Marblehead mulls merger of facilities

MARBLEHEAD – School Committee member Amy Drinker has proposed that the schools and town pool their building departments to “economically and efficiently address ? (the) needs for all town buildings, including our schools.”Committee Chairman Dick Nohelty suggested that the committee discuss the proposal at its summer retreat.In a two-page proposal she submitted to the School Committee last week, Drinker suggested the merger as a way to address custodial services, maintenance and repair and capital replacement.She urged the committee to discuss the proposal with the selectmen, Finance Committee, Town Administrator Tony Sasso, other town departments and community members with expertise.”A building/facilities director with engineering expertise will be able to deploy town and school personnel effectively and meet the building needs of Marblehead’s facilities,” she wrote.”By placing these duties under one roof (so to speak), taxpayers will know that their investments in school facilities are being properly allocated. And the school department will be able to focus on its core mission ? the instructional focus.””We’re more interested in spending money on education than we are in replacing gaskets,” she said, noting that when the new Marblehead High opened in 2002 the town entered an era of computer-run school systems that made simple mechanical skills old-fashioned.Beverly, Danvers and Winchester have created similar departments and Marblehead could use their efforts as models.