Help! We need a School Committee Candidate

I’ve been posting news about the upcoming Gloucester elections for some time now as an interested observer. Now I’m trying to help make the news.

Friday’s paper brought the announcement that four-term member Michael Faherty will not be running for re-election. This means that there are two vacancies out of the six elected committee spots (the mayor is the seventh). While there are three challengers for the seats, one is running as a clear conservative, and neither of the other two has made a strong impression.

So we need a candidate, before the August 16 filing deadline. We’re recruiting, but it’s a rather thankless job.

Part of the problem is that the School Committee is not ground zero for the issues facing Gloucester schools. Because the main issue is money, the real fight is at the City Council level. For example, the recently-passed state budget contained extra money in the Chapter 70 program. Chapter 70 is the major school-aid program, but each city and town is free to use the money elsewhere, as long as minimum standards are met. Since this money was not tied down, the conservative majority on the City Council decided not to use this money on schools, but rather to substitute for what they saw as shaky revenue estimates in the original budget.

So this means that the people who really want to make a difference in the city are running for City Council, because a moderate/progressive majority there could make a real difference in the schools.

So, my wife asks me, why don’t I run? That's a scary thought, mostly because I think that a lot of other people could do a better job in elected office than I can. But who knows? Stay tuned for more.

And if you know any progressives in Gloucester who want to run for School Committee...