Thomas Moreau joined the Office of School Finance and District Support in the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) in 2012. He assists the Commissioner in the development and advancement of policy initiatives across a wide range of issue areas, most commonly focused on matters related to school and district financing. This focus builds on Tom’s extensive experience developing state policy in the area of school finance. Prior to joining DESE, Tom served as policy staff in both administrative and legislative offices in the Massachusetts State House. Focusing primarily on education policy and state aid to cities and towns, Tom began his state service as a research analyst in the Executive Office of Administrative and Finance, served as Policy Advisor to the Assistant Majority Leader of the Massachusetts State Senate, as Research Director of the Joint Committee on Education, and as the Education and Local Aid Advisor to two House Speakers. He was Research Director of the Joint Committee on Education during the legislative session that created the School Building Authority.
Tom earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from University of Rhode Island and Master of Arts degree from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. At UMass, Tom conducted doctoral level research in the Department of Political Science which included research on the theoretical underpinnings of lay control of public education in the American political system. He currently resides in Newton.