Meet Kate Duggan, candidate for Rochester school committee

ROCHESTER — Incumbent Kate Duggan is running for her third term on the Rochester Memorial School Committee. 

She has served two, three year terms on the School Committee previously first elected in 2020. 

Duggan has lived in Rochester for 16 years and her two children both attended Rochester Memorial. 

She has been involved with the Early Childhood Council, a member of the Parent Teacher Organization and on the Rochester Cultural Council for 6 years. 

Duggan has a masters degree in education from Northeastern University and currently works in various capacities doing research and grant writing there. 

Her favorite part about serving on the School Committee is hearing from various students. She said she enjoys hearing about things students are learning including projects or field trips.

“I think something I always look forward to at every meeting is to see who's coming to speak and what are they going to tell us about because it sort of really reminds you of what this is all about,” Duggan said. 

The candidate wants this position to be a voice for the students. She said she wants to remain involved with state legislation to advocate for change and support in area schools. 

“I feel like I'm sort of doing this on behalf of all the students in the school,” she said. “They're there to learn, and I feel like in this position, I can be there to help create a better environment for learning.”

She said if she is reelected she would focus on the school budget and strengthen the School Committee’s relationship with other municipal bodies. 

Duggan said the school budget will only get tighter, but wants to advocate for more funds. 

She said she also wants to get a School Resource Officer for Rochester Memorial since multiple parents have expressed interest. 

Duggan also said she wants to protect special education funding since it has gotten more expensive, but remains important. 

The candidate said she wants more communication between the Select Board, Finance Committee and even families. Duggan has made it a point to attend more municipal meetings. 

She said she wants voters to know she will bring professionalism, compassion and put students first in this role. 

“I think [putting students first is] probably the most important thing because they don't get a vote,” Duggan said. “[Students] don't really necessarily have their voices heard really in the way that I think they should in a lot of these forums.”