Scott W. Wood Jr. is off and running for the Haverhill School Committee, announcing this week he will seek a fifth term as a member of the city’s educational board.
His announcement comes five months ahead of the city’s November municipal election for three open School Committee seats. Wood has served on the board for the last four years, holding leadership positions including president and vice president.
For his fifth re-election bid, Wood tells WHAV he’s focusing, as he has in the past, on school safety. Working as a police officer in another Massachusetts community, the Haverhill native believes his background in law enforcement provides a unique perspective to city families and students.
“As the only candidate in the race who has worked in education, law enforcement and managed a business, I bring a unique set of skills that will continue to benefit taxpayers and students,” Wood, who delivered a national presentation on cyberbullying alongside Methuen Police Chief Joseph E. Solomon and Lt. Joseph Aiello at this year’s National School Safety Conference, told WHAV.
As chairman of Haverhill’s School Safety Committee, Wood led the charge in April to convince Superintendent Margaret Marotta to post a Haverhill Police School Resource Officer at Nettle Middle School.
“The number of school safety-related incidents is unacceptable. We must have a renewed focus on the environment and climate of our schools,” Wood, a branch manager at Mortgage Equity Partners, said.
Applauding the progress he and his School Committee colleagues have made, Wood insists more must be done—for taxpayers’ and students’ sake.
“I’m proud of what we have accomplished the last four years: Increased test scores, a higher graduation rate and lower drop-out rate. However, to continue to make progress, we need strong independent leadership,” Wood said. “We need to settle a contract with teachers that is fair to them and fair to the taxpayer. We need to make sure all students have access to a high quality education no matter what part of the city they are from.”