Van der Kloot Leaves School Committee Race

 

Paulette Van Der Kloot Withdraws From School Committee Race

Van der Kloot has served on the Medford School Committee for 32 years. https://patch.com/massachusetts/medford/paulette-van-der-kloot-withdraws-school-committee-race  

"To the citizens of Medford,

I have been extraordinarily fortunate to serve as a member of the Medford School Committee for 32 years. It is extremely difficult to leave work you love and value. As my closest friends and family know, in the last few months I have debated the pros and cons of continuing my candidacy. While I have truly loved working to better the Medford Public schools for all our children, I have decided to withdraw from the upcoming election.

I have been blessed to see generations of students grow. I've attended thousands of school events, concerts, games and meetings. I've handed diplomas to hundreds of Medford High School graduates. I am thankful to all the extraordinary educators that I have been so fortunate to work with including former Superintendents Roy Belson and Superintendent Dr. Maurice Edourd-Vincent. I am grateful to all my school committee colleagues over the years who shared the countless hours of meetings and budget deliberation as well as Mayor McGlynn, Mayor Stephanie Muccini-Burke and Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn. I am grateful to Glenn Koocher and the Massachusetts Association of School Committees. I am grateful to Senator Pat Jehlen for her commitment to education issues and to Representatives Christine Barber, Paul Donato and Sean Garballey. And, I am very thankful to all the Medford citizens who put their trust in me and 'Gave a Hoot' over and over again.

Lastly, I am eternally grateful to my daughters Kate, Megan and Elizabeth and their families and to my husband Bob who put up with all that comes with having a mom/wife as a public servant. Their patience with me has been more than anyone could ever hope for.

My fervent wish for the future of Medford is that we can all come together and overcome the divisiveness that plagued much of this last year. Though I am stepping down from the school committee, you can expect to see me continuing to support our students and the City of Medford in any way that I can. I will still always 'Give a Hoot' about our kids!"