Walsh, West, Weinberg and Hastings win Concord School Board

School board District B winner Jonathan Weinberg (center) poses for a photo outside the Ward 5 polling place at Green Street Community Center at 9:45 a.m. on Nov. 3, 2020. Eileen O'Grady—Monitor Staff
School board District C winner Brenda Hastings stands outside the Ward 9 polling place at Citywide Community Center at 7:45 a.m. on Nov. 3, 2020. Eileen O'Grady—Monitor Staff
School board District B winner Jonathan Weinberg casts his ballot at the Ward 5 polling place at Green Street Community Center.
School board District A winner Kate West holds a sign outside the Ward 2 polling place at the Barn at Bull Meadow. Eileen O’Grady photos / Monitor staff
School board District A winner Kate West (center) holds a Black Lives Matter sign outside the Ward 2 polling location, the Barn at Bull Meadow, at 11 a.m. on Nov. 3, 2020. Eileen O'Grady—Monitor Staff
District B school board candidate Allie Maltais holds her sign outside the Ward 5 polling place at the Green Street Community Center at 10 a.m. on Nov. 3, 2020. Eileen O'Grady—Monitor Staff
School board at-large winner Pamela Walsh holds her sign outside the Ward 4 polling place at the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Concord at 11:30 a.m. on Nov. 3, 2020. Eileen O'Grady—Monitor Staff
At-large school board candidate Jane Presby holds her sign outside the Ward 4 polling place at the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Concord at 11:30 a.m. on Nov. 3, 2020. Eileen O'Grady—Monitor Staff
District B school board candidate Melissa Clark holds her sign outside the Ward 5 polling place at the Green Street Community Center at noon on Nov. 3, 2020. Eileen O'Grady—Monitor Staff
District C school board candidate Kate Vaughn holds her sign outside the Ward 9 polling place at the Citywide Community Center at 7:45 a.m. on Nov. 3, 2020. Eileen O'Grady—Monitor Staff

Monitor staff

Published: 11/3/2020 10:15:35 PM

Concord School Board has four newcomers this year.

Pamela Walsh, Kate West, Jonathan Weinberg and Brenda Hastings each won seats Tuesday in one of the biggest leadership changeovers the board has seen in years.

Walsh took 6,863 votes for the at-large seat, beating out challenger Jane Presby (5,938). Walsh will start on the board immediately as she replaces former school board president Jennifer Patterson, who resigned at the end of August. The other new school board members will start in January.

In the District A race, which represents Concord wards 1-4, West took 3,648 votes, beating out Roy Schweiker (1,184).

In the District B race, which represents wards 5-7, Weinberg took 2,444 votes, beating out Melissa Clark (2,151) and Allie Maltais (1,696).

In the District C race, which represents wards 8-10, Hastings took 2,744 votes, beating out Kate Vaughn (2,436) and Tim Fanelli (827).

Concord resident Caitlin Fennessy voted for Walsh and said she appreciates the school board updates Walsh has been posting on social media.

“As we all waited to hear what would happen with the public school system, she was right there updating us, staying up late into the night,” Fennessy said. “She believes in public education but also believes parents should have a voice on the school board.”

Georgia Smith volunteered outside Ward 2 on Tuesday, holding a sign for West.

“She really cares about the schools and she really wants to see things be better around the schools,” Smith said. “I think she would be a good candidate for that.”

Concord resident Tara Belanger said she voted for Hastings in Ward 10 because of Hastings’ dual perspective as both a former educator and parent.

Concord resident Melissa West said she voted for Jonathan Weinberg in Ward 5.

“I like to see a younger face, a new perspective,” West said. “I like what he stands for, and he’s encouraging young people to get involved.”

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Eileen O'Grady is a Report for America corps member covering education for the Concord Monitor since spring 2020. O’Grady is the former managing editor of Scope magazine at Northeastern University in Boston, where she reported on social justice issues, community activism, local politics and the COVID-19 pandemic. She is a native Vermonter and worked as a reporter covering local politics for the Shelburne News and the Citizen. Her work has also appeared in The Boston Globe, U.S. News & World Report, The Bay State Banner, and VTDigger. She has a master’s degree in journalism from Northeastern University and a bachelor’s degree in politics and French from Mount Holyoke College, where she served as news editor for the Mount Holyoke News from 2017-2018.