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Meeting Opening and Public Comment (Link: 00:00:00 – 00:02:00)
The meeting began with the Pledge of Allegiance, led by a committee member who recited the pledge to the United States of America. After completing the pledge, the chair moved to commendations and accommodations before transitioning to the public comment period.
The chair explained the public comment policy, stating that individuals are allowed up to three minutes to present their materials and that the entire public comment segment should not exceed 15 minutes overall. The chair clarified that public comment is not intended to be a discussion, debate, or dialogue between individuals and the school committee, but rather an opportunity for individuals to express opinions on issues within the school committee’s authority, specifically budget, superintendent performance, and school policy. The chair indicated they would provide a 15-second warning when speakers’ time was expiring.
The chair asked if anyone participating virtually wanted to make a public comment, but no hands were raised. With no public comments from either in-person or virtual attendees, the meeting moved on to hear from the student representative.
Student Representative Report (Link: 00:02:00 – 00:03:00)
The student representative provided an update on fall athletics, reporting that all athletic teams have winning records. The football team has a record of 5-0 with a game scheduled for Friday on Halloween night. Other team records include volleyball at 11-2, golf at 11-2, field hockey at 7-5-2, boys soccer at 8-3, girls soccer at 9-1-2, girls cross country undefeated at 7-0, and boys cross country at 4-3.
The student representative reported that the high school recently participated in both the Mass General Hospital and MHS Risk Youth Assessment Surveys, which went well. Winter sports registration opened a few days prior to the meeting, along with registration for Powderpuff. Powderpuff practices will occur throughout November, with a game against Swampscott scheduled for November 22.
Academic activities were also highlighted, including sophomores and juniors taking the PSAT on October 22, while freshmen will participate in a day of service and seniors will visit colleges of their choosing. The National Honor Society has begun offering tutoring services for students needing extra support, with online sign-up available to be matched with NHS students. Tutoring is available for all core classes and some electives.
The student representative announced upcoming arts events, including a Rock the Arts night with live music on November 6 at the Arts Association Cooper Mansion. Funds raised from ticket sales and a silent auction will support the arts at MHS, including instrument repairs, sets and costumes, and scholarships for graduating seniors. The performing arts department, including band, orchestra, and chorus, recently took a field trip to Boston where they attended performances at Symphony Hall and a performance of Cinderella at the Boston Conservatory at Berkeley.
Williams thanked the student representative and moved on to district updates from the superintendent.
District Updates and Superintendent Report (Link: 00:03:00 – 00:18:00)
The superintendent began by addressing issues of hate and discrimination, stating that there is no place for hate in schools or the community. The superintendent emphasized that all Marblehead students, staff, and community partners should feel respected, welcomed, and safe, with everyone having a voice. Students were encouraged to stand up for each other and report issues of hate and discrimination to trusted adults for immediate addressing. Staff were urged to address instances of discrimination in the moment, and parents were encouraged to have conversations about not tolerating hateful speech both in and out of school.
The superintendent announced that the health and wellness committee meeting was scheduled for October 23rd to begin reviewing the current wellness policy, which is required to be reviewed every three years. The committee will determine meeting frequency and agenda items during the initial meeting. The superintendent thanked Megan Kalpin for keeping the wellness policy on the front burner as a reminder of the three-year review requirement.
The anti-discrimination committee was scheduled to meet the following day, where the superintendent planned to share how Dr. Mary Bar Helper’s presentation with administrators went and discuss recent hate messages and how to address them moving forward. The superintendent announced that principals would present MCAS results at the next school committee meeting, sharing positives and areas of growth along with strategic support improvements in a different format than previous years.
The superintendent reported meeting with the PTO PCO Central Council that morning and publicly thanked parent groups for their hard work in providing enrichment activities to students, describing their network and efforts as remarkable and outstanding. The superintendent also mentioned that the Board of Health has partnered with UMass to conduct a town-wide survey for residents 18 and older, encouraging participation as it will inform the board of health and other town entities on how to support the community. The survey runs through mid-November with messaging distributed through various channels including QR codes, postcards, and the district backpack system.
The superintendent provided extensive staff recognition, beginning with acknowledging October as National Principals Month. Julia Ferreira, Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning, was quoted praising the district’s principals: Michele Carlson at the high school, Matt Lavangi at Veterans Middle School, Scott Williams at Village School, Frank Kowalski at Glover School, and Mary Maxfield at Brown School. Ferreira described the principals as the heart of each school who lead with courage, dedication, and unwavering commitment to student success.
