School board candidates say they're driven to service

LACONIA — Barring a surprise write-in campaign, the three school board races in the city’s election on Tuesday will be won by Jennifer Anderson, Nancy Simoneau and Zachary Dea, all of whom are running without opposition, and each of whom spoke about a desire to serve their community.

Anderson is the incumbent candidate for the at-large position and the current chair of the Laconia School Board. Simoneau is running to represent Ward 6, and Dea Ward 1. All positions are for terms of three years.

Anderson

Anderson was already known to many in the community through her roles as deputy director of the Laconia Motorcycle Week Association, professor at Plymouth State University and lecturer at Lakes Region Community College when she was first elected to the school board in 2021.

She said she “came into a bit of a firestorm” when she first joined the board, given the district was still dealing with the high-stakes game of trying to deliver education while in the midst of the effects of the COVID pandemic, and simultaneously investigating complaints about the then-superintendent’s management practices.

She said the first part of her term was spent in “triage,” as she and two other new board members learned the job of serving on the school board while trying to manage competing priorities.

Anderson filed for a second term, she said, because she now understands the role and because she wants to experience it in calmer waters.

“Now I think there’s growth, I really want to be part of an opportunity for growth, that’s a pretty special place to be,” Anderson said. “A second term for me is an opportunity to see the other side of it, to see growth and positivity.”

Dea

A product of the Laconia School District, Dea lived in the city from the age of 5 until he went away to college. He began his career as a computer scientist in New Jersey, where he also started a family, then moved his family back to the city in 2019.

Dea’s wife teaches English at Laconia High School and he has several other educators in his family tree, giving him an informed regard for the value of education and those who deliver it.

“My principle reason for running, it seemed like no one else was going to step up for the job,” Dea said. “I’m a person who doesn’t like to leave things undone.” Dea volunteers for Kiwanis Club, and for the Laconia Youth Soccer League. “There’s roles to be filled in our town, we need people to step up and take care of things that are traditionally volunteer-based roles. This is something that I saw that was a role that needed to be filled and hopefully make positive change in the school district and help keep it running.”

As a parent of two middle school students, Dea said he saw how COVID disrupted education and resulted in learning “gaps” for students, particularly with regard to literacy.

“Literacy rates, standardized testing, the gaps that seem to have grown in that time frame is the prime focus for me, as well as supporting teachers and supporting the district,” Dea said.

Dea said being married to an educator in the district is a “double-edged sword” when it comes to his role on the school board. On one hand, he will bring an unusual level of insight and perspective to board discussions. One the other, he will likely have to recuse himself from voting on certain matters due to a conflict of interest.

“I view it as mostly positive,” Dea said. “I imagine it’s very difficult to understand the teachers’ perspective if you haven’t seen it. I’m hoping to bring that perspective to the board.”

Simoneau

Simoneau will also be bringing a teacher’s perspective, but from a slightly different vantage point. She was the director of a preschool in Gilford for 23 years before retiring. Like Dea, she’s also a child of Laconia who is moved to serve her community.

“Giving something back to this area, I am very excited to be a part of that,” Simoneau said. She attended Elm Street School, and then in the early part of her career she worked as a substitute teacher at Woodland Heights. Recently, she toured the facilities at LHS and the Huot Career and Technical Center, and said she was impressed with what the city offers its young residents.

“I’m excited about education, seeing what’s out there for the kids now,” Simoneau said. “I was blown away by what they’ve got at the Huot Center, the certificates they can earn, credits they can take with them if they want to go to college, there are so many avenues that kids can take now.”

Simoneau doesn’t have a specific to-do list for her first term, explaining she filed for the role because she was asked by a member of the community to do so.

“I think it’s just giving everybody what they need. I think that’s always a challenge, finding the right key for everybody,” she said about the job of school board member. “Definitely COVID was a challenge for everybody. It sounds like things are better off now than they were during that time, and kids are doing better than they were doing.”

The city’s polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 5. Go to laconianh.gov/177/Ward-Locations to see each ward’s polling place.