The Council on Aging held its annual candidates' afternoon on Tuesday, March 10. Several candidates for April's town election appeared before a small crowd, sharing their messages in a public forum for the first time this year.

In attendance were James Tigges, who is running unopposed to retain his Select Board seat, Jennifer Priest, who is running unopposed for her first full term as Town Clerk, Jack Kelly, who seeks a Planning Board seat for the second year in a row – this time with no competition, and two out of four School Committee candidates.

Incumbent Katherine Bond and challenger Hillary Kleck were in attendance and responded to questions from seniors. Absent were incumbent Jeremy Brooks and challenger Aaron Reeves. The four candidates are vying for two open seats on the School Committee this year.

Council on Aging Director Marge Yetman, who organized the event, said she reached out to all candidates ahead of the event but never heard back from Brooks or Reeves; Reeves said neither he nor Brooks knew about the event and he regretted that he hadn't had the opportunity to share his platform with voters. Burlington Buzz reached out to Brooks for comment but had not received a response as of publication.

Each candidate was allowed an opening statement, and then voters submitted questions either in written or spoken format – mostly to the candidates for School Committee, which is the only contested town-wide race on the ballot.

School Committee

Candidate Introductions

For Katherine Bond, education is a family affair. She has many family members in the education field and boasts extensive community involvement including Pop Warner cheer coaching, various sports organization boards.

Bond pointed to her six years of service on School Committee. "During the past term," she said, "we've implemented a new reading program, we've strengthened our math curriculum, and we hired a new assistant superintendent to help us improve on our curriculum. We are continuing to work hard on a solution for the high school, and we need to find a solution that the whole town can support."

Professionally, Bond works as a senior manager of manufacturing engineering in the defense industry.

Hillary Kleck has been involved in the education system as a parent since her daughter was born blind 21 years ago and has spent a large amount of time navigating the special education space. She also comes from a family with a deep education background and has been active in the Fox Hill PTO.

Kleck said she would support enhanced communication, transparency, data-driven decisions, and increased parent/community engagement as a School Committee member. She also emphasized the need for collaborative problem solving.

Kleck works as a data consultant currently and has a background in electrical engineering.

School Committee Questions and Responses

Question 1: How has your experience as a parent given you the experience you need to be an effective school committee member?

Katherine Bond:

• Moved to Burlington 30 years ago, daughter went K-12 in Burlington schools
• Served on high school council parent advisory board
• Coached Pop Warner cheer for 6 years as head coach
• Held treasurer positions at Winchester Figure Skating Club and board positions at Burlington Hockey and Skating Association and Burlington Swimming Tennis Club
• Handled behind-the-scenes issues like uniform problems and scheduling conflicts between school and ice rink programs
• Emphasized crisis-tested experience having served through COVID in first year on committee

Hillary Kleck:

• Parent of Fox Hill 4th grader and 21-year-old daughter at Perkins School for the Blind
• Experience with both general education and special education systems
• Active in Fox Hill PTO, organizes book fair, helps with ice cream social and classroom volunteering
• Involved with Special Education Parent Advisory Council at Perkins School for the Blind
• Emphasized need for collaboration over "us versus them" mentality
• Stressed importance of clear communication for busy parents

Question 2: Executive Session Communication Issue

Question from Bob Young: "At a recent School Committee meeting, the last item agenda was an executive session. At that point in the meeting, the [chair] told the citizens in attendance that no other public business would be conducted after the executive session. Based on that declaration, all citizens left. But that isn't what happened. The School Committee came back in after session and passed a motion to give Dr. Conti a third year on his current contract. So my question to Ms. Bond first is why was the people of Burlington misled in this situation? And the follow up to that is do you regret your actions that evening?"

Katherine Bond:

• Was acting as Chair that evening
• Did not write the agenda
• Claims she said they were "coming back to session" not "coming back for sole purpose of closing meeting"
• State attorneys found no wrongdoing after complaint was filed
• Acknowledges it would have been better if people could have stayed to express opinions
• Community members could attend next meeting to express concerns

Hillary Kleck:

• Was not at that meeting
• Sees it as example of communication issues
• Notes many people don't understand what school committee does
• Wants to be more proactive in communication
• Suggests better use of town website with agendas, minutes, and calendar information
• Would work to enhance communication about meeting items and agendas

Question 3: How has your experience formed your understanding of how the school system strengthens the wider community?

Hillary Kleck:

• Schools are first thing people look at when choosing communities
• Local business support for school fundraising and events demonstrates community investment
• Partnerships between high school and industry partners create opportunities for students
• Unified sports programs bring community together
• True inclusion means everyone belongs, not just invited
• Community support makes accessibility and inclusion possible

Katherine Bond:

• Schools are primary factor families consider when choosing where to live
• Schools serve as community gathering places for events, plays, sporting events
• Students winning national awards and competitions reflects well on entire community
• Business partnerships and internships benefit both students and local economy
• School facilities like high school and Marshall Simons Middle School host community events like talent shows
• Student achievements in competitions and projects enhance community reputation

Question 4: Scheduling Conflicts Between School Events and Town Functions

Question from Myrna Saltman: How can conflicts be resolved between MIAA playoff games at high school and town meetings/elections that create parking and access problems?

