Nahant selectmen mark donation for school art program

NAHANT – A donation by a new businessman in town brought the selectmen?s attention to art and music at the Johnson School once again at their meeting Thursday night.Immediately after selectmen announced that Michael Gallant, the new owner of Oceanview, would be donating $2,500 annually to the town, Vice Chairman Richard Lombard made a motion to give the money directly to the School Committee for the purpose of re-instating art and music at the Johnson School.With School Committee members sitting in the audience, Lombard said “What a great time to help out the schools. This is a direct windfall for us and I think it?s the best way to go.”At first, Selectman Perry Barrasso was hesitant to second the motion. He said while the board would most likely be in favor of the motion, “The ink isn?t dry on the waiver. This may be a little premature, we may have to hold off on that for the moment.”Barrasso said “all areas of town are important,” while Lombard felt that “the biggest need isn?t police, fire, or town hall. It?s the schools.”Once Lombard clarified that he would only want this year?s $2,500, not every year?s amount, to be given to the school, with the other amounts revisited each fiscal year, Barrasso agreed and the motion passed.In her update to the board on the Johnson School, School Committee Vice Chair Lissa Keane said, “Thank you for that donation, we really appreciate the unanimous decision.”Keane went on to say the Johnson School was putting in their own efforts to get arts and music back into school, including paying attention to the budget by sticking to the audit?s recommendations and looking at alternatives for things like field trips.According to Parent Teacher Organization President Mary Brown, teachers like the idea of bringing more programs into the classroom instead of bussing the kids to save money on the fees and losing precious curriculum time in the classroom.Committee member Kerri McKinnon said the School Committee had also found cultural groups to put on art and music programs at a low cost. “No stones have been unturned, one resource leads to another,” she said. “They?re our future and they?re worth every penny.”Kait Taylor can be reached at [email protected].