School candidates at Stratton March 18 are, from left, Leba Heigham, Judson Pierce, Joseph Tully, Joseph Curran and Joseph Curro.

Steve DeCourcey, a Hardy parent and a member of the town Finance Committee, was the moderator of the second annual school-candidate event at the school. After the five explained why they are running, DeCoursey delivered three questions, which had been submitted earlier, and each candidate had three minutes to answer.

Of the three hopefuls named Joe, Joseph E. Curran, the lone incumbent, offered his Arlington roots and current experience weathering the past year's controversies.

Joseph Tully, an attorney and an unsuccessful school candidate in 2003, provided a list of ideas, including hope that the Thompson could be rebuilt, not just renovated.

And Joseph Curro Jr., known for his work on the Human Rights Commission and among Symmes neighbors, emphasized reconciliation and renewal and said he wants to reduce the tone of the discussion related to issues stemming from the Ottoson last year.

Leba Heigham, who has 15 years of teaching experience and holds a principal's license, said she brings dedication and leadership shaped directly in the classroom and in union matters.

Judson L. Pierce, an attorney who represents families and parent whose son will start at Stratton next year, said he would seek creative ways to fund schools and said not all school improvements are expensive.

Curro, Pierce and Heigham are first-time school candidates.

Here is a summary of how each answered the three questions, presented in reverse order:

Question No. 3: How will you advocate for both the Thompson and Stratton efforts?

Unsurprisingly, all candidates said they supported finishing the job of improving all seven schools, an effort begun in 1998 with the Brackett rebuild but stalled since 2003 by uncertain state funding. Only Tully suggested that Thompson might be rebuilt instead of renovated.

There is "no mandate from the state that wouldn't fund a full rebuild" of Thompson, he said. Various school officials, including Superintendent Nate Levenson, said in January that the state will likely support only the renovation of Thompson.

Tully cited $4 million remaining from the original debt exclusion vote, in 2000, and said that money could be raised from the sale of other properties, which he did not name. That would bring Arlington to the level needed to get 50 percent state reimbursement, he said.

As for Stratton, whose renovation remains years away, Tully said he would support another tax override.

Curro, who noted "the state has put our backs against the wall," said he supports "extensive renovation" of both schools. He said the School Facilities Working Group recently discussed a way to put together $14 million for a renovation effort.

In the short term, Heigham said the best possible option lies in upgrading major systems at the schools, making them energy-efficient as well as technologically current. Those at the two schools must tell us their most pressing needs are, she said.

Curran, a phys-ed teacher at a Woburn middle school, said the Thompson and Stratton communities must let the School Committee know they feel. Apart from buildings, though, he said, "The person who makes the biggest difference [in a student's life] is the person who stands in front of you," the teacher.

Pierce cited the 70 percent vote in 2000 backing the rebuild effort for the last four schools. He agreed with Heigham about the approach and said, "We shouldn't be learning in a log cabin."

Question No. 2: Cite one idea you'd push to change schools to save the public money?

Instead of one idea, Tully ticked off a number of them. They included making special education a fixed cost, so that is treated separately and does not cause what he sees as an imbalance when the town and schools split their money at budget time. He backs Thompson and Stratton rebuilds, wants to explore converting the town pension system to a 401-k as well pursuing Pay as You Throw waste disposal and finding ways to save on health insurance costs.

Pierce said he would lobby the Legislature to change the tax structure as well as to fully fund requirements called for under state special-education law, in that the lack of state funding in that area is an annual budget buster.

Curro said it is worth having a conversation about whether the system of four or five academic levels at Arlington High School is working.

Curran said he would push the Legislature and work with Arlington's Stand for Children, the education-advocacy group, to work on the way we fund schools in the Bay State. "It's all on the taxpayer," he said, suggesting devising an earmark tax for education, but did not explain it further.

Heigham also mentioned earmarked funds and wondered how we could get them from the state and federal levels. Specifically, she suggested partnerships with universities as an economical way to boost education. She raised the possibility of consolidating the Fox Library at the Thompson School and using saved funds to pay for a resource center at the school.

Question No. 1: What is your experience with special education, and how will you assure that the needs of all students in the Arlington public schools will be addressed?

Heigham said the question was "made for her," noting the special-education requirements under state law exceed those on the national level. Emphasizing her experience as a teacher, she noted that "all are entitled to a quality education" and students who need special services must "get the right services at the right time."

Pierce called it a moral imperative to provide such services. "We must evaluate each child individually," he said, noting that parents of special-education students should be surveyed and that he expects to work with advocate Trish Orlovsky.

Tully pointed to his legal background, which has instructed him that special education "is not just required -- it's the right thing to do." He said he supports the superintendent's efforts to provide these services inhouse.

"I agree with the special-education law," Curran said. "I don't agree with the funding." He said "we have to bring credibility back to the special-education department" and that the current interim director, Jerry Kupperschmidt, is "a good start."

Curro said that, as chairman of the Human Rights Commission, he organized a panel last year about the state of special education. He cited themes from the Walker report, issued last December, suggesting more professional development is needed.

The snapshot of candidates ended at 7: 20 p.m. The public will have a further chance to hear all town candidates on March 27 at Town Hall. 

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