Three candidates for the Salem School Committee used the public comment period to present platforms that stressed support for a new Salem High School, expanded student supports and stronger family engagement, and to describe how their experience would guide school budgeting and oversight.

The candidates’ remarks matter because voters will choose three committee members this November, and the committee will oversee how the district advances a proposed new high school, negotiates teacher contracts and allocates resources for student supports.

Yamali Paez, a Salem resident and parent and a candidate for the Salem School Committee, said social-emotional learning and family engagement are among her top priorities. "I'm running because I believe every child in Salem deserves an excellent education that prepares them not only academically, but socially and emotionally for the future," Paez said. She also stressed language access for families, saying, "If families cannot access information about their child's education in a language they understand, then they are being left out of the conversation."

Incumbent candidate Beth Ann Cornell, running for a second term on the Salem School Committee, highlighted recent district gains and urged continued community support for a new high school. "Salem Public Schools have made tremendous progress in the 4 years since I was elected to school committee," Cornell said, citing higher enrollment, improved attendance and retention milestones. On the high school project she said the city has "a once in a generation opportunity to have the state of Massachusetts pay for half of our building costs," and described expected benefits including new career and technical facilities, updated classrooms and MIAA regulation outdoor athletic fields.

Megan Stott, a longtime Salem resident who served as a ward councilor, was council president in 2023 and represented the council on the high school building committee, said her municipal budgeting experience would help the committee navigate uncertain finances. "That kind of experience is essential as we face critical school funding decisions in the years ahead," Stott said, adding she hopes to "jump right in and continue the respectful work that our school committee members have been doing."

All three speakers framed teacher and staff support as central to student success. Paez called teachers "the backbone of our schools," Cornell pointed to an "historic teacher's contract" negotiated through dialogue, and Stott said she would advocate for resources and transparency in budgeting.

These remarks were delivered during the public comment portion of the meeting; no committee motions or votes occurred as part of these statements. The topics the candidates raised — a proposed new Salem High School, teacher compensation and retention, language access, family engagement and social-emotional learning — will be matters for the School Committee and district staff to address in future agenda items and budget discussions.