MARBLEHEAD — Five new candidates for the School Committee sounded off on hot topics, including school safety and whether shuttering the Gerry School was the best choice for the district.
“The American Psychological Association has found that 50 percent of our school children are exposed to traumatic events throughout their childhood,” said candidate Sarah Gold. “That is a number that can’t be ignored when we start to talk about school safety and helping our kids.”
Gold has worked at the Marblehead Counseling Center for five years and specializes in working with children and adolescents. She is particularly interested in focusing on the social and emotional issues plaguing students.
“As we all know, no town is exempt from these issues,” she said.
Luisa Boverini, Sarah Fox, and Meagan Taylor are each running for one three-year term on the school committee. Gold and Brenda Kim are competing for one two-year term.
“What has been going on in some of the schools nationwide is tragic,” said Kim. “It scares me to death every time it happens and it happens way too frequently. I believe that we are taking school safety very seriously in Marblehead.”
Kim said she believes the town has taken the right steps in assigning a school resource officer, implementing a buzz entry system, and encouraging students to speak up if they see something.
“I believe the safety of our children should be the number one priority,” said Taylor. “This is an area we should be continuously assessing, evaluating and evolving.”
Just a few weeks ago, the School Committee voted to support Superintendent Maryann Perry’s decision to close the Gerry Elementary School building for educational purposes permanently. Three weeks before that, Perry outlined the reasons for her recommendation. They ranged from the extensive damage caused by a steam pipe leak to the lack of handicap accessibility.
The decision was met with mixed reactions from passionate residents who feared closing the Gerry building would mean the end of neighborhood schools.
Fox, a Gerry Building Committee member, said she attended every meeting except for the last one, during which she was having a baby.
“I know that there is this perceived idea of a loss of a community school,” said Fox. “However, having lived in Marblehead, Marblehead is a community. It’s a wonderful community and I think it somewhat does a disservice to that community of our town to say we’ve lost that sense.”
Kim said she agreed with the site that was chosen to build the new elementary school. The property is where the Malcolm L. Bell School is currently located on Baldwin Road.
“With that said, it is sad that we’re losing a school downtown,” she said.”I’m hoping that the building and the playground can be repurposed and reused for a community purpose, but we need to look forward now. We know how we got here, we’ve learned a lot, and we’re going to use that knowledge moving forward.”
In addition to the School Committee, the Board of Selectmen, Cemetery Commission, and Light Commission races are also contested.
Rose Ann Wheeler McCarthy and Janet Merrill are running for a seat on the town’s Cemetery Commission. Daniel Albert, Michael Maccario, and Karl Johnson are running for the Light Commission.
Harry Christensen, Jackie Belf-Becker, Mark Moses Grader, Judith Jacobi, and James Nye are running for re-election to the Board of Selectmen, in addition to challenger John Odlin Liming.
The election is slated for May 15.