The following is Ward 7 School Committee member Mary Jo Rosetti's testimony to the mayor's Charter Review Committee.

My
name is Mary Jo Rossetti, as an elected school committee member I serve
and represent all children of our city, I happen to reside in Ward 7.
In my near 10 years of service I have never been more opposed to a
recommendation. The thought of appointing anyone to a body of
government is illogical.

Couple that with the audacity of
"requiring" these appointed bodies to have "educational expertise and
diversity" is more than disturbing to me. At one of your committee
meetings last month, I asked that you note our current annual and long
range goals. I hope you have found the time to do so.

I note
that the only recommendation you have requested of our current Board of
Aldermen is to rename this legislative body as City Council, and in
your Chair's words, this is to allow them to be "gender neutral."

With
no disrespect intended to these current elected officials, what makes
them "experts" to manage all areas of our city? Need I remind you that
we, as elected School Committee members, have the ability to hire and
fire the school's Superintendent, and furthermore that this position
pays greater than $160,000 per year! Is it your opinion we are not
being advised by an "educational expert" for this amount of money?

School
committees are at the heart of civic engagement in the United States.
In fact, the last general school district (besides Boston) to use
appointed board members is shifting back to elected representatives
effective this month (Southern Berkshire Regional).

A recent
study by the National School Board Association noted that "elected
school boards compromise an overwhelming majority" throughout our
country. Exactly what data did you use?

This smells like an
attempt of control by taking over the schools and taking it from the
hands of the community. Do we believe that the voters do not deserve to
select their elected officials and public policy makers?

What
is the problem here in the first place and why the change? Do you just
want to do something different because somebody told the presidential
candidates that "change" is the new buzzword for 2008?

Appointed
members smacks of both elitism and politics. Does this mean people can
lobby or deal their way onto the School Committee rather than seeking
the support of the people?

One of our local newspapers
recently gave a "Thumbs Down" to Question 5. As they stated, an elected
official "seems to have worked for over the last few hundred years."

In
closing, I will refer to a quote of Governor Patrick in a recent
statement of his dated October 31, 2008: "In a successful democracy,
the currency of government is integrity. We in public office are not
entitled to our positions. We are placed here by voters to do the best
we can on their behalf. And we are expected to conduct their business
honestly and openly."