Swampscott election this week gaining steam

SWAMPSCOTT – The signs have sprouted around town for the three candidates seeking two seats on the School Committee in the town’s only contested race this election.Richard W. Kraft of 146 Elmwood Road, Marianne Speranza Hartmann of 39 Nichols Street, and David Matela of 17 Arbutus Road are each seeking a three-year term. School Committee Members Maureen Thomsen and Glenn Paster have decided not to seek reelection.All three of the candidates expressed support for the principle, but not necessarily the existing language, of the high school’s Chemical Health Policy, which forbids students who have been caught illegally using, distributing or possessing controlled substances from participating in extra-curricular activities for a year unless they attend in-school counseling.A lawyer by training, Kraft said that the schools’ current hot-button issue was a “good first step,” but needed refinement.”Because the language is so absolute, it leads some people to project that it will be applied very harshly in every possible situation,” Kraft said. “I don’t think that’s the intent, and I think the policy’s language should reflect the intent.Speranza Hartmann specifically identified the 365 days-a-year application of the policy as something “that needs to be revisited.””Ideally it would be great if everybody watched the kids 24/7, 365 days a year, but we can’t,” Speranza Hartmann said. I think that needs to be revisited, but I still want to see a strong chemical health policy – especially with the counseling involved,” Speranza Hartmann, the Middle School Nurse, noted.Matela said that the policy needed to gain more community support in order to be effective.”The bottom line is that we need to find a policy that the whole community buys in to, because if it’s not bought in to, it’s not going to work,” Matela said. “It was put into effect for very good reason, it should not be taken lightly, but I think it should be taken into consideration by the entire community.”Although he works as an attorney rather than in the financial field, Matela identified funding matters as the “first and foremost” issue facing the schools.”I think we have to be creative and think outside the box to get the funding we need,” Matela said, adding that funding directly affects two other major issues that the school will soon face: the Master Plan’s suggestion to consolidate the three elementary schools, and implementing the recent $1.03 million donation to the schools for improving science and math. “We may be looking at a tax override (to finance a consolidated school), which many people wouldn’t be happy with, and we’ve got the grant but now we need to be transparent about how it is implemented and reported? to show success and help these things continue to grow.”Speranza Hartmann identified “The Race to Nowhere philosophy” that kids are increasingly stressed out with homework and by tying success with standardized testing as another issue that needs to be addressed.”It really starts hard in middle school with all the homework and all the testing, Speranza Hartmann said. “There has to be a better way that kids can still be competitive in academics but not be so stressed with the homework.”Kraft agreed with both issues as being paramount and said that Swampscott needed to stress collaboration in order to achieve its goals in addressing these issues.”All components and all constituencies need to work together and to be working for the same purpose,” Kraft said. I think people have that intent of a similar purpose, but may have different ways of going about that. We need to find a way to get everybody working in the same direction.”Election day is tomorrow, Tuesday, April 26. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.