PEABODY — Essex Tech senior Tyler Agneta is vying for a spot on Peabody’s School Committee.
“I’ve always been told that I have a natural charisma to get people to kind of listen and really pay attention,” said Agneta, an 18 year old lifelong Peabody resident. “That’s what I want to do. I want people to pay attention to the issues that affect us most.”
Agneta is the president of the school’s new beekeeping club and has been involved in Skills USA, a national workforce development organization for students through which he has earned a leadership award.
On National Agriculture Day this year, Agneta visited the State House to promote two bills and advocate against the use of certain pesticides that are harmful to bees. He will continue this advocacy by working at a canvassing office in Boston over the summer, he said.
Agneta regularly attends School Committee meetings at Essex Tech and has presented at them multiple times, he said. Through presenting, he has secured funds for the beekeeping club and grants for other activities at the school, including an integration program where students struggling in academics can apply what they are learning to real world scenarios in interactive ways.
Agneta led a group of the students in using algebra to locate lost treasure from a real-life pirate ship through a partnership with Salem’s Pirate Museum, he said.
Agneta plans to study political science at North Shore Community College in the fall. Whether he wins the election will determine where he’ll go on to earn his bachelor’s degree, as he’ll stay local to serve on the School Committee, he said.
He was encouraged to run for office by his mother Rochelle Agneta, who made an unsuccessful bid for mayor in 2023 and is running for a Councilor at-Large seat this year. But he’s always had an interest in government and helping people care about what’s going on around them.
If elected to Peabody’s School Committee, he aims to help the city’s residents stay informed of projects like the construction of a new Peabody Veterans Memorial High School, and listen to local families, teachers and school staff.
“I’ve been having people reach out to me,” he said. “A lot are paraprofessionals in the city who want some of their concerns voiced.”
Agneta also wants to ensure Peabody students can continue to attend Essex Tech, noting it has become more costly for the district to send students to the school in recent years.
“That’ll be one of my biggest things going forward, is just making sure… that we can be financially responsible and make it a stable goal that we really can continue to send students.”
Nomination papers are available from the City Clerk’s office at City Hall through July 11. Papers must be filed by July 15.
Contact Caroline Enos at{/em} CEnos@northofboston.com{em}.