Parent Vies for School Committee Seat

A parent of two students has pulled out papers to run for the , becoming the fourth candidate to show his intent to run for the committee's two open seats in this year's elections, the confirmed Tuesday.

Matthew Pallett, who has lived in Arlington for four years, said he first thought about running for School Committee when his family started having issues finding the support his special education child needs.

With at son at and a daughter at , Pallett said he is an Arlington parent concerned with the direction the town is going.

"I want the best for all our children," Pallett said in a phone interview. "I think to make real changes in our town you need to start at the top."

The seats occupied by committee Chair Cindy Starks and member Jeff Thielman are up for reelection in 2012. Starks and Thielman have both pulled out papers for reelection, Stephanie Lucarelli said Tuesday.

Also , a 2011 graduate of , who rose to national attention for asking officials to reinstate the Pledge of Allegiance at the school.

Pallett lives with his wife and two kids in Arlington's Morningside neighborhood. He is a senior sales engineer at Above Net, a New York-based company that provides network connectivity for large enterprises, law firms and banks.

He holds an engineering degree from Boston University and an MBA from the University of New Haven in Connecticut.

Pallett said the School Committee needs members with a variety of experiences, from former to current parents of students at Arlington Public Schools. 

"While Arlington is a good school system, I want to see us have a great school system," he added. "My main qualification, I think, is that I’m a concerned parent."