Marblehead parents turn out for school plan meeting

MARBLEHEAD – The management team for the Glover and Eveleth schools invited parents from both schools to volunteer for the Transition Team and help guide the two schools in a merger this spring.Nearly 40 parents attended a meeting Tuesday night at the Glover School to hear more about Superintendent of Schools Paul Dulac’s decision to move all the kindergarten children in the two districts to the Eveleth School and place Grades 1-3 at the Glover.The Site-Based Management Team – Principal Mary Devlin, Communications Sub-Committee member Zaxaro Bennett, Safety Sub-Committee member Byron Rizos and School Committee representative Jonathan Lederman – prepared a Power Point presentation to respond to parent questions.Dulac sat in the front row, taking notes as a half-dozen parents spoke.The questions were raised at a stormy meeting 13 days before after parents first learned of the decision. They included traffic, the merging of two PTOs, class size and the need for reading tutors.Team members said the town is applying for a grant to establish safe routes to each school and will look at the signage needs around Eveleth.Glover PTO Co-President Cara Pugh said she and her fellow officers were excited about the PTO merger. “Eveleth has History Comes Alive,” she said. “I want that program at Glover.”Devlin told the crowd class size won’t change next year and Superintendent Dulac plans to address the need to restore reading tutors to elementary classes in next year’s budget, after this year’s push for school capital needs.Parent tours of both schools will be scheduled this spring, along with small group meetings to familiarize parents with both buildings.The strongest criticism came from Maureen McKinnon-Tucker, a member of the Disabilities Commission, who reminded the team members that Glover was not handicapped-accessible and that meant her son, who walks with the aid of crutches, would be moved to the Bell School next year, “outside his neighborhood and away from his peers.” She questioned the legality of the town’s practice.One father asked for extra time in the morning so that he and others could settle their kindergartners at Eveleth before driving their other children to Glover, and additional time in the afternoon as well.Devlin said four more large meetings are scheduled – April 17 and May 5 at Evekleth and April 30 and May 12 at Glover. Parents and at-large community members may apply at [email protected] if they wish to serve on the transition team.The deadline for applications is April 16.