Education

The School Committee meets in public Friday at 9:30 a.m. to start discussions about finding a new superintendent after ratifying a controversial separation agreement with Dr. John Buckey. The committee will meet with two representatives from the New England School Development Council. The meeting's agenda lists it as, "presentation and information session on superintendent search." There will also be time for public comment. Here is the Zoom link to the meeting and the agenda.  Read more about events of the last few weeks and how recently…

At the Aug. 11 School Committee meeting, Interim Superintendent Michelle Cresta announced a surprising increase in enrollment at the Veterans School that will lead to bigger classes than expected. Classes will be larger this fall at the Veterans School. “At the Veterans School, overall enrollment has increased by 54 students, which includes 30 new students to the district,” Cresta said. Principal Matt Fox added, “Class sizes will be large.” There will be as many as 25 students in some classes. “We had 395 students last…

Late Monday, the School Committee released minutes from two July executive (private) sessions revealing that the committee took action to remove Superintendent John Buckey over a complaint of bullying on an athletic team, in addition to “other concerns brought forth to the committee on other matters.” School Committee Chair Sarah Fox declined to comment about what those other concerns were. “The minutes speak for themselves,” she told the Current. “I cannot elaborate any further.” The Current reported last month about an investigation (led by an…

The School Committee will meet this Friday at noon to take a public vote to ratify the $175,000 to end the tenure of Superintendent John Buckey. The meeting will be held in person at the Marblehead High School library and on Zoom. Here is the agenda. Two attorneys had told the Marblehead Current that the School Committee needed to take such a vote to comply with the state's Open Meeting Law. Fox said she learned about the need for a public vote from the school…

The Marblehead School Committee may have violated the state’s Open Meeting Law by not reconvening in open session to ratify the settlement agreement reached with Superintendent John Buckey.  That agreement was announced by a “joint press release” distributed by email by Chair Sarah Fox on Aug. 2, two days after the board had met in executive session to continue strategizing over its intent to exercise a buyout clause in Buckey’s contract. The state’s open meeting law, G.L.c. 30A, § 21, sets out 10 permissible reasons…

Marblehead's new acting superintendent, Michelle Cresta, reached out to teachers and staff in an email this afternoon, laying out plans for the immediate future. "As you may already know, Dr. John Buckey has submitted his resignation as superintendent of Marblehead Schools. During this time of transition, I have been designated acting superintendent while the School Committee plans their next step in appointing an interim superintendent for the school year as well as the process to search for a permanent replacement," Cresta wrote. Assistant Superintendent of Finance…