By Lynne Hendricks
NEWBURYPORT — Superintendent-elect Marc Kerble has spent a lot of time in Newburyport when the city was at its finest, when temperatures were balmy, and he and his wife Joan spread out a blanket on the grassy patch of land at Waterfront Park and watched a live concert.
He said the two North Andover residents love the different restaurants and coffeehouses to be found on a stroll through downtown, and now that he's accepted the job of superintendent, he can't wait to dive into his new position here.
"I wish I could start tomorrow," he said yesterday afternoon, just ahead of a 6 p.m. negotiation meeting with Mayor Donna Holaday and School Committee Vice Chairman Bruce Menin. "I'm very excited about going to Newburyport. My wife and I love Newburyport.
"We're there a lot when it's not raining," he joked, referencing the deluge of weekend rain that's taken hold of the entire Northeast.
"We like to just walk around, watch concerts, put a blanket out, read or walk the boardwalk," he said. "Everybody's friendly. People have just been very, very welcoming, which is really great for me because I'll work very hard for Newburyport."
Kerble expects when he takes the job of superintendent on July 1, he'll be rolling up his shirtsleeves to tackle some of the issues facing local schools, and he'll be spending the next few months leading up to that time listening closely to the budget conversation that goes on here, as it will affect his coming tenure.
The city is facing anywhere from $1.4 million to $2.6 million in school budget shortfalls, depending on how much the state Legislature cuts local aid to the city.
"I don't want to get in the way," he said of the upcoming budget discussion and his own transition to the job. "I need to just listen and allow people to go through their normal modus operandi."
When the time comes to take the reins, Kerble, currently the superintendent in Winchester, said he will approach his leadership position in Newburyport in the following way.
"I looked at things in several ways," Kerble said. "I care about culture and climate at each school. I care deeply about curriculum instruction and assessment. Then I care deeply about community involvement in schools. I'll work closely with the School Committee to make sure all that happens.
"I know the community wants kids to get a tremendous education," he added. "Everyone wants the same thing. My job is to work with everybody to make things happen."
Despite their differing proximity to Boston and average single-home values — Winchester's is much higher — there are similarities between the communities of Winchester and Newburyport.
"I think both communities care deeply about the education of kids," he said. "They both have their traditions. Newburyport has some terrific traditions — especially at the high school. Quality of the staff is really strong in both places, and the community involvement is high in both places."
He said the business community in both cities is involved in the school system as well, and both cities place a high value on maintaining good relationships with the superintendent of schools.
"Everything starts with the relationships," said Kerble, who scored high marks for his people skills when making his way through the superintendent search process "If you have a strong relationship, everyone's willing to solve problems rather than creating new ones."
Kerble's resume was touted by Newburyport School Committee members as evidence of his willingness and tendency to stick around to effect change. The Peabody native met his future wife in high school and worked in that community as a teacher for 16 years. Following his stint in Peabody, Kerble spent nine years in the Haverhill school district before moving to the Winchester school district, where he's worked for the past nine years. He and his wife, Joan, a nurse, have lived in North Andover for 25 years, where they raised a daughter, Lauren, also a nurse.
While he said he'll miss the friends he's made in the Winchester school district, Kerble said he is really looking forward to making new friends here in Newburyport.
"Relationships take time," he said. "I love the people I work with now, but I'll make new friends.
"I'll roll up my sleeves right away," he said of his transition this summer. "I don't change things for the sake of changing. But I do have my strengths, so I'll utilize those strengths."
