By Paul Leighton
BEVERLY — Of the six seats up for election on the School Committee, the only race on the ballot is in Ward 4.
College professor Michael Gendre and attorney Matthew Kavanaugh are competing for the seat that opened up when incumbent Karen Fogarty decided not to run for re-election. Both are making their first bid at elective office.
Michael Gendre
Gendre has worked in education for 30 years, as an adjunct professor of ethics and philosophy at Boston College, Salem State, Emerson College, Middlesex Community College and Al Akhawayn University in Morocco.
“I’ve lived in Beverly since 1985 and have paid attention to local politics,” he said. “There is the need to bring excellence to the school system. I’m not into finger-pointing. I just want to bring excellence to the school system. Most people want a better school system than we currently have.”
Gendre said there has been a decline in the level of college students over the last 20 years, in part because students aren’t being pushed enough before they get to college. He would like to see more mentoring of students by parents, citizens and other students. He also emphasized the importance of learning a foreign language.
“It’s very desirable for Beverly to have an elementary school language program,” he said. “Everybody talks about the global world in which we live.”
Gendre pointed to ratings by the Pioneer Institute’s MassReportCards that give Beverly an A-minus for the high school but B-minuses for the elementary schools and the middle school. He said the schools should consider an administrative reorganization to provide more leadership in each of the core disciplines.
“I’m a very constructive guy,” he said. “I will not make idle criticism that’s not going to bear fruit.”
Matthew Kavanaugh
Kavanaugh said he decided to run for office when he learned that Fogarty would not seek re-election.
“I have three children in the school system,” he said. “I decided I’ve got a vested interest in seeing the schools do the best they can, and this was an opportunity for me to contribute to that.”
Kavanaugh serves on the Beverly High School site council and said he has been “inspired” by the hard work of parents, teachers, students and administrators. He works as a real estate and business attorney but said his best qualification for School Committee is “being a parent.”
Kavanaugh praised the elimination of study halls at the high school this year but said more work needs to be done to improve the curriculum at all levels. He supports more professional development for teachers.
“We are asking our teachers to do a great deal,” he said. “We are asking them to instruct a lot of different learners, and we expect them to excel on MCAS. You can’t do that without giving them professional development.”
Kavanaugh said he would like to strengthen the ties between the school and the community, with students taking courses at local colleges and serving internships with local businesses.
“A lot of people appreciate that the schools are improving, but a lot are also not aware of that,” he said. “The community as a whole could be more aware of what schools contribute to the community.”
Staff writer Paul Leighton can be reached at 978-338-2675 or by email at pleighton.
MICHAEL GENDRE
Age: 57
Address: 9 Brookwood Ave.
Family: Single
Education: Bachelor’s degree from University of Provence, France; master’s degree in philosophy from Stanford University; Ph.D. from Boston College
Job: Adjunct professor of ethics and philosophy at Middlesex Community College
Previous elective office: None
If elected, would you take the city’s health insurance? No
MATTHEW KAVANAUGH
Age: 50
Address: 44 Boyles St.
Family: Wife, Kari; daughters Kristen, 17; Ali, 15; Chloe, 13
Education: Bachelor of Arts in political science from Holy Cross; law degree from Suffolk University
Job: Self-employed attorney
Previous elective office: None
If elected, would you take the city’s health insurance? No
