Last Thursday, the school committee passed a proclamation denouncing antisemitic curriculum materials published by the Massachusetts Teachers Association in 2023. I would have voted in favor of the proclamation—antisemitism has no place in our classrooms, our curriculum, or our community. I’ve heard directly from Jewish family and friends about the fear and pain it causes, and we must stand against it at every opportunity.

In recent weeks, the school committee has begun discussing a draft recess policy brought forward by Alison Taylor, three years after she ran for office on this issue. The draft policy mandates two daily recess periods for elementary students—35 minutes total. The problem? Educators weren’t meaningfully included in the policy’s development.

At next week’s Town Meeting, the school committee is expected to seek an $8.6 million debt exclusion override to fund roof repairs and HVAC equipment at Marblehead High School. This work is necessary to fix significant leaks in the high school roof that have been worsening over the past five years. It is important that this project be done properly and not delayed any further. However, after a separate $5 million override in 2022 to fund roof repairs at the high school, voters have legitimate questions about why additional funding is necessary and why this critical project has been delayed.

This spring, public attention has focused on the school committee’s request for additional funds to fix the High School roof. Meanwhile, there’s been little scrutiny of the proposed FY26 MPS operating budget. Is this because we’re not currently facing a four-alarm budget shortfall or general operating override request? 

Last year’s teacher strike in Marblehead was painful for everyone—students, educators, families, and district leaders alike. It wasn’t just a contract dispute. It was a reflection of broken trust, strained communication, and a disconnect between those tasked with running our schools and those at the heart of teaching and learning. The path forward is to shift the question from “What went wrong?” to “How do we heal?”

Since the summer of 2023, the school committee’s policy subcommittee has met only sporadically – averaging about once every six months – and those meetings have focused almost exclusively on policies regulating flags and recess in the Marblehead Public Schools. This represents two missteps…