Gail Spector: The Journalist Running For Newton School Committee

NEWTON, MA — You may have noticed that there's an election coming up in the city Nov. 7. Well, along side the race to determine who will be come the next mayor of Newton is a lesser discussed race that will determine who will take the open seats at the School Committee table.

It's a key race, says Gail Spector who is running for School Committee in Ward 8 where Margie Ross-Dector's seat is up for grabs. Spector is running against Dector's pick Matt Miller. And as few as five seats could turn over, she said.

"That's big. I bring some institutional knowledge," she said.

She's sat through School Committee meetings then going back some two decades. She reported on many a school budget, and three superintendents she said. "I think having someone who has kind of been on that side of the table will be really helpful."

Between that and having kids who went through the schools, she said is key to addressing the School Committee's main role overseeing the budget and making sure the school department is making the right financial decisions.

Spector, a Newton Democrat who while she was editor for the TAB had to put her political leanings on hold for a couple years, said when she saw that Amy Masters a Chronicle producer was planning to run for School Committee for Ward her heart swelled.

"I loved the idea of a journalist on the School Committee," she said. "Journalists know how to ask questions. Journalists know how to get answers, they don’t back down we know how to get what we need. Journalists are very resourceful," she said. And they tend to be good communicators, the perfect person to ensure what's happening on the committee is communicated transparently to the rest of the city, she said.

But when Masters fell ill a month before papers were due, Spector did some inner searching.
"I thought, I spent my career as an editor telling Newton residents that they should run for office," she said. Uncontested races weren't good for the city, or Democracy she said. "And here I was, my kids were grown, I love Newton Public Schools and the timing was right. I thought: "It’s time to step up."

Both of Spector's children went through Newton Public Schools and, she says, she has insight into the good and the bad at the schools through the lens her children their friends and neighbors helped provide.

On the race

Although she'd considered running to get on the Charter Commission, this is the first time Spector has been on this side of the election ballot. "It’s different," she said. There are whole operations at work she said she never thought about: from the massive effort that is getting lawn signs out to being in the hot seat at debates.

But, she said, she sees her talents as offering something instrumental to the School Committee.

"I want to move the schools forward," she said. "And I want to be part of a team that makes good decisions."

She adds she's not coming in with a pet project. But then she notes she supports full day kindergarten ("We need full day kindergarten. It’s been talked about for at least 10 years," she said) and moving school start times back ("It's a complicated issue with many moving parts," she said). She also thinks the school department and School Committee could do a better at communicating and explaining decisions. It’s something that as a journalist, she feels strongly about.

"I think the School Committee plays a role as advocates," she said. "School Committee members can be conduits to the school department, and I do think it’s an important role," she said.

But it's that decision making process she wants to be a part of.

"My goal is to make sure the School Committee has the right information to make the right decisions," she said, especially when it comes to the budget. The schools are going to be faced with big financial decisions in the coming years, and she's equipped with the questioning mentality.

She said she feels like the School Committee is doing good work when it comes to stewarding schools to narrow the achievement gap, though there's work to be done. She lauds the teacher hires and the admin hires. And she notes progress the School Committee has done helping with social and emotional learning and teaching to the whole child. But again, she said, there's more work to be done.

"If there’s one other issue that I see as a big one, it’s stress," she said noting children in schools are feeling intense pressures to succeed.

"It’s scary for them and it’s scary for parents. There’s so much stress. Kids are cutting themselves and there are eating disorders and drugs and all that in Newton Schools. I don’t necessarily know what the answer is but people need to be working on finding those answers," she said.

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Previously On Patch: Newton School Committee Race 2017: Who Is Running?