Katherine Bond:

• Acknowledges communication needs improvement
• Supports master calendar concept and communication director role
• Sometimes scheduling conflicts unavoidable
• Debt exclusion vote timing was constrained and unfortunately conflicted with playoff game
• Agrees town needs to do better coordinating events to improve access and parking

Hillary Kleck:

• Supports master calendar and dedicated communications person
• Sees need for better interdepartmental communication for scheduling, budgeting, and long-term planning
• Wants more proactive rather than reactive approach
• Believes better coordination between departments could prevent conflicts

Question 5: New English Language Arts and Math Curriculum

Hillary Kleck:

• As 4th grade parent, received extensive information about new curriculum
• Attended Fox Hill event to see materials and programs
• Acknowledges volume of resources and information provided can feel overwhelming to busy parents, believes communication needs to be more digestible for parents who aren't education experts
• Wants more specific information about how changes affect individual children
• Recognizes teachers have invested significant time learning new programs

Katherine Bond:

• Acknowledges change is difficult for both teachers and parents
• New curriculum implemented because improvement was needed
• Teachers working hard and putting in extra time to learn new programs
• Program designed to be flexible and support all students at all levels
• Incorporates reading, thinking, and writing
• Emphasizes need for parent feedback through surveys and communication with teachers, administration, and school committee
• Parent input essential for program success

Question 6: Parent Climate Survey

Katherine Bond:

• Survey designed to get pulse on parent and student feelings
• Provides information on how students feel about teachers and classroom experience
• Gives parents opportunity to suggest improvements
• Unsure why open-ended questions not included but willing to look into it
• Reminds parents they can attend school committee meetings anytime to express concerns
• Views survey as way to identify areas for improvement

Hillary Kleck:

• Completed survey twice accidentally due to anonymous system design
• Questions seemed very open-ended to her
• Concerned that hard questions might be avoided because answers might be difficult to hear
• Particularly relevant in special education where solutions aren't always perfect
• Wants to mobilize parents and increase engagement
• Believes in two-way communication between schools and families
• Wants more community member involvement beyond just families

Question 7: New Algebra Program at Middle School

Hillary Kleck:

• Aware of math disconnect between middle and high school levels
• Emphasized need for planning and longer-term data analysis

Katherine Bond:

• Identified disconnect between middle school and high school math preparation
• Conducted deep dive into current math program
• New solution allows flexible grouping based on student assessment
• Students can move between groups during year based on need for more or less challenge
• Decisions made collaboratively with parents, teachers, and administration
• Goal is proper placement for high school math classes
• Enables students to take appropriate level including AP classes
• Provides clear pathway for advancement with proper support

Uncontested Candidates

Jim Tigges

Jim Tigges provided updates on several town matters: The snow and ice removal budget is bursting at the seams, he said, due to the heavy snow Burlington has experienced this year. The project to connect the town to the Massachusetts Water Resource Authority's water supply should be complete this year. And the town has hired a Communications Officer, Laura Zakrewski, who he said will help coordinate town communications and create a town-wide calendar.

Tigges shared positive financial news: the town learned this week that it has received a $1 million grant through the economic development office for pedestrian safety improvements along Middlesex Turnpike and the Mall Road area. And, the new police station – which is currently under construction on Center Street – is coming in under budget. The town will only need to bond about $34 million rather than the project's original anticipated budget of $46 million.

Jennifer Priest

Jennifer Priest, the current Town Clerk running for re-election, explained that she has been filling a one-year seat left from the previous term (held by long-time Town Clerk Amy Warfield prior to her 2025 retirement) and is now seeking a full 5-year term. In her approximately 9-10 months in office, she has worked with helpful staff to manage several challenges including a special election in the fall.

Priest described dealing with state-level changes, including a problematic voter registration system rollout in January and a new death records system implemented in June. She emphasized the importance of the current census collection, explaining that these numbers are crucial for various departments including the COA, schools, and water department for resource planning and calculations.

She acknowledged scheduling conflicts that have occurred, including overlaps between MIAA playoff games and Town Meetings & elections, and has been working with the Communications Officer and school staff to improve coordination and provide better advance notice to residents.

Jack Kelly

Jack Kelly emphasized his extensive experience, having previously served 17 years on the Planning Board. He highlighted the institutional knowledge being lost as several long-serving members including Joe Impemba, Ernie Covino, Paul Raymond, and Bill Gaffney have stepped down.

Kelly outlined his past contributions to the Planning Board, including helping establish a professional Planning Director position and updating zoning to include mixed-use provisions. He noted that without the mixed-use zoning changes made during his tenure, developments like Northwest Park would not have been possible.

He spent considerable time educating attendees about the planning board's actual role versus common misconceptions. Kelly clarified that the Planning Board does not make zoning changes (only town meeting does), but rather holds required public hearings for zoning proposals and reviews site plans and special permits based on specific criteria established in the town's bylaws.

Watch on BCAT

The Candidates' Afternoon was recorded by BCAT and will be available soon on their website and YouTube channel.

Burlington's 2026 town election is April 11, 2026, with early voting starting March 30 and running through April 8. Stay tuned to Burlington Buzz for up-to-date election information.