For the 2025 Wilton Municipal Elections, GOOD Morning Wilton asked all candidates to submit a 150-word bio; candidates running for the Boards of Selectmen, Finance and Education and the Planning and Zoning Commission were asked to sit for a video interview and submit an 800-word op-ed. In addition, candidates in the other races were invited to submit an op-ed if they wanted. More information is available in GMW’s Election Guidelines and Policies.
GMW Video Interview
Candidate Submitted Bio
Mark currently serves on Wilton’s Parks and Recreation Commission and has been active with the Wilton Soccer Association and CERT. He previously served on the Board of the Epiphany School Foundation in New York.
Mark leads Client Service for an AI solutions company that serves the insurance industry; he hopes to use his experience helping large organizations adopt AI solutions to ensure Wilton’s schools continue to deliver a great education in the face of significant technological change. Mark holds a BS in aerospace engineering from the University of Maryland and an MBA from Columbia Business School.
Mark and his family have resided in Wilton for more than 10 years. His two children currently attend Wilton High School.
Candidate Submitted Op-Ed
Wilton’s Schools Deserve a Balanced Perspective
by Mark Shaner, Unaffiliated/Republican Endorsed Candidate for Board of Education
I’m running for the Board of Education because I have the experience necessary to help our schools navigate the technological changes we will face in the coming years, the temperament to invite the town into the deliberative process, and the pragmatism to ensure our aspirations are aligned with our resources.
Wilton’s strong schools were a factor in my family’s decision to settle here over a decade ago. In the years since, my children have worked their way through each of Wilton’s schools and are currently at Wilton High School. In that time, our community has seen significant demographic shifts. Fewer households in town have school aged children and enrollment is down roughly 11% (and almost 15% from when it peaked in the mid-2000s).
Our schools are important for more than just the students attending them.
Wilton’s schools are our town’s most valuable assets. The town deserves a Board of Education committed to ensuring that remains true as new technologies change how we all work and learn. In my professional life, I help companies adopt AI solutions. This work has provided me with first-hand experience of how AI changes the nature of work. I will help our schools remain strong while evolving to prepare students to thrive in the future.
Wilton’s schools are a center of our community. The town deserves a Board of Education focused on the town’s priorities. To do that, we have to listen to all residents. We can do more to welcome our neighbors into the deliberative process and to keep party politics out of the boardroom. I am endorsed by Wilton’s Republican Town Committee but, like more than 40% of Wilton’s registered voters, I am (and have always been) unaffiliated with any political party. I will put the town first.
Wilton’s schools represent more than 70% of our town’s budget. The town deserves a Board of Education that is fiscally responsible and acts with appropriate care for the impact its decisions have on taxpayers. I currently serve on Wilton’s Parks and Recreation Commission and was previously a board member for the Epiphany School Foundation in New York. Coupled with my business experience, my involvement with government and non-profit boards has taught me how to navigate the tradeoffs inherent in these roles and the importance of listening and inviting people into deliberations when we’re faced with difficult decisions.
I am running to serve all of Wilton. We have a responsibility to maintain our tradition of educational excellence while strategically embracing the future — both technologically and fiscally. My commitment is to ensure our schools remain our most valuable asset by preparing our children for a changing world, engaging the community in the process, and being a responsible steward of your tax dollars. I ask for your vote so that, together, we can secure an exceptional future for Wilton’s schools.