Four residents have applied to fill an empty seat on the School Committee, including two unsuccessful candidates in June’s municipal elections.
Sarah Fox, who served on the committee for two, three-year terms, lost her most recent bid for re-election, receiving votes on fewer than 10% of the ballots cast (656 of 6,621).
Yael Magen, after falling short in her bid for Select Board, is interested in helping to lead the schools.
Newcomers Mark Schwartz and Melissa Clucas have also applied.
The School Committee and Select Board will meet jointly Wednesday, Sept. 10 at 7 p.m. at Abbot Hall to interview the applicants and make their choice. The winner will serve through June, when the seat is up for election. Brian Ota vacated the seat this summer because he moved out of town.
Schwartz is a former teacher and marketing professional who grew up in Swampscott and lives in Marblehead with his wife and two young children. His daughter will start kindergarten next fall.
In his cover letter, Schwartz wrote, “I believe the foundation of strong schools lies in balancing academic rigor with social-emotional learning. Students cannot excel if they are overwhelmed by stress or anxiety, and staff cannot teach effectively under similar pressures. That is why communication and collaboration among parents, teachers, administrators, and students must be a top priority. Supporting well-being is not separate from academic success — it is integral to it.”
Clucas, a mother of three children and chief financial officer, brings years of budgeting experience.
“I understand there is a need for members on both the budget subcommittee and the collective bargaining committee,” Clucas wrote in her cover letter. “I have led multi-million-dollar budgeting cycles, overseen intricate contract negotiations and worked closely with legal counsel, labor representatives and executives to achieve transparent, sustainable outcomes.”
Fox, a mother of five, emphasized her six years of School Committee experience in her cover letter.
“With the challenges facing our district currently, the appointed member will need to step right in with working knowledge which my experience provides,” wrote Fox. “The role of an appointed member is vastly different than someone running for a three-year seat. There is a limited amount of time and no available runway for someone to learn. This year with large salary increases due to contractual obligations, the historical knowledge and experience I bring from my many years on the school budget subcommittee will be a huge benefit to the budget development process.”
In her cover letter, Magen focused on her efforts to combat antisemitism.
“Having a person on the School Committee that will actively fight against antisemitism and will represent this community is extremely important to our town,” wrote the municipal attorney, who has three kids in Marblehead schools. “I am very familiar with how towns work and how school committees operate. I will have no problem jumping in and starting to work on day 1.”
