Marblehead school hiring plan leaves trail of confusion

MARBLEHEAD – Proposed changes in next year?s Marblehead Village School budget appeared to leave at least one School Committee member wondering if the committee and the administration speak the same language Thursday night.Superintendent of Schools Paul Dulac told the School Committee he has postponed next year?s scheduled hiring of Spanish teachers for Grades 4 and 5, reducing his Village School request by $50,000 per teacher, or $100,000.At the same time Dulac proposed hiring a part-time Grade 4 keyboarding teacher and a part-time Grade 6 wellness teacher, at a total cost of $45,000.Despite Dulac?s repeated pledge that the $100,000 he saved would appear as a non-earmarked amount in the Fiscal 2012 budget, frustrations ran high.Principal Michael Hanna said the new Grade 6 Spanish teacher hired for this year “has gone wonderfully” but he postponed hiring teachers to extend Spanish to Grades 4 and 5 next year after discussing the matter with Salem State University Professor Nicole Sherf, who teaches foreign language.Sherf conducted an elementary school parent survey on foreign language classes 16 months ago and found that most of her respondents wanted foreign language to start early.Hanna said Sherf advised him that it “might be better to hold off until next year and establish a coherent Spanish program in Grades 4-6.”Committee member Dick Nohelty told Hanna it sounded like “jumping around to the latest fashion,” and later he admonished the principal, “If you don?t think this is a good idea, say ?No,? have the fortitude to run your school.” Chairman EuRim Chun stopped Nohelty from speaking further at that point.Hanna told the committee, “I?m not proposing any of these positions (wellness and keyboarding).” Reminded that Brookline teaches foreign language to early elementary school grades Hanna pointed out that those classes were the result of a successful general override.Committee member Jonathan Lederman asked about making Spanish a core subject like English and math and said the schools needed “a pit bull” to do that.Dulac immediately told the committee that he was “the pit bull,” but said he would rather create a Marblehead Spanish program than rewrite another community?s curriculum, and after talking to the staff he realized that the foreign language teachers at Marblehead High wanted input in that program.?We?re not dropping it, we?re setting it aside,” he said.