance. With a new governor, I see opportunities for progress. That's why I'm asking my friends and neighbors to grant me a new three-year term to continue this work. I'm running for reelection because I want to work with my colleagues on the school committee and the community to find solutions for the challenges before us. The challenges are significant, but we are strong, smart, determined, and we will emerge with even better schools in an even better town. If you want to learn more about me and the issues, I invite you to visit my website www.schlickman.org. You will find a link to the websites of the other three candidates who also deserve your consideration for one of your three votes on April 1st. I want to thank ACMI for the opportunity to speak to you today, and thank you for listening. I'm Paul Schlickman, and I respectfully ask for your support and vote on Saturday, April 1st.