The Revere Board of Education (BOE) welcomes two new members who are excited to drive positive change alongside the three current board members.
At the January board meeting held on January 13, two new board members, Jeffery Bowler and Jennifer Burke, were elected to the board. The two joined the current members, Kasha Brackett, Courtney Stein and Natalie Rainey. At the board meeting, Brackett was elected the new board president, winning a 3-2 vote.
“My goal is to . . . broaden the transparency between [the board and community]. We’re making sure that we expand the ways that the community understands what we’re discussing and what things are going on in the district,” Brackett said.
While the board needs to work well with the community, they also need to work well with each other. An important aspect of working well together is remaining professional, even when disagreements arise.
“They [the other board members] are extremely nice people. They have a lot of ideas, and they’re excited. . . . We all have different perspectives on things, which I think is actually really good. I think it’ll be good to show people that in 2026 we can still have different opinions and be professional, productive and collaborative,” Rainey said.
Since the induction of the new members, they have discussed several issues that are important and relevant to the Revere community.
“We just started together in January, but we’ve had quite a few meetings, lots of things to discuss. I think we’ve made some really good decisions. . . . I think we’ve made some good strides with our Richfield Elementary principals being extended,” Stein said.
There can be difficulty when people feel strongly about topics that are up for discussion. Bowler discussed his experience working with the community, especially when sensitive topics are brought up.
“With people passionately supporting one another, it’s gonna take some time to build trust amongst the board members and with the community at large. We’re making sure that the community trusts the board in our processes and how we’re going about our work. . . . We’re making efforts to make sure that we communicate, we’re open, and we connect with the people that elected us,” Bowler said.
Even when people have problems with the decisions the board makes, they handle the situation with professionalism and try to ease the tension.
“[We have to understand] that each person at the table is sacrificing their time and their energy to be there to make the best decisions for the kids in the district. . . . It’s a lot easier to work through some of those disagreements and conflicts and to know that it’s not personal towards me and it’s certainly not personal towards any of the other board members,” Burke said.
The board will continue to make strides in the community. They work closely with Superintendent Dan White to provide more mental health resources for students at Revere, and make advancements within the community. The next board meeting will be held on Tuesday, April 21, in the Revere High School Media Center.
