By JON BAKER

LINCOLN  ---  Two current School Committee members and a self-described advocate for special needs children will vie for two open at-large slots during next Tuesday’s election.

Both Mary Anne Roll and Julie Zito, about to complete their first term in office, will seek re-election, while Deborah Ambeault has decided to throw her proverbial “hat into the ring.”
Following are profiles of the three candidates (in alphabetical order):
Deborah Ambeault, 51, of 11 Front St., decided months ago she wanted to gain a seat on the School Committee to address her concerns about special needs youngsters receiving the education they deserve, not only in Lonsdale but throughout the town.
Ambeault graduated from Cumberland High School in 1975, then received her medical assistance and secretarial certificates from The Sawyer School in Pawtucket in 1980. She now refers to herself as a retired homemaker.
Still, she claims she’s spent over 25 years as an advocate for those with special needs.
“I think there’s a lack of services for them in the school system,” noted Ambeault, who never before has sought public office. “There are kids being taken out of private schools by those in the system with agreement by the parents. Those parents are told that (Lincoln public schools) have the necessary services … but they don’t, for the most part. The way I look at it, the special needs programs are inadequate, and I would like to offer new ideas (concerning such students).”
Ambeault also indicated that, if elected, she would like to monitor the Rhode Island Department of Education’s high school graduation requirements and the impact they have on students with individual educational plans (IEDs).
“My issue with that is how a special needs child could pass with such stringent requirements as the portfolio,” she stated.
“Say there’s a student with special needs who hadn’t been in school for a year or two, but entered the high school as a freshman. How will that child, or those children, ever be able to complete a portfolio, when it’s a four-year task?
“If we have to go by those requirements, which are state- and nationally- mandated, those children most probably won’t graduate,” she added. “When I see something going on that I see as a wrong, I’m going to try to fix it.”

Mary Anne Roll, 62, of 11 Lord Fox Run, spent the last four years representing District 4 (Albion/Quinville and a segment of Lime Rock), and stated she chose to run for an at-large seat this time for a variety of reasons, both personal and professional.
Roll graduated from Mount St. Joseph Academy in Buffalo, N.Y. in 1963, then attended Medaille College in the same city, earning a Bachelor’s of Science in education in 1970. She later garnered a Master’s of Arts in social studies (with a focus in anthropology and polictical science) from the University of Illinois in 1973.
She spent 13 years as an educator (mostly junior high) in her native New York, North Carolina, Missouri and southern California before she and husband David decided to raise a family. Upon moving to Rhode Island in 1986, she chose to work closely with local and state Parent-Teacher Associations while caring for her children.
“Actually, there’s some really solid evidence collected by the National School Board Association that indicates really effective school committees are made up of members who serve more than one term,” she said. “I think the bottom line is this: It takes time to learn this job, and I take it to heart. All of us on this committee do. We all understand our roles pretty well.
“Frankly, outside the committee, we have no authority at all -- that is, as individuals,” she continued. “As a unit, I think we’ve made a difference … We feel pretty good about what we’ve accomplished, but there’s still a lot of work to do. The huge challenge every school district is facing right now is the budget. We’re going to have to figure out how to do more with less. Certainly, we will have less in terms of revenue.”
Like other candidates, she claimed there’s a monumental need to move to a full-day kindergarten.
“The idea isn’t just about providing child care; it’s about making sure that, when a child comes into public school, they’re prepared every year to do the work,” she offered. “You can’t do that in a half-day, or two-and-a-half hours. Some kids don’t have the same readiness to hit the first grade, and we need to address that.
“The other thing that interests me, and it could happen in a variety of ways, is a ‘whole’ after-school program,” she added. “The notion is that learning doesn’t end when the bell rings after the final class. We need to look at extended programs after school, like music, art, drama, those that enrich and extend that takes place within the regular school day.
“I’d like to explore ways to enrich the subjects of science and math; I think youngsters who are the most successful in school live in families where there are resources to support that. With such programs, we could extend and enhance learning, and I think all kids would benefit … The budget constraints the way they are, we need to do some planning now, should we be able to attain more revenue. We can’t sit and wait. We have to be ready to institute new ideas.”
When asked what particular items she was most proud during her first term, Roll cited the successful negotiations of teacher/employee contracts this past year; completion of the new middle school; and the accreditation of the high school.

Julie Zito, 43, of 335 Albion Road, explained she loves the school committee the way it is now, and the strides it’s made over the past four years.
“We’ve improved everything from capital to programs, and also the atmosphere in the school system,” she said. “We’ve had zero bad press in our four years, and I’m proud of that. The state budget is worrisome, given the economy, and we’re seeing more and more cutbacks regarding our schools.
“Obviously, the budget drives everything else,” she added. “We’ve got a plan right now when it comes to replacing so many of our (school) computers. If that money doesn’t come in, we can’t buy new ones, and it throws the entire cycle off.”
Zito knows of what she speaks. A 1984 graduate of Lincoln School in Providence, she earned a Bachelor’s in architecture from the University of Miami (Fla.) in 1989. She currently is a co-owner (with sister Lisa) of Pastry Gourmet, a retail store with three locations throughout Rhode Island.
“We really want to initiate an all-day kindergarten program,” she stated. “We’ve given our support to such a program, and we all agree we need one in town. But, with the economy the way it is, how do you stand up and say, ‘We need a million dollars for it?’
“Like I said, I think we’ve accomplished a lot, and I’m looking forward to doing the same in another four-year term.”