FITCHBURG — All councilors and members were present for this week’s joint convention between the Fitchburg City Council and School Committee to appoint one of the six candidates who applied to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of School Committee member Dr. Maritza Knight earlier this year.
After all the candidates gave three-minute presentations, one candidate withdrew and the City Council and School Committee members voted to appoint Steffani Santiago during the Monday night meeting.
Santiago, the fourth candidate to speak, had moved to Fitchburg when she was 11 and is the eldest of six children of a single mother; she said her family struggled financially but persevered. To her, school was safe, stable, and predictable, and she reminded attendees that many children in Fitchburg carry burdens which are not known by others.
The other candidates included Erynn Dayhoff, Nathan Bilotta, Jean Raabe, Annie Louise Belmer, and DJ Tardiff, who withdrew from the running after speaking last.
With five candidates in the running for 17 votes, Santiago won the seat with 10 votes. She was sworn in, and took part in the School Committee meeting which immediately followed.
Dayhoff, the parent of Fitchburg Public Schools students, has served as PTO President at Reingold Elementary School, and served on Principal Search Committees. One of her focuses was to build “safety and well-being for teachers and students.”
The second candidate to present was Nathan Bilotta, a lifelong resident, and St. Bernard’s High School graduate. He has coached youth sports for more than 30 years, and dealt with more than 1,000 students. He spoke about “emphasizing transparency, strong fiscal oversight, advocacy, improved communication,” and added that making regular visits to schools during the school day was a priority.
Next up was Jean Raabe, who highlighted her diverse family structure of different races, ethnicities, and political beliefs. During her own school days, Raabe was dyslexic, but undiagnosed, and thus went through challenges. She spoke of every generation having outperformed the previous generation until recently. She wanted to get back to the basics of education.
Former City Council-at-large candidate, Annie Louise Belmer spoke fifth and said she spent many years advocating in the public sector as a member of a Central Mass. faith-based community. Belmer wished to promote equity and to make sure people felt heard and valued.
The final speaker, Deana “D.J.” Tardiff, a BCBA, announced her withdrawal from the convention. The night before, Tardiff had found out she’d just been accepted into UMass Boston to pursue a second master’s degree, and that classes occurred on Monday nights, when the School Committee meets.
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