The Marblehead schools’ central administration spent $334,734 on legal counsel in FY 24, more than three times the $105,000 it budgeted, according to the town of Marblehead’s ClearGov portal.
During that year, the School Committee engaged counsel as it worked to oust then superintendent John Buckey. The district also faced a student restraint crisis that led to the firings and resignations of several educators, as well as lawsuits against the district.
Contentious contract talks with teachers and custodians began in March.
The online database ClearGov shows that in fiscal year 2024, the School Committee spent $8.9 million on expenses (not including salaries), significantly more than the $7.3 million it had budgeted.
At the same time, it spent $2.3 million less on teacher salaries than it budgeted. The School Committee is allowed to move money among different budget line items, something the town is not allowed to do, according to Finance Director Aleesha Benjamin.
“The School Committee regularly moves funds from one line item to another during the fiscal year to address shortfalls in one or more line items,” said School Committee Chair Jenn Schaeffner. “This is not uncommon. In FY24, there were more expenses for litigation and legal review of responses to certain public records requests than originally anticipated when the budget was approved.”
Dozens of departures
Meanwhile, the Current has learned that 68 educators left the district between September 2023 and Aug. 22, 2024. Additional teachers resigned late last month and are not included in that total. Interim Superintendent John Robidoux said there are approximately 337 educators in the budget for this school year.
Results of a public records request by the Current show the following breakdown of educators who have left:
Teachers: 41 from all five schools
Tutors: 15 from across the district
Paraprofessionals: Three from the Glover School
Behavior specialists: Two from the district
Counselors: Three from the Glover and high school
Speech/language pathologists: Three from the district
Occupational therapist: One from the district
“I cannot speak to the historical departure from Marblehead, but we recognize that this SY (school year) does seem a bit high,” said interim Superintendent John Robidoux. “Departures from any district, however, are due to many different individualized factors and they generally fluctuate from year to year in scope.”
