MARION — Two candidates are facing off to be Marion’s representative on the Old Rochester Regional School Committee.

Jennifer Stewart is a first-time candidate who is running to offer “stability” to the district.

“It really became obvious to me that there were problems and that we needed to kind of come forward with some solutions,” she said.

Stewart’s campaign focuses on helping students who have fallen behind academically and improving the communication between the district and families.

“I feel like a lot of parents feel like their kids are behind,” said Stewart, who pointed to lower test scores following the Covid-19 pandemic. “There's a lot of concern about getting our kids back to where they need to be, so I'm really pushing for achieving academic excellence.”

Additionally, she would like to see school events or programs that put a focus on local history.

“We all have such different backgrounds and how we shape this community,” she said. “I feel like we could really learn from each other.”

Stewart also believes that improved communication between the schools and parents will help with the district’s stability.

“Parents really want to be able to feel like they can be heard when they have questions and concerns,” she said. “It feels like there's a lot of concerns but not a lot of follow through on how we can alleviate those concerns.”

This year, ten library books held in the Old Rochester Regional High School and Junior High Schools were challenged for alleged explicit content. This has sparked discussion over suitable in-school materials.

“I think what [parents] are really looking for is a process,” she said. “If they don’t feel comfortable with their kids seeing [certain content] they can have their kids not see it … I don't think they're trying to prevent it from other kids.”

Stewart hopes that the process for opting a child out of certain materials can be improved and that parents can have more advanced notice of what content their child may encounter in school.

If elected, Stewart plans to “learn from those who are on the committee to see how they're doing their job [and] I really want to listen to parents.”

She said that her day-job as a registration manager has taught her how to “work with a team and pull everyone together.”

Stewart believes that the biggest strength of the Old Rochester Regional School District is in its community.

“We do have teachers that care and that want to do their job and we want to support them and we want to let them do their job too,” she said. “I feel like families come together and I feel like we need to get back to that and we have to refocus on that.”

Stewart is facing incumbent Margaret McSweeny for a seat on the Old Rochester Regional School Committee in the town election on Friday, May 12.