Letter to the Editor: School Committee Chairman Seeks Re-election

I'd like to formally announce my candidacy for another 3-year term on the Swampscott School Committee.

In deciding whether to run again, I spent a great deal of time talking to family, friends, and my fellow School Committee colleagues, both present and past. I also thought back to the time I attended the Massachusetts Association of School Committees (MASC) conference after being newly elected. I was struck by the number of long-time committee members from various districts around the state - people that have been on school committees in their communities for 6, 8, 12 years. The institutional knowledge and perspective that these folks provide to their committees must be invaluable. I remember wondering why it seemed that no one on the Swampscott School Committee ever stayed for more than their one 3-year term?

Well, the work can be difficult and frustrating. You try hard to please everyone, but you don't. For every person that sings the praises of the district, there is always the cynical, and often vocal, few out there looking for any angle to find fault. And, for those of us who work in a traditional business setting, the ways of the educational system can sometimes be hard to understand. Ultimately though, what we do as a School Committee is engaging and rewarding - it really does feel good to help make decisions that will positively affect our children for years to come. My older children have benefitted from what this School Committee, and those that came before it, worked to implement, and my youngest child will continue to reap the benefits of the work that this, and future School Committees will spearhead. The ideas and innovations we help facilitate, through our decisions on the board, have made it possible for our students to do more, to study new and different subjects, to be safer and healthier, to be more engaged and aware of the world around them.

I am so proud I have been able to contribute to how far the district has come, and am tremendously excited about where we have yet to go. I would be honored to work with my colleagues on the current committee, and to represent the town for another 3-year term on the School Committee. I respectfully ask for and would greatly appreciate your support.

Jacqueline Kinney