SWAMPSCOTT — What was originally a four-way race for two seats on the Swampscott School Committee is no longer a race, with two of the four candidates having dropped out.
The remaining two candidates, incumbent Suzanne Wright and John N. Giantis, are now presumptive winners of the election on Tuesday, June 30, and they participated in a virtual Zoom debate hosted by The Item Thursday and moderated by Community Relations Director Carolina Trujillo.
Keiko Zoll ended her candidacy earlier in the day Thursday, and thus did not participate in the debate. Greg D’Antona withdrew his candidacy earlier this month.
The first question gave Wright and Giantis a chance to introduce themselves.
Wright said she will have lived in Swampscott for 25 years next week, and recalled one of her first interactions in Swampscott when she moved to town, when she was asked to join the Hadley Elementary School Council as a community
representative, which she did.
Before joining the School Committee six years ago, Wright said she “was one of those disgruntled parents,” particularly upset about the state of the schools’ athletics department, facilities upkeep, and inadequate technology. Wright said things have improved since she was elected, and she would like to continue the effort to build a new elementary school in town — she has chaired the School Building Committee during the process.
Giantis said he’s lived in Swampscott for 10 years, and has two children in Swampscott schools. One of his daughters has special needs, and Giantis said he wants to ensure all students get an equally excellent educational experience. As a lawyer who is senior counsel at State Street Bank and Trust Company, and has worked with the U.S. Treasury Department in the past, Giantis said he has a “skill set to work well with people” and solve problems.
“I want to make sure Swampscott is spending money wisely, and I want to be able to challenge things when appropriate,” he said.
The candidates also listed their top three priorities for the schools. Giantis said making sure a new school is designed with transparency and the proposed cost is reasonable is his number one goal, followed by making sure “kids don’t fall behind” after returning to school following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Giantis also said he wants to see Swampscott schools continue the wider dialogue about racial inequality.
Wright had similar goals as Giantis, and wants to make sure things are “equitable” for students returning to school who may have had different experiences with distance learning. Wright said evaluations should be made about “how far students have come” during distance learning, determining “who’s ready to move on, and who’s not.”
Wright also said a safety plan needs to be fleshed out before the fall, including deciding where temperature checks are taken, and whether the schools should hire additional nursing staff. Wright also said she wants to make sure a new elementary school is built for all of the town’s students, and keep the schools’ budget “lean.”
In 2014, Swampscott residents rejected a proposed new school that would have cost $53 million. With the current school project looking to cost between $70 million and $114 million, the candidates were asked why voters would choose to support a new school this time around.
“It depends on what the School Committee does collectively to message the community on why this is important,” Giantis said. “I think transparency goes a long way.”
Wright said this process has been much more transparent than in 2014, with “nothing done behind the scenes.” She said community engagement has been a top priority, and all meetings have been recorded and are available at sites.google.com/swampscott.k12.ma.us/sbc/home.
On recent discussions about race, Wright said the town should examine its policies to make sure all students are given equal treatment and chances to succeed.
“We need to make sure we hire staff that not only reflects but enhances the diversity of our school and among our students,” she said.
Giantis said he has always believed strongly in equal justice under the law as an attorney, and he and Wright agreed that the children “are better than the parents” when it comes to dialoguing about race.
“There is an uphill battle here,” Giantis said. “There’s going to be a fight — and a fight we need to engage in to win.”
To watch the full debate, visit www.itemlive.com.
