MARBLEHEAD, MA — Members of the Marblehead School Committee vowed to increase communication with residents and improve transparency — to the extent possible given confidentiality restrictions — following an open letter that expressed a “lack of confidence” in the board.
In the past eight months, the School Committee has presided over the second failed override in two years, the ouster of Superintendent John Buckey without clarification on the reasons behind it, the hiring of an interim superintendent in Theresa McGuinness who months into the job reversed course and informed the Committee that she was not interested in the permanent position, a Marblehead Education Association vote of no-confidence in student services leadership and the resignation of a second School Committee member in two years.
The district is also faced with replacing several leadership positions after officials either chose to leave the district or were relieved of their duties.
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The School Committee also revealed during its Thursday night meeting that hopes of finding a permanent replacement for Buckey in time for the opening of the next school year were being shelved in favor of a second interim superintendent to replace McGuinness for one year.
“I would agree on the chaos factor — I don’t think anybody in the room would disagree with that— it’s been a wild couple of months,” School Committee member Alison Taylor said. “Certainly, Dr. McGuinness could tell you that better than anyone. I am sure that’s not what she expected to walk into (when hired in November). But I think we have to recognize that these are just crazy times and that we do have people who are sitting up here who were voted in by a large majority who give of their time.”
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The “lack of confidence” letter expressed concerns about how the Committee will address $2.3 million in cuts facing the district for the next fiscal year, its “hiring, firing and management” of the superintendent position, and Committee members’ conduct during open meetings.
“We have a lot of work to do,” School Committee member Jennifer Schaeffner said. “As the sentiments that were in the call to action that was in the (open letter expressed). Many of those concerns, I share too, frankly. I share them at 3 o’clock in the morning when I can’t sleep, and thinking about the work ahead of us and where we are right now.”
Schaeffner said the process of finding a permanent superintendent is typically a year-long process and that the interim superintendent search process — or what she called the search for a “transitional superintendent” — can be done in shorter order.
Both Schaeffner and Taylor gave their phone numbers out to residents who wanted to reach out to them directly.
“We do have to commit to communicating in a more direct and clear and expected way,” Schaeffner said. “In a way that allows the community to hear directly from us — not through another voice or another lens but directly from us.
“I do look forward to working with (recently appointed School Committee member) Al (Williams) and all of my colleagues on the School Committee as we continue to work in a collaborative and creative way to achieve (meeting) all of these challenges before us successfully.”
While Taylor said she looks forward to speaking with residents more often to improve communication, she allowed that she and other Committee members may not always be able to provide all the information sought.
She referenced the “non-disparagement agreement” — which she said she “100 percent against” — in the negotiated departure of Buckey during the summer.
“Having those conversations does not mean that all those suggestions or all requests can be done when we have those conversations with you — whether it’s in a coffee shop or if you call me on the phone and I am working from home and take a few minutes to talk,” Taylor said. “But we want to make sure people are feeling heard. From my experience in the corporate world and being a mother, making people feel heard is very important.
“We can’t always give you the information that you want. That’s just a hard stop that is always going to be there whether it’s an NDA that we, unfortunately, had to sign. We can look at all the minutes to see that I was 100 percent against that. Or whether it’s confidential due to executive session, confidential due to it being a personnel matter, or confidential because of it having to do with a child.
“I understand the frustration behind that. Certainly, prior to joining the Committee, there were a number of things that I could never get the answers I wanted to. I was that person too. I remember that frustration.
“So I want to make sure people know that we hear that.”
(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)
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