Jenna Miara said she decided to run for the School Committee in reaction to the distrust between the school system and Newton community.

“It became clear to me that we needed to change the way that we approached some of the challenges and the language that we use to describe what’s happening in the schools,” Miara said. “Based on my professional experiences and my personal perspectives, I think I bring a lot of really critical tools to help move those important changes forward.”

Miara, 47, will face fellow Newton native Ben Schlesinger Nov. 4 in the race for the Ward 5 seat. Emily Prenner, the vice chair and current Ward 5 seat holder, is not seeking reelection.

Miara grew up in Newton and attended Newton South High School until she was 16, then left when her parents accepted professorships at Columbia University in New York. She studied American History at Columbia for her undergraduate education before continuing to Stanford Law School.

She and her husband returned to Newton in 2021 to be closer to their families and enrolled their two children in Angier Elementary and Brown Middle School, the schools she had attended as a child.

“I noticed that both schools are much more inclusive of all kinds of different learning styles and of students with disabilities and other challenges,” Miara said. “I think that’s really great to see. I’ve been really happy with my kids’ experiences.”

A big issue that drew Miara to run for school committee, she said, was the sense of distrust among community members after Mayor Ruthanne Fuller’s unsuccessful 2023 campaign to override Proposition 2½. The proposal would have added $9.2 million to the 2024 budget and increased the annual tax bill of a $2.1 million house – the median value in Newton – by $290. After the override failed, Newton was forced to make budget cuts. 

“If we want to have the ability to come back to the voters and ask for an override to pay for things that the school district needs, we need to start working now to rebuild a sense of trust in partnership with the larger community,” Miara said, “to be clear communicators about what the schools need and what the financial realities of the city budget are.”

As the executive director of the Interest on Lawyer Trust Accounts Committee, a Massachusetts-based organization that funds legal aid programs, Miara said she has learned communications and social media strategies that she intends to implement as a committee member.

“Something I’d like to do as a member of the school committee and maybe have the entire school committee as a group come up with more of a communications plan so that everyone in the city feels more informed,” Miara said.

She also said she believes she can streamline communications with unionized workers at Newton’s schools, especially with her experience as a member of a legal service workers union.

“I’ve been very involved in collective bargaining from both sides of the table,” Miara said. “I’ve worked in unionized environments, supervised unionized staff and implemented collective bargaining agreements for many years.”

School choice, a program that enables schools to accept students from other districts, is a divisive topic among Newton parents. Superintendent Anna Nolin has supported school choice, but Miara and community members are skeptical of the program.

“I would say I’m not convinced on that yet,” Miara said. “I’m open to hearing what she has to say. I want to see some more data from other districts about how the finances have worked out. I want to listen to all the stakeholders in Newton that would be impacted.”

Amid the war between Israel and Palestine, antisemitism has become an issue in Newton schools. Miara said she has a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to discrimination. 

“It’s an incredibly important issue to me on a personal level,” Miara said. “I’m Jewish. I’m raising two Jewish children. The palpable rise in the number and intensity of antisemitic hate incidents in this country is deeply upsetting, and I think the schools have an important role to play in combating that.”

Miara has spent a lot of her career fighting discrimination through litigation and policy as an attorney for firms in Los Angeles and Chicago. 

“The schools need to be constantly thinking of proactive strategies and responsive strategies,” Miara said. She said she wants members of the School Committee to ask themselves, “What kinds of education and programming are we doing in the schools to counter bias and prejudice, and what kinds of policies do we have in place to deal with incidents when they do happen?”

She said her years of serving the communities she has lived in have equipped her to handle Newton’s schools.

“My entire career has been committed to public service as a legal aid lawyer and an anti-poverty advocate and now a nonprofit leader,” Miara said. “It’s core to my sensibilities that we work every day to ensure everybody has access to the support and the opportunities they need to succeed.”

***

This story is part of a partnership between the Newton Beacon and the Boston University Department of Journalism.