After more than 765 community members signed a letter to the School Committee giving it a failing grade and demanding more transparency, the committee participated in a training on Feb. 14 with its attorney and the head of the Massachusetts Association of School Committees.
“The School Committee must immediately take steps to make meetings collegial and vehicles for informing and educating the community,” MASC Executive Director Glenn Koocher wrote in a memo to School Committee Chair Sarah Fox after the training.
The memo continued, “While the public is watching, it is important that the board focus on policies that improve student achievement; budgeting that targets where the funds are needed most; and exercising its policymaking role while respecting the administrative authority of the superintendent.”
Koocher also recommended the School Committee hire another interim, rather than permanent, superintendent.
“A year of interim leadership will shift focus away from the School Committee and the previous superintendent and allow for a badly needed ‘cooling off’ period,” Koocher wrote. “There are a few districts that have signed two-year interim agreements, making it possible for an experienced leader who is two years from retirement or relocating to fill the gap for a longer period of re-engaging the community.”
Koocher also pointed out that the School Committee is significantly behind schedule for hiring a superintendent to begin this summer, and would likely not have the best options.
Current interim Superintendent Theresa McGuinness notified the School Committee last month that she no longer wants to be considered for the permanent position.
The MASC can lead the search for the next interim superintendent free of charge, Fox said.
In addition to a superintendent, the district needs to hire a Glover School principal, director of finance and operations and director of student services.
At a Feb. 15 meeting, the League of Women Voters of Marblehead invited the School Committee to participate in a public forum where residents can ask questions and the committee can “explain your decision making and future plans,” said LWVM member Nancy Powell.
The committee said it would be interested in a League-led forum. It is considering the date of Feb. 29, but that has not been confirmed.
Former School Committee member Amy Drinker, who signed the community letter, called it “a failing report card expressing frustration with your actions and decisions since the June 2023 election.”
Drinker continued, “It’s not about how or whether the signers voted in local elections. It’s about how you perform as the elected or appointed School Committee members. The message is a call for action for you to tackle issues to improve our schools.”
Committee members acknowledged reading the community letter.
“The entire committee has taken it very seriously,” Fox said.
“We have to begin creating as many vehicles as possible to explain what we’re doing,” said member Brian Ota.
Member Jenn Schaeffner added, “We do have to commit to communicating in a more direct and clear and expected way and a way that allows the community to hear directly from us.”
New hires
McGuinness presented a staffing update, introducing the interim Student Services Director Patricia Bell, who is earning $120,000, prorated, for the year. Former student services leaders Paula Donnelly and Emily Dean, who stepped down amid a student restraint crisis, are still being paid through the end of the year, totaling nearly $120,000.
With Assistant Superintendent of Finance and Operations Michelle Cresta leaving next month, the district hired Mary Delai as a consultant in the business office at $125 per hour, up to 24 hours a week.
Budget update
McGuinness will present two proposed budgets (one level-service and one reduced-service) at a School Committee budget workshop on Feb. 28, 5 p.m. She said her report will include data from “each school, each department as it relates to staffing and student enrollment.”
McGuinness continued, “Right now, our leadership team is actively working on trying to come up with cuts totalling $2.3 million.” The School Committee has submitted a placeholder override request on the May Town Meeting warrant.
Kindergarten, preschool rate hike
The School Committee approved $500 increases for full-day kindergarten, half-day preschool and full-day preschool. That brings the new rates for next school year to:
— Full-day kindergarten, $4,000.
— Half-day preschool, $5,000.
— Full-day preschool, $6,500.
The increase is an “unfortunate barrier,” Fox said before approving the hike. “As we move forward as a town, we have to think about… what we value is what we fund. If we value equal access to education, then we really need to fund full-day kindergarten.”
Reading curriculum review
Assistant Superintendent for Learning Julia Ferreira and several teachers presented information about Wit and Wisdom, the district’s new reading curriculum for grades K-6.
Ferrerria said since the beginning of the school year, data shows Wit and Wisdom is boosting test results. For example, the percent of students reading at one or more years below grade level dropped:
- Glover School, 53% to 23%.
- Brown School, 54% to 22%.
- Village School, 47% to 35%.
Editor Leigh Blander is an experienced TV, radio and print journalist.
