Marblehead school board supports Glover election

MARBLEHEAD – Patricia Blackmer, who chairs both the School Committee and Glover School Building Committee, got the School Committee’s vote of confidence for a fall Town Meeting and election on the Glover School project.She will be taking that with her when she visits selectmen Wednesday to "start the dialogue."At stake in the timing is Marblehead’s chance to hang onto 40 percent state funding for the $28.8 million elementary school project, or $11.6 million. The town applied while the state was still granting 40 percent aid – today the aid figure is 31-33 percent.Blackmer shared the Massachusetts School Building Authority’s letter stating that the fall attempt is "crucial" to the school plan and her report indicating that waiting until spring could cost the town an additional $2.8 million in state assistance and construction cost increases.If the plan fails this fall, after failing by 71 votes in June, Marblehead will go to the back of the assistance line, postponing the start of construction by two-three years or more. Meanwhile the town will be gambling on the survival of the furnaces in the three Glover-Eveleth buildings, which are 1916-1958 vintage. If the furnaces go, the town will have to renovate the old building or build a new school on an emergency basis."The furnaces and buildings won’t make it another 20 years. We’re going to build a new school," said committee member Dick Nohelty. "It’s either by our choice or not."