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…