The School Committee will vote at its June 20 meeting on hiring an independent investigator to look into “multiple formal complaints of harassment and discrimination” filed by district employees, according to a statement sent to the community June 13 by interim Superintendent Theresa McGuinness.
The statement does not provide details on the subject of the complaints, but does say, “The contemporary political climate has fanned strong emotions and divisiveness. We are aware of a rapidly intensifying dispute among groups of school district employees.”
A few days earlier, on June 10, Veterans School teacher Brigitte Karns spoke on a webinar called “Combating Antisemitism Summit — Massachusetts Schools” hosted by ICAN, the Israeli-American Civic Action Network.
In that webinar, Karns described what she called a “quiet crisis in Marblehead schools.”
“Marblehead has been knowingly supporting a hostile work environment for some of the Jewish teachers and students,” Karns said. “The Marblehead Education Association is using intimidation tactics to silence Jews and then the administration is perpetuating antisemitic and anti-Israel ideology by remaining silent.”
Karns did not respond to requests for comment.
Duing the webinar, Karns goes on to accuse a specific Marblehead teacher of antisemitic comments praising Hitler and disrespecting Jewish students. Karns identifies the teacher by her initials. That teacher spoke to the Current and asked that she not be identified “out of concerns for my family’s safety.”
Karns also accused this teacher of removing the Israeli flag from a school cafeteria, crumpling it in a ball and throwing it in a corner.
“For the record, I categorically deny and wholeheartedly refute with every fiber of my being any of the statements or actions that Brigitte references in the webinar,” the accused teacher said.
After the webinar aired and was shared on social media, several people commented angrily about the accusations against the teacher. One man posted an expletive-laced comment that ended, “Shame on the Marblehead School Committee. Violence is the only answer for these a–h—-.”
“Given the coded references to me, the damage has already been done, and I have been tarred with this despicable brush,” the accused teacher said. “In fact, it’s only getting worse given how this has spread on social media, for example, on local community Facebook pages and WhatsApp. I am worried for my and my family’s safety and have already been in touch with the police.”
Meanwhile, McGuinness’ statement explained why she is calling for an outside investigation.
“The district has attempted, as is our obligation, to investigate these claims internally. Unfortunately, the allegations made by the persons involved have escalated to the point that these investigators themselves cannot proceed without being subjected to accusations of having a conflict. Recognizing the district’s obligation to investigate all of these complaints, regardless of who is making them, we intend to take necessary steps to have the complaints investigated in a manner that is thorough and that can be viewed as objective by all who are involved.”
The statement also reads, “The Marblehead Public Schools condemns racism, antisemitism and discrimination in all its forms and manners. We take all allegations of hate and discrimination very seriously.”
The Marblehead teachers union wrote in a separate statement, “First and foremost, the MEA categorically rejects hate speech, bias and prejudice in all forms. All educators in Marblehead Public Schools are entitled to the contractual and statutory right of representation by the MEA, regardless of the matter. The MEA is committed to supporting a safe and inclusive school culture for all our members and students.”
The MEA statement continued: “We look forward to the School Committee conducting a thorough investigation of this matter so our community can learn and move forward.”
Editor Leigh Blander is an experienced TV, radio and print journalist.