To the editor:

Bristol voters will choose school committee members this November, and candidate forums tell only part of the story. Having previously spoken with some of this year's candidates and watched past School Committee meetings, I think voters should hear more about where two of them stand.

Jessica Almeida first ran in 2022 on a promise to raise test scores, and she brought a thick binder to a candidate forum to show she meant it. However, at the September 24 forum this year, she said scores were still "in the bucket," which she attributed to "a lack of resources and support directly to the students." That's a fair concern, but it's the same problem she pledged to fix. Since her election, she has frequently dissented and voted against budgets, and she lost her position as the committee's treasurer. Voters deciding whether to return her should ask what goals she has accomplished.

Her record before joining the committee is worth knowing. During the pandemic, she spoke repeatedly at school committee meetings against student masking. In one meeting, she objected to a school librarian reading "Were I Not a Girl" to elementary classes. The picture book tells the true story of Dr. James Barry, born female in the early 1800s, who lived as a man to attend medical school and became a celebrated army surgeon. Ms. Almeida told the committee, "if parents were aware of their agendas, some of you, if not many, would not be sitting here today," and said the book "talks about openly changing genders, leaving some kids confused." Those views are hers to hold, but they haven't featured in her campaign, and voters who are pro-LGBT should weigh them.

When I asked William O'Dell what should change in our schools, he told me curriculum being "pushed" was "untrustworthy" and that parents should be able to review every lesson plan. Pressed further, he said the LGBT community had become "too political" and was "pushing too far." Asked for an example, he cited Pride Month and the parades: "Are people so insecure that they need a whole month to make themselves feel special?" He bemoaned gender-neutral bathrooms, saying "we were treating some kids as more equal than others," said schools were "kowtowing," and called it "unrealistic" to expect everyone to use the name a student goes by.

In my view, those positions are hostile to LGBT students, who are among the most vulnerable kids in our schools. Some voters will agree with Mr. O'Dell and Ms. Almeida, and that is their right. But everyone deserves to vote knowing what candidates believe, not just what they say at forums.

Jonathan Carney

Bristol