Why are you running for School Committee and what particular skills do you bring to the position?
Growing up as a high-needs student in public school, I was lucky to have educators who believed in me despite my learning disability. 72% of Salem students fall into high-needs categories as I did. With my unique lived experience I hope to be their voice and advocate on the Salem School Committee.
Additionally, through my work in the non-profit and education fields, I am familiar with the budget challenges our schools face - including how key funding from grants and outside sourcing can be a deal breaker for educational initiatives.
Finally, I have learned through my time in student body leadership and as chairperson of the Salem Beautification Committee how critical engaging our community is. For Salem, this will mean ensuring students, parents, and teachers take an active role in how we structure our education system.
What is one step you will take as a School Committee member to advance education equity in Salem?
A major focus of mine is mental health resources access for students. When Salem rolled out Cartwheel as an online rapid mental health services option for students in January of this year, the program filled 60% of its capacity in the first month.
This quick adoption is indicative of the high need for mental health services in Salem Schools, which needs to be met not only with more seats in rapid response programs like Cartwheel but with additional options for students. This should include in-person services, additional languages, and services for more unique counseling needs.
Student achievement has not yet rebounded after pandemic disruptions, but the ESSER funding that has supported students will expire in 2024. When considering the school budget next year, how will you balance continued student needs with potentially lower funding overall?
Coming from a non-profit background, I am used to the reality of funding ebbing and waning over time and understand that we cannot allow critical services for students to suffer as a result. I will look to two main areas to address the loss of ESSER funding: The first is for grants - there are areas within our current budget where we could seek grant funding to supplement the changes to the ESSER funding. I additionally believe we can look within our current budget, and remove redundancies whenever possible.
As a final stopgap, I think it is important we rely on our community organizations and local institutions to fill any gaps in coverage of services that may result.
Plans for constructing a new high school are moving forward, as the city recently appointed a high school construction project task force. How will you exercise appropriate oversight and support for the project?
The two things that matter most at this phase are communication and budget. It is critical to the success of the project that the school committee maintain open communication with the task force throughout the project. In terms of budget, the task forces must meet their financial goals and make a reasonable budget that is fiscally responsible for the taxpayer. They will need to stay on budget, and I think it is the responsibility of the school committee to hold them accountable for this, while also allowing them the freedom to make the best-informed decisions for our students.
Learn more
Campaign Website: gulergunforsalem.com
Campaign Email: henry@gulergunforsalem.com
Instagram: @henryforsalemschools