MARBLEHEAD — The School Committee met in public Friday afternoon for the first time since the resignation of former Superintendent of Schools Dr. John Buckey last week. This was also the committee’s first public meeting since the decision to cancel a vote about exercising the early-termination clause in Buckey’s contract.
More than 150 participants tuned into the meeting on Zoom, and dozens more came in person to the Marblehead High School’s library to voice their frustrations, concerns, and questions regarding the superintendent saga of the last three weeks.
One notable agenda item was the ratification of the separation agreement between Buckey and the School Committee. The ratification was approved 3-1 with Committee members Alison Taylor, Jenn Schaeffner, and Sarah Fox voting in favor. Committee member Meagan Taylor voted against the ratification.
“I’m just so profoundly disappointed that this is where we’re at,” Taylor said. “I think as a committee, we did not effectively manage the superintendent. I think if there were concerns about his performance or his actions, as a committee, we should have raised those and discussed them as a committee and come up with action plans on how to address them.”
“We just passed his evaluation unanimously with proficient and that was absolutely the time to bring up concerns,” Taylor added.
Brian Ota recused himself from the vote due to an open complaint against Buckey.
During the public-comment portion of the meeting, former School Committee member Sarah Gold presented a statement, repeating a request she made in a letter to the editor that all School Committee members step down from their positions.
“It’s apparent to me that this committee has worked to find the best ways to keep information out of the public for the last two months,” Gold said. “You have chosen to restrict as much information as possible, and if you had cause to terminate Dr. Buckey, you would have used it and avoided the cost that has been recurred in the situation.”
Gold also requested that if they chose not to step down, committee members hold a public forum when the school year starts to discuss their decision-making that ultimately led to Buckey’s resignation.
Paul Baker, who ran for School Committee in June, also expressed his disappointment with the committee’s handling of the situation.
“Good luck getting an override from these townspeople, and any semblance of an override for the next two, three, four years,” Baker said. “You have lost the confidence of this town and this school district, of parents and grandparents, and I’m so disappointed.”
Baker echoed Gold’s call for the entire committee to resign.
John DiPiano was one of the few during public comment to defend the School Committee, calling Gold’s comments unprofessional.
“As a member of this community, I’m disturbed at the hostility and the vitriol being directed at the people who volunteer and were elected to the School Committee,” DiPiano said. “They’re being called disgusting by Ms. Gold, they’re being called cowards by Ms. Gold. That’s not appropriate, that’s not kind, and it’s troubling to me.”
Others called for the committee to provide the reasoning for Buckey’s resignation and the initial decision to hold a vote on exercising the early-termination clause.
Fox, the School Committee chair, briefly paused public comment to state that the committee would meet in executive session at the end of the meeting to approve the release of previous executive-session minutes on July 21 and July 31 that involved contract negotiations between the committee and Buckey.
If approved, Fox said those minutes would be released within three weeks. She added that it will be the first time she has seen School Committee executive-session minutes released to the public.
“In the 10-plus years I have been coming to every meeting and paying attention, I have never once ever seen executive-session minutes released ever in this town,” Fox said. “Not when we went through terminating previous superintendents, not when we went through contract negotiations.”
Fox continued by saying that she understands the need and right to know, which is why the executive-session minutes will be released.
Members also addressed two Open Meeting Law violation complaints regarding the committee meeting in executive session to vote on exercising the early-termination clause and ratifying the separation agreement. The committee voted to enable its counsel to draft a response to one of the complaints, as the other did not allege a specific violation, with the determination that no Open Meeting Law violation occurred.
Under state law, the individual who filed the complaint is allowed to appeal the decision to the secretary of state, who would decide whether the committee violated the Open Meeting Law.
In other committee business, members voted to appoint Assistant Superintendent of Finance and Operations Michelle Cresta as acting superintendent through Oct. 31, 2023.
