***This story was updated April 1 at 5:20 p.m. after the School Committee changed the time of the public portion of the meeting from 6 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
The Marblehead Education Association is asking the School Committee to “cease and desist” developing a draft flag policy that would allow only the U.S., state and POW/MIA flags to be displayed in schools. The controversial proposal gives the School Committee sole authority to determine any other flags, banners and symbolic displays on district property and excludes input from students, teachers, administrators and the community. The draft policy could lead to the removal of Pride flags and Black Lives Matter and Juneteenth banners in schools.
In a March 19 letter addressed to School Committee Chair Jenn Schaeffner, the MEA wrote, “This proposed policy, if adopted, impacts one or more mandatory subjects of bargaining and therefore cannot be implemented without collective bargaining. In addition to the apparent violations of our members’ rights under M.G.L. Chapter 150E, the proposed policy violates the state and federal constitutions’ protections for free speech and expression. As a union of education workers we have grave concerns that the committee seems determined to restrict educators’ and students’ academic and intellectual freedom.”
The MEA letter, obtained by the Current March 31, continues, “Whereas the union has no interest in reopening the collective bargaining agreements over our right to determine, individually and with our students, which ‘flags, banners and other symbolic displays’ are in our schools, we hereby demand the Marblehead School Committee cease and desist with the consideration of the current Draft Policy IMDB or any other iteration which infringes upon these rights. Should the committee choose to impose any policy that impacts these rights unilaterally, the union will have no choice but to avail ourselves of all legal remedies, including but not limited to filing an Unfair Labor Practice charge with the Department of Labor Relations.”
MHS senior Maren Potter, who has led the students’ fight against the flag policy, was thankful for the teachers’ support.
“Our teachers go out of their way to make classrooms welcoming and positive learning environments,” she said. “I’m so grateful for their support on this issue. I urge the School Committee to reconsider the student proposed policy, which gives students, teachers and administrators a say in the banners hung inside our schools.”
The Current has reached out to all members of the School Committee and interim Superintendent John Robidoux for a comment about the MEA’s letter.
At a March 20 School Committee meeting, member Al Williams said he opposed the draft policy. He initially voiced support for a compromise plan submitted by Marblehead High students that would allow input from students, administrators and the community. Member Brian Ota supported the draft policy, referencing “religious people who believe in traditional family values … and the rainbow flag doesn’t support them, and they can’t say it out loud because they would get backlash.”
Schaeffner said the district’s lawyer warned that once the process is opened to people beyond the committee, free speech issues become involved and the district could be required to display any flags brought forward, no matter how offensive to some.
Schaeffner told the Current on March 31 that she had shared some committee members’ questions with the lawyer and is ready to proceed with a reading of the policy at a Thursday, April 3 meeting. She declined to share what the lawyer had advised.
Robidoux said the flag issue needs “a little bit more work” and “a little bit more discussion.”
“We need to move forward mindfully because there are going to be ramifications… How do we make sure kids feel like they belong?” he said.
Robidoux continued, “My opinion as an educator and administrator is that flags and banners that have educational relevance when aligned with our curriculum and our values, I think there’s value there.”
In a statement to the Current Monday night, the MEA wrote, “The Marblehead School Committee’s proposed flag policy has sparked significant concerns among educators, who have consistently advocated for students’ rights and a supportive learning environment. Many educators have spoken out individually in support of them at School Committee meetings and other public forums. The union has carefully reviewed the draft policy and we believe the proposed policy violates members’ rights as educators under the Collective Bargaining Agreement and state law.
“If enforcing our rights also helps to ensure that students and their educators, rather than politically-motivated elected officials, are determining which ‘flags, banners and symbolic displays’ should be in the schools, we consider that to be a win-win for Marblehead.”
Angus McQuilken, a Marblehead resident who has spoken against the draft policy at several meetings, said about the MEA’s position, “As a parent and a taxpayer, I commend our educators for standing up for the constitutional rights of both teachers and students in the Marblehead Public Schools, and for the right of teachers to have a voice in their working conditions. The flag censorship policy that some members of our School Committee are proposing would send us down the slippery slope of limiting free expression, and open our town to yet more costly litigation. It is time for the School Committee to set that proposed policy aside and move on.”
The School Committee’s will discuss the flag policy at its meeting on Thursday, April 3, at the high school library. The meeting begins in 5 p.m. in executive (private) session to discuss the MEA letter and then will open to the public at 5:30 p.m. The meeting can be viewed online HERE.
