After teen pregnancy spike, Gloucester weighs its options

Contraceptives at school clinic considered

Carolyn Kirk, mayor of Gloucester, fielded a barrage of questions in June when national attention focused on the city and its spike in teenage pregnancies. (Dominic Chavez/Globe staff/file)

GLOUCESTER - Three months after a teenage pregnancy scandal rocked this seaside community, the mayor and school committee chairman are calling for contraception to be made available at Gloucester High School.

"I think the eyes are on Gloucester to see what we do, because a lot of communities are wrestling with it," said Mayor Carolyn Kirk, who along with other School Committee members will debate over the next two weeks whether to allow contraception at the school.

The high school, which operates one of 47 health centers authorized by the state Department of Public Health, currently does not offer contraception to students. At present, 43 high schools around the state provide reproductive health services.

Since the spring, school and health officials have been concerned about a spike in teen pregnancy. With the national teen birth rate up 3 percent in 2006 - the first jump in 15 years - some city residents believed it was time for teens to have easy access to contraception. But after the city balked at allowing contraception to be distributed at the school, the school health center's medical director, Dr. Brian Orr, and his assistant, nurse Kim Daly, resigned.

Then, in June the city and the high school became the focus of national and international media attention after Time magazine reported that several teenage girls from the school had entered into a pregnancy pact. Kirk contested the report, for which the school's principal was the main source, and said a city investigation led by her office showed no pact.

But still, city officials and residents say the fallout from the story has been severe.

For weeks, media crews interviewed residents, and the city became the focus of a national debate about teenage pregnancy. In July, Gloucester was ridiculed by Beverly residents during an Independence Day parade that mocked Gloucester's pregnant teens.

The revelation that 18 girls had become pregnant also has led to several personnel changes at the high school. Since June, the school's longtime principal, Joseph Sullivan, resigned. The school has a new principal, and assistant principal, and recently Northeast Health System, which manages the health clinic, named a new medical director.

On Tuesday, the School Committee released a set of options that it will use to help formulate its policy on contraception. The options include allowing contraception for any student without parental approval, permitting contraception for students with parental consent, or keeping the existing policy of no contraception in school.

The School Committee will hold two special meetings, on Oct. 1 and 2, at which the public will be allowed to weigh in on the matter. According to the School Committee chairman, Greg Verga, the board will vote on the contraception issue at its Oct. 8 meeting.

Like Kirk, Verga wants the school's health clinic to distribute contraception, but only with parental approval.

"I think it's become obvious that there's an issue that there's sexual activity with teenagers," Verga said. "It seems like a preventative measure that would help us in our mission."

The list of options was compiled during the summer after several experts on teenage pregnancy were consulted, including Dr. Lauren Smith, medical director of the Department of Public Health, and Patricia Quinn, executive director of the Massachusetts Alliance on Teen Pregnancy. Both Smith and Quinn recommended that the school allow the distribution of contraception.

For a contraception option to pass, it needs four out of seven school board votes, and only Kirk and Verga have indicated how they will vote.

In downtown Gloucester, residents had mixed opinions about the idea of allowing contraception in schools.

"I would say no to it," said Everett Saulnier, who believes that the measure would encourage teens to have sex.

Shane Murphy, who graduated from the school four years ago, said contraception is needed by Gloucester's teens. "So many kids are having sex and their parents don't even know about it," he said.

Outside Gloucester High yesterday, 15 teens, including five girls, agreed that they should be able to get contraception at the school.

"A lot of people would feel a lot safer," said Alexis Starbird, who is 16 and a sophomore.

Lisa Barry, 16, a junior, said she would ask for contraception if it was offered by the school. "Gloucester is sexually active," she said.

Steven Rosenberg can be reached at srosenberg@globe.com.