Lynne Turner is one of three candidates running for one of two seats on the Dartmouth School Committee. She is the only candidate who has not previously sat on the committee.

A former elementary school teacher and mother of two, Turner said she was running for the position in order to advance a “kids-first agenda” and to push for more robust public comment and parental input in the committee’s work.

“I really want to advocate for the kids and their wellbeing, not just physically… but also emotionally and psychologically and for their learning,” she said, adding that she felt that “so much has been lost” during the pandemic because of mask and vaccine mandates that controlled children’s environments and “felt like a punishment for a lot of kids.”

Turner has a bachelor's degree in elementary education from New Mexico State University and worked for years as a teacher, first in New Mexico and later in Westport, Mass. Though she retired from teaching when her son was born 15 years ago, she also has experience as a Cub Scout leader and as a soccer and tennis coach.

Turner said she was inspired to run after trying to speak out against school mask mandates at a school committee meeting in January and was told that such comments would not be allowed because they were not relevant to the meeting's agenda.

“Hopefully I can have a vote to make sure public comments are always allowed and that we’re not restricting public comments by topic,” she said.

Turner gave the example of another man at the same meeting who came before the committee after his daughter had attempted suicide to urge them to address mental health concerns but was rebuffed.

“There’s been a lot of kids dealing with depression from all of this,” she said. “So, I think we need to hear these things and not just on certain days. If they’re advocating for their children, that’s what we’re there for — for the children.”

Turner said that she would also like to add a “fresh view” on diversity and equity efforts which she said have the potential to be “very divisive.”

”I want equality and character to matter and I want to protect the kids from being indoctrinated into a certain agenda that doesn’t allow for diversity of thought,” she said, adding that she feels a focus on equality and character is more in line with the philosophy of Martin Luther King, a personal hero of hers, and would do more to foster unity.

On the controversial subject of whether to keep the Dartmouth High Indian logo, Turner said she hopes the image, at least, will stay, but was more open to the possibility of a name change if local tribes favor that outcome.

“It’s a beautiful logo — it’s stunning, it’s strong. I hope we keep the logo” she said. “I don’t think we take away the whole Indian [name] but if we want to call it ‘Natives’ or ‘Wampanoags’ or something like that, I’d be open to it. But I really feel that we should not erase the history of the area.”