To the editor:
I am writing in support of Sarah Fox for election to the Marblehead School Committee. As a parent of three with one still in the Marblehead schools, I have watched the decline of hard-won transparency on our School Committee since Fox’s departure. Transparency is especially crucial this year as we face unprecedented budget challenges and a possible permanent override in town.
With the upcoming departure of committee stalwart Jennifer Schaeffner, there will be no one left with the kind of budgetary expertise Fox brings to the table. We need this expertise now more than ever.
During Sarah’s prior years on the committee, she shone brightest on budgetary and policy subcommittees and has often spoken out in meetings as the lone voice of concern over cuts AND spending. Her record is clear — she does not entertain administrative frivolity on the taxpayers’ dime. When other members acted at the behest of special interests or the town’s other boards, Fox stood alone in her apolitical support of decisions that best suited the entire student body, not a select few.
It was Sarah Fox that openly conversed with students attending committee meetings with concerns and complaints during COVID, and it was Sarah Fox who let student needs guide policy when it came to attendance and other pandemic adjustments. This is the person I want setting the budget AND drafting the policies not just for my child in the system, but for the future of all children in Marblehead schools.
A vote for Sarah Fox is a vote for experience, expertise and level-headed leadership. I look forward to her return to the School Committee.
Colleen Nial
Bowden Street
