Norwell School Committee candidate Kara Vautour thinks she’s found the solution to the town’s budget challenges: your child’s core subject education.
At the December 10th, 2025, Norwell Select Board meeting, Ms. Vautour describes Norwell’s approximately 16 student class sizes in core subjects like Math and English as “mind blowing” for their small size. She goes on to say that teachers’ average student load of approximately 80 students is highly unusual compared to a “normal” figure of 125 to 150, implying a 40% lower workload. In her read, there is no real budget crunch, just a surplus of core classroom teachers that could be cut from our spendthrift schools. As she told the Norwell Select Board, Ms. Vautour would like to increase the student-teacher ratio in these subjects by at least 25%, from 80 to 100.
But is any of this real? Thankfully, we need not speculate. The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) publishes detailed statistics by district. The most recent dataset is from 2024, before the staffing cuts implemented in Norwell this school year. Compared to 11 comparable districts identified by DESE, Norwell ranks:
Second lowest in teachers per 100 students, 7-13% lower than our South Shore peers.
Third lowest in teacher expenditure per student, and the lowest among South Shore peers.
Second lowest in-district expenditure per student, spending $500 to $3000 less than South Shore peers per pupil.
Average class size of 16.9 compared with - wait for it! - an average of 16.9 for peers.
With significant cuts in the current school year, Norwell is likely even more under-staffed compared with peers today.
However, the real cherry on top is the incredible efficiency of Norwell schools. Despite lower spending and staffing levels than peers, Norwell delivered 10th grade MCAS scores above most peers.
As anyone who spends any time in our schools already knows, this proves the idea of underworked Norwell teachers is a complete fraud, as is the idea that excess spending on our schools is the source of financial pain. Its only purpose is to justify some very un-Norwellian ideas: that kids should pay the price for budget challenges created by adults and that great results can come without doing the hard work to build them.
A strong majority of Norwellians, including those that voted against the recent override, believe our schools should be protected. Nor are we gullible enough to believe the bizarre idea that our teachers are underworked, or that someone who makes these claims represents teachers’ perspectives. Nor do we support Ms. Vautour’s other publicly stated ideas like cutting teacher pay (which is already in-line with peers) or reducing the number of AP classes offered each year.
However, we must get out and vote. If turnout is low, the election could be decided by a small number of potentially uninformed voters, putting our children’s education and the cornerstone of our community at risk.
Thankfully, we also have two tremendous candidates on the ballot to fill the two open positions, each of whom would add helpful perspective to an already strong School Committee. Liz Bersell is a school nurse who has advocated for students at the state level and has been highly involved in Norwell’s PTO. Her thoughtful, caring, and practical style, combined with this depth of directly relevant experience, suggests an ability to improve our schools within their resource constraints. She also casts a strong vision of aggressively pursuing state financial resources, a particular need given Norwell’s high out-of-district expense. Her vision is a positive one, focused on improving the lives and performance of our students.
Jana McCarthy brings an entirely different personality and professional experience to bear, but one that is equally valuable. She is an aggressive financial wiz with strong negotiation skills, whose prowess has led her up the ranks of one of our country’s largest banks. Her clients include some of the most innovative companies in Boston. Like Ms. Bersell, she has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to Norwell’s students through the PTO and wants to promote the excellence of our schools. While she is not a teacher, she would complement Ms. Bersell’s in-school experience and the two career educators currently sitting on the School Committee. If Ms. Vautour’s focus on the numbers appeals to you but her fantastical claims and reckless solutions do not, look no further than Ms. McCarthy.
It is unfortunate that so many words need to be spent dispelling bizarre myths, leaving less space to extoll the virtues of these candidates. Norwell is truly lucky to have them on the ballot this year. Without your vote, they cannot bring their impressive skills to benefit our students and our community. Rarely has a School Committee election been so critical to our future.