At least three people pulled papers on March 17 in the race for two School Committee seats now held by Sarah Fox and Alison Taylor. The election is June 10.
Incumbent Fox, along with attorney Kate Schmeckpeper and graphic designer Henry Gwazda all plan to run. Taylor did not return multiple messages about her plans.
Schmeckpeper and her husband moved to Marblehead 11 years ago. Their four children have attended Marblehead Public Schools. (Her oldest child now goes to St. John’s Prep).
“The last couple of years with the School Committee have been so turbulent,” Schmeckpeper said during an interview in her Chestnut Street living room. “We need members who are committed to stability and building or rebuilding confidence in the district and its direction.”
Schmeckpeper is a part-time litigator and previously served as in-house counsel at Suffolk University, where she worked on a host of policies, involving issues such as cybersecurity and Title IX. She has volunteered with Marblehead PTOs and a School Advisory Council.
“My main message is that we need good governance,” she said. “The School Committee needs to focus on executing its areas of responsibility and making sure the public knows and understands what it’s doing. The committee also needs to empower our administrators to run our schools.”
Gwazda agrees that the School Committee needs a shakeup.
“It’s been a rough couple of months, couple of years,” he said. “Someone needs to step up and repair bridges, not just with the citizens but with teachers and students.”
A professional graphic designer, Gwazda said he has experience managing budgets and employees, as well as problem solving. He and his wife, Marisa Colabuono, have two young children, one at the Brown School. Colabuono is a substitute teacher in town who volunteers with the Brown School PTO.
Fox told the Current why she’s running again. “I have experience to really understand what the job entails, what is the School Committee purview and what isn’t. I have worked very hard to help build the wonderful central administration team we currently have and am very proud of the work they have accomplished in a short time.”
On the issues
The Current asked the three candidates about key issues facing Marblehead schools. The following are their responses:
High School roof replacement project
The district is asking Town Meeting this May to raise property taxes for 15 years to fund another $8.6 million for the Marblehead High School roof and HVAC units. Town Meeting already approved $5.3 million two years ago. The project never launched.
Schmeckpeper: “We need to fix the roof; it’s been leaking for years. I support funding the project, but at the same time we need to recognize there were mistakes made. People are looking for accountability.”
Gwazda: “We need to fund a new roof. But people feel bad sending any more money to this School Committee because they have bungled the project so far. They need to admit to their mistakes and not gaslight the public.”
Fox: “The original project was passed to cover the roof. Once the owner’s project manager and architect got on site it became clear the HVAC would require replacement and a recommendation was made to the committee to pair the HVAC replacement with the roof project. I absolutely support the debt exclusion override request that will be presented at Town Meeting in May.”
Teachers strike
Marblehead educators went on strike for 11 days in November after months of contentious negotiations with the School Committee.
Schmeckpeper: “Our teachers are the most important asset the community has. We need to make sure there’s a strong relationship between teachers, administrators and the School Committee. We need to move forward now as a community.”
Fox: “The negotiations were very complex and involved a tremendous amount of pressure from forces outside of Marblehead as was seen in the other strikes that were timed to coordinate with the strike in Marblehead. The School Committee worked diligently to balance the requests of the staff with the fiscal reality of Marblehead and was successful in negotiating a contract that was fair to all parties.”
Gwazda: “There was no communication from the School Committee. It was a one-sided negotiation with the teachers essentially bargaining with themselves in order to get the kids back in school. It was disrespectful to our teachers, the community and, most importantly, the students.”
School funding
Gwazda: “The School Committee should be the biggest cheerleaders for school funding. But I don’t trust them with our money, and I know many other people feel the same way.”
Schmeckpeper: “Advocating for school spending is all about identifying and explaining needs in our district so the community understands how the spending will benefit students and move the district towards meeting its goals.”
Fox: “The School Committee has a responsibility to advocate for a budget that meets the needs of our schools. It is the responsibility of the administration to make a request for their suggested budget. The School committee must be able to explain to the citizens of Marblehead what the money is funding and how it impacts students. It is important for the School Committee to be good stewards of the taxpayers’ money and practice fiscal responsibility while also meeting the needs of our students.”
Flag policy
Taylor and School Committee Chair Jenn Schaeffner have worked on draft policies that would allow only U.S., state, Marblehead and POW/MIA flags and lead to the removal of Black Lives Matter and Pride banners.
Fox: “Currently the flag policy is still in the policy subcommittee and has yet to come before the entire committee. It is also important for the School Committee to hear all voices when soliciting feedback prior to approving any policies.”
Schmeckpeper: “The flag policy creation process has been ineffective. It’s been 18 months of rehashing a very emotional issue. The policy subcommittee policy should have recognized that it was going to be divisive and come up with a process to cause the least damage and harm. I’m not convinced that the law requires anything beyond a policy for the flagpoles. I think we can leave it to our administrators, who have the expertise.”
Gwazda: “There’s a lot of anger about the way the School Committee has handled the flag policy. They solicited feedback from the community, and students stepped up. It was a shame to see the students work so hard for nothing. It’s another example of how disconnected the committee is from the public.”
The backdrop
It has been a tumultuous couple of years for the current School Committee. Within a few weeks of Schaeffner and Brian Ota joining in June 2023, the committee started work to remove then superintendent John Buckey, giving him a nearly $175,000 payout.
Interim Superintendent Theresa McGuinness announced a few months into her tenure that she did not want to stay in the district as a permanent super. Several other administrators resigned in the ensuing months.
The district was hit with another crisis when several Glover School educators were put on paid leave (with some ultimately fired) after a student was improperly restrained. That student’s family is suing the district, along with one educator.
During the teacher contract negotiations, 1,370 people signed a petition saying they had lost confidence in the School Committee.
