Candidate Profile: Richard Russo For Tewksbury School Committee

TEWKSBURY, MA — Tewksbury will have seven races in the April 2 municipal election, including a three-candidate race for School Committee.

Tewksbury Patch asked candidates to answer questions about their campaigns and will be publishing candidate profiles over the coming weeks.

Richard Russo is one of three candidates running for the School Committee, along with Kayla Biagioni-Smith and Christine Chesbrough.

Russo is the CEO & CFO of a med device manufacturing company that helps transform stroke patients lives and regain upper mobility.

Are you running for office in Tewksbury? Contact [email protected] for information on being featured in a candidate profile and submitting campaign announcements to Tewksbury Patch.

Previously on Patch: 17 Candidates Filed For Tewksbury's 2022 Town Election: See Who's Running

Richard Russo Jr.

Age (as of Election Day)

41

Position sought (including ward or district number if applicable)

Tewksbury School Committee

Party Affiliation

Republican

Family

Wife--Wendy
Children--Noah (16), Grace (16)--sophmores at TMHS; Zachary (14)--Freshmen at TMHS

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

No

Education

Graduated from Bridgewater State University with a Bachelors Degree in Accounting and a Master's Degree in Management and Accounting. Also hold a CPA license

Occupation

I have held a few financial leadership roles throughout my 20 year career. Currently, I've been at my current company for 18 months and am the CEO & CFO of a med device manufacturing company that helps transform stroke patients lives and regain upper mobility.

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office

I have held many volunteer positions within our community:
Tewksbury Youth Baseball--Program Director for 3 divisions ages 8-16
Tewksbury Boys Basketball League--Program Director for 3 divisions ages 8-14
Tewksbury Youth Football and Cheer--Served on board for 6 years and as President for 4+ years

Campaign website

https://www.facebook.com/group...

Why are you seeking elective office?

My desire to serve on the Tewksbury School Committee is simple, I’m enthusiastic about the educational experience for all students and believe that every child in Tewksbury deserves a first-class education. I will bring a financial mind to the current committee based on my education and professional experiences. I also believe that the Tewksbury school district has the ability to be a leader in education within the Commonwealth.

The single most pressing issue facing our (board, district, etc.) is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

Supporting our educators on being able to meet kids where they are. The last 2 years have been very hard, remote learning was hard, it was hard on our kids and it was hard on our teachers and support staff. Kids lacked the ability to interact with their peers on a regular basis, an element so vital in their social and emotional growth and development. Teachers lacked the ability to really connect with their students and in many cases had to work twice or even three times as hard to support their classroom needs. All levels of students and teachers have suffered in some way as a result of this. What I will strive to do is continue to work with our administration and district leadership on creative ways to can continue to narrow any gaps that have occurred as a result of the pandemic. I would want to put a focus on student achievement and be thoughtful on ways to promote that, something so vital for our district.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

I think we are fortunate enough to have a diverse group of school committee members and candidates. I do believe what makes me a unique candidate is my proven track record of demonstrating leadership both professionally and personally within the community as well as my skills as a financial leader in the business community.

If you are a challenger, in what way has the current board or officeholder failed the community (or district or constituency)

I don’t believe our current school committee has failed our community. Stepping up to run for local office takes a lot of strength, perseverance, and leadership. Being a leader is not easy and often requires making tough decisions for the betterment of the whole district and not necessarily what may be best for one particular interest group or stakeholder.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

I think there are several important tasks and decisions that the school committee will be working through over the coming months and years. I believe they are:

• Hiring and continuous evaluation of the new Superintendent
• Budget approval
• Ongoing contract negotiations with various unions
• Ensuring we are continuing to meet kids where they are
• Merging into the new elementary school and all the facets that brings
• Establishing a focus on improving student achievement
• Working with the administration to provide quality, targeted, meaningful professional development
• Hiring of a new High School Principal
• Social and emotional learning support for all of our students
• Bringing unity and collaboration to our entire district to continue to grow our Tewksbury school system

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

When I joined the board of Tewksbury Youth Football and Cheer back in 2016, and took over as President in 2018, I never thought it would grow to what it has become today. Our tackle football numbers are up 17%, our cheer numbers are up 14%, our flag football numbers are up 24% and overall approximately 20%. The tremendous growth we have seen over the last 6 years has been absolutely incredible and a very humbling experience and is truly a testament to the product we deliver. We have been able to provide a first-class experience with football and cheerleading all while keeping registration fees significantly lower than other surrounding communities. I’m proud of what our board and other volunteers within the TYF community have accomplished and look forward to continued success with the program. I want to translate the achievements that we have had with running a successful program within our community to achievements for the students within our school district and the residents within our community.

The best advice ever shared with me was:

The best advice I’ve ever been given is to never quit. No matter what the task at hand is, I will always strive to give 110% as evidenced by my work ethic and where I’m at in my career as well as my volunteer efforts throughout the town.

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

Although I have never been a teacher or worked in the administration of public schools, I have been very active in our community, working for our families and our children since the moment I graduated college which started out by volunteering at Saint Williams Church, serving the youth group ministry as well as working with our teenage population and serving for the TEC (Teens Encounter Christ) community. When Wendy and I had children and they became school age, my community volunteer work expanded and took on roles such as assistant coach, head coach, score keeper, facility and grounds keeper, referee, board member and now have been the President of Youth Football and Cheer for almost 5 years. All of these efforts have one thing in common, supporting and mentoring the children in our community and providing a positive experience for not only those kids but for all participating families in our community.

All the efforts that have gone into my campaign, didn’t just start in early January, but were started over a year ago! The work that I have put in over the last few months, has been to work to gain perspective, educate myself on some of the ongoing elements of our district and made efforts to bring collaborative dialogue to the community, and specifically, the district administration, many families and residents, as well as the teacher’s union, who ultimately ended up endorsing my candidacy for school committee. I’m excited to get to work for the 30,000 residents of Tewksbury and hope that you will vote for me on Saturday April 2!