Marblehead school board member to step down

MARBLEHEAD – With one week to go before the March 21 deadline for filing nomination papers a popular School Committee member is stepping down and a school spending critic has taken out papers for a three-year seat on the board.Six-year committee member Patricia Blackmer said Saturday she has decided not to seek re-election to another three-year term on May 9.?I?ve served two terms,” she said. “That?s six years, and I have family obligations. I think it?s time to let somebody else step in and see what they can do.”Blackmer said her decision did not affect her commitment to the Glover School Building Committee, which is seeking town approval for a revised and less expensive plan this spring.?I?m committed to getting that project built,” she said.Barton Hyte, a local Republican who appraises the value of businesses for banks and other loan agencies and also runs charity auctions, has taken out papers as a first-time candidate.One of the few who attended incoming Superintendent of Schools Greg Maass?s School Committee interview, Hyte said he liked what Maass had to say but “I?m not happy with what?s going on in the schools (presently). I think we have problems in our school system. The last guy ran amok with the budget, things were used (in ways) they should not have been used.”?My belief is, there?s a lot of money being wasted that could be spent on programs for the kids,” he said. “I have the background to find it.”Reminded that under state law the superintendent is ultimately in charge of the budget, Hyte said, “Someone has to be the voice of the taxpayers.”School Committee member Dick Nohelty has taken out papers for re-election.In a crowded race, there are also eight candidates for the five seats on the Board of Selectmen.Former Selectman Harry Christensen, six-term Recreation and Park Commission member Derek Norcross, risk management analyst Bret Murray and Cemetery Commission member RoseAnn Wheeler McCarthy are seeking seats on the board as challengers.All four remaining incumbents – James Nye, Judy Jacobi, Mike Rockett and Jackie Belf-Becker – have taken out papers for re-election. Selectman William Woodfin is stepping down this spring to spend more time with his family, after two stretches of service on the board totaling 13 years. Board members are elected for one-year terms.Incumbents Linda Rice Collins, Sam Ganglani, Charles “Chip” Osborne and Derek Norcross have taken out papers for re-election to one-year terms on the Recreation and Park Commission but, as of Friday morning, Charles Nyren had not.Other incumbents seeking re-election are Board of Health member Todd Belf-Becker, Board of Assessors member John P. Kelley, Cemetery Commission member RoseAnn Wheeler McCarthy, Abbot Public Library Trustee Jean Howe, Municipal Light Commission member Charles O. Phillips, Planning Board members Philip Helmes and Kurt James, Water and Sewer Commission members John Doane and Bradford “Nick” Freeman Jr. and Housing Authority member Jean Eldridge is seeking re-election to a five-year seat.Challengers include John Arata for the Municipal Light Commission, Susan Indresano for the Abbot Library Trustees and Ralph Khouri for the Planning Board.