Both newcomers agree it is up to them to work together now for the good of the schools.
"I think that we can work very closely," Turkel says of her former adversary. "I think that she and I and [Simmons] can work very closely for a lot of positive change."
Turkel says she is also working with Robin A. Harris, the CCA-endorsed incumbent unseated in the election, to continue the work Harris begun during her team on the committee.
Similar Agendas
As political competition fades, the two newcomers' agendas seem strikingly similar.
Both emphasize working with the committee to implement Massachusetts educational reform initiatives, including increasing school-based management.
Turkel was a founding parent of the Cambridgeport School, which began with three classes in 1991.
A furniture designer and artist, she has taught wood working in the Graham and Parks Alternative School and has volunteered in other city programs.
The most important item before the school committee, Turkel says, is helping those in schools adjust to educational reform laws so they can improve the schools in the long run.
"I think a lot of this actually should be dealt with in schools," she says. "As the school committee we are the people who can keep pushing toward school-based management, pushing for some part of the budget to be in the control of the schools."
Segat has similar objectives for the new year.
She says she will work to assure that statemandated changes in education are "adequate, achievable and implementable."
Rather than micromanaging the schools, Segat says the committee must work to increase individual principal's autonomy by "letting go."
"It's very important to let go and let the principals have control," she says.
Finally, despite the political rivalry of the last few months, both newcomers say they are committed to a long range assessment of the city's current program of public school choice.
Turkel says she would like to work to eliminate "inequity between schools," especially with regard to high school preparedness.
Segat adds, "I think that we're at a point were nobody can ignore [inequality among schools] anymore, and I think this is a crucial issue that is not going to go away."