Matthew Pappas

"𝗛𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗼, 𝗺𝘆 𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘁 𝗣𝗮𝗽pa𝘀. I'm running for school board from Rochester's Ward 3. I've worked as a teacher for 28 years—25 years in the high school level and three years in the middle school. I have a bachelor's degree from UNH and a master's degree in education. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘦 𝘢 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘲𝘶𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 as we work to solve problems and make improvements with 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘂𝗺, 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰𝘆, 𝗯𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲𝘁, and other issues affecting our schools provide.

Um, my wife and I are parents of two daughters that have attended Rochester school system. I've regularly volunteered in the Gonic School, Rochester Middle School, and Spalding High School in many different ways. I volunteered with the Spalding marching band, helping with football games, parades, concerts, plays, musicals, 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦 recital. And as an educator and a parent, I'm able to make connections with teachers, administrators, and other parents as well as students.

From 2007 to 2014, I was chair of the Gonic School PTA playground committee. In this role, I helped raise $130,000 to completely renovate the playground and install important drainage in a large grassy area behind the school. All the old aging pieces have been replaced with new, modern, and challenging equipment that excite children and encourage creative play.

In 2012, I was appointed to fill a vacancy on the school board, and since then, I've seen many successes. For example, we just opened up the Salmon Fall School. This is the first brand new school in the city of Rochester in over 50 years, and we did it on time and on budget. I served as chair of the $16 million Credo Tech Center renovation project in 2019. This provides new career training programs, new classrooms, and machinery for Spalding students—and again, all under budget.

When I was vice chair, I worked with the SA, the city's mayor and the city council to stop the annual loss of staff due to years of budget cuts. Previously, our schools lost over 30 teaching positions districtwide, and since then, we've not lost a single teaching position. Because of the connections I've made, I'm regularly invited by admin to work with students to increase their voice and empower them to be included in discussions and decision-making that affect their education.

My experience on the Rochester School Board has led me to have the opportunity to serve as president of the New Hampshire School Boards Association. This is an organization run by and led by New Hampshire School Board members to provide advocacy for cities and towns in New Hampshire. I'm grateful for the opportunity to serve in such an important position and provide a voice for Rochester with legislators as well as the commissioner of education.

It's truly been an honor to represent you on the school board, and I honorably and humbly ask for your continued support as you vote at Gonic School on November 4th."

Notes:

The Public Information and Community Engagement Office for the City of Rochester is pleased to announce that the Meet the Candidates video series is now available for viewing ahead of the upcoming Municipal Election.

The nonpartisan series introduces voters to candidates for Mayor, City Council, School Board, and Police Commission. Each candidate was given up to three minutes to speak directly to voters, share their priorities, and present their personal message.

To ensure fairness and transparency, all videos were recorded live in a single take, without edits, hosts, or predetermined questions.

The views and opinions expressed in the following video are those of the candidate and do not necessarily reflect the views of the City of Rochester, its elected officials or staff. The content is presented as part of a public information effort to provide equal opportunity for all candidates to address the community.

Transcript was taken directly from the GovTV website closed captioning. AI added bold/italic fonts for emphasis and separated paragraphs where appropriate.

"𝗛𝗶, 𝗜'𝗺 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘁 Pappas and I'm running for Rochester School Board from Ward 3.

Here's the story of how my civic involvement in Rochester began. Behind me is the Gonic School playground. Back in 2007, when my oldest daughter entered kindergarten, I met the principal of Gonic School at the kindergarten orientation. We were outside overlooking the playground, and I noticed how old, tired, and decrepit the play space was. The structures were old, uninspiring, and falling apart. The field area suffered from a severe lack of drainage, and had very little grass growing. When asked if there were any plans to renovate the structures and modernize, her response was, "No, but all we need is a parent to head up efforts to fund raise and plan." And there my involvement began.

Being a teacher myself, I know the importance of involved parents to partner with teachers to bring vast improvements in a school. My goal in heading up the Gonic School playground committee was to lead a community effort to bring joy, safety, and imagination back to our school's playground. This playground has served generations, but time has taken its toll. In fact, we discovered there was once a pool behind the school along with a buried parking lot. What was once a place of laughter and adventure was in desperate need of renewal.

The committee agreed that every child deserves a space to play, grow, and dream. That's why we launched a volunteerpowered mission to rebuild this playground from the ground up. We helped fundraisers, wrote grants, and rallied local businesses. Every dollar, every hour, every helping hand made a difference. But we couldn't do it alone. With the hands, hearts, and hopes of other parents, teachers, staff, and community members, we dug holes, mixed cement, swung hammers, tightened bolts, and organized supplies. There was a role for everyone.

It took us seven years, but we turned a dream into reality. What was once a broken playground is now bursting with life, laughter, and possibility. This isn't just about a playground. It's about building community, showing our kids what teamwork looks like, and creating a legacy of care.

When you arrive at Gonic School on November 4th to vote, take a look around at all the play opportunities for the Gonic community. And when you cast your vote for school board, I would appreciate your support. Thank you."

Notes:

Transcript was taken directly from the YouTube website closed captioning. AI added bold/italic fonts for emphasis and separated paragraphs where appropriate.

2021 Announcement of Candidacy¹ 

As the city election season has begun, I am running for school board to represent Ward 3 (Gonic area). 

This fall marks my 24th year teaching high school social studies and I am a parent of 2 children - one a sophomore at Spaulding, and another who graduated from Spaulding this past June. 

Since the first day my oldest entered kindergarten at Gonic School, I have dedicated many volunteer hours in their schools. In 2007, I started and led an ambitious effort with a great team of parents and teachers to renovate the aging and tired Gonic playground. It took 7 years and $130,000 in donations to completely update the playground with new and challenging equipment, as well as the addition of an outdoor classroom. 

More recently, I can be regularly found volunteering with the Spaulding music program, assisting with the marching band with many behind-the-scenes tasks, including preparing and moving equipment for halftime shows and prepping for Dover and Salem Band Shows. I am also involved with Spaulding drama productions, helping build sets, troubleshooting problems and doing my part to ensure our students continue to present top quality productions. 

During my tenure on the Board, I can point to many accomplishments that I am proud of: most recently a new East Rochester School and renovations of the Creteau Technology Center. I also worked with other board members to change past practices to ensure the Board and City Councilors work together to stop teacher layoffs and program cuts that were prevalent for years prior. 

As part of our 5-Year Committee, the Board is also looking at all of our school buildings to come up with a long-term plan for education in our city. I would greatly appreciate your support to continue moving our city schools forward. Your support of my candidacy is a vote to ensure our schools continue to deliver a top quality product while staying within our means and to ensure our children graduate college and career ready. Please reach out to me should you have any questions or concerns. 

Matt Pappas for School Board Facebook Page

Foster's 2021 Candidate Questionnaire
View the Candidate's Responses in the 2023 Foster's Candidate Survey by Clicking Here!

¹ Announcement of Candidacy from "You Know You're From Rochester" Facebook Group post: https://www.facebook.com/groups/253012774723734/permalink/6529131223778493/