Lisa Maria Polito, Assistant Superintendent of Student Services, recognized Lisa Manning and Todd Bloodgood for their dedication to providing safe transportation for all students, noting their accommodating nature and wealth of knowledge about Marblehead streets. The superintendent emphasized that Manning and Bloodgood don’t receive enough recognition for their extensive work managing all transportation in town, including Metco transportation from Boston.
Frank Kowalski recognized Dawn Whittier, who has been at Glover School for over 16 years, describing her as treating all students like her own and coming to work daily with an infectious smile and positive attitude. Kowalski praised her problem-solving abilities, multitasking skills, professionalism, loyalty, and trustworthiness, stating she is one of the main reasons Glover is such a special place.
Scott Williams recognized administrative assistant Marianne McKee at Village School, describing her as going above and beyond for everyone every day. Williams noted that McKee starts her day at the crack of dawn solving problems, covering classrooms, ordering supplies, and working on schedule changes, all with a smile. He praised her as professional, a team player, and the glue that keeps Village running smoothly, noting her over two decades of service to the school and district.
Matt Lavangi thanked seventh grade math teachers Sarah Sorry and Alice for their work planning and organizing the seventh grade trip to Project Venture, noting their thoughtful coordination and attention to detail that created a tremendous day of team building for students and staff.
Michele Carlson recognized Susan Shatford in her role as AP coordinator for outstanding work organizing and processing 37 AP exam orders this year, ensuring every student has the opportunity to successfully participate in testing. Carlson also recognized Kay Fields for collaborating with the NHS School Counseling Department to partner with Southern New Hampshire University to offer dual enrollment opportunities for the honors anatomy and physiology course, allowing students to earn four college credits equivalent to Biology 210.
The superintendent concluded by recognizing Julia Ferreira, Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning, for her decision-making ability and collaboration skills that allowed the superintendent to take time off with confidence, noting this level of comfort is not easily achieved.
Williams thanked the superintendent, and the meeting took a five-minute break. During the break, there was a brief technical issue with audio that was resolved with assistance from Lisa Marie Polito.
Policy Approvals and Revisions (Link: 00:18:00 – 00:25:00)
Williams turned the meeting over to Schmeckpeper to discuss the approval of three particular policies. Schmeckpeper made a motion to approve changes to policy BEDH regarding public comment at school committee meetings, which was seconded. Schmeckpeper explained that this policy revision was recommended by MASC and involves deleting obscenities as a basis for terminating public comment. She clarified that the intent is that the committee cannot stop public comment if someone is using profanity, but can if they are recommending inappropriate behaviors, which is covered elsewhere in the policy. The motion passed 3-0.
Schmeckpeper then made a motion to approve policy revisions to policy BEH regarding use of electronic messaging by school committee members, which was seconded. She explained this update brings the policy into the 21st century by removing old practices that contemplated school committee members using personal email rather than district email or not having email at all. The revision includes a requirement that emails be made available to members and reflects that all emails are archived in the district system. The motion passed 3-0.
The third motion by Schmeckpeper was to approve revisions to policy BID regarding school committee member compensation and expenses, which was seconded. She explained these were mostly MASC recommended changes, deleting language not applicable to their municipality around compensation for school committee members and modifying language around employment of school committee members by the district. She noted that the superintendent further recommended making it broader so that school committee members cannot be employed by the district in any capacity. The motion passed 3-0.
Schmeckpeper made a motion to rescind policy BK regarding school committee memberships, explaining this was another MASC recommendation. She stated this policy provided that the school committee can maintain memberships in school-related organizations, but MASC recommended that districts remove the policy as it was not necessary. The motion passed 4-0.
The next item was a second reading of middle school pathway exploration policy. The superintendent provided background, explaining that the state requires school committees to have a policy outlining that they must make information available for middle school students regarding vocational schooling opportunities. The superintendent noted this policy outlines their existing practice, including allowing vocational schools to share information with students, providing student lists when requested, and allowing schools to share information. A committee member noted they already have a longstanding partnership with Essex Tech, which is mentioned in the policy as their preference.
Schmeckpeper added that they collaborated with many local school districts on this policy since everyone was in the same position, and another committee member confirmed this reflects what other districts are doing, especially districts of their size. Williams then moved to the next item, a domestic violence proclamation.
Domestic Violence Proclamation (Link: 00:25:00 – 00:29:00)
A committee member explained there was confusion about the domestic violence proclamation submission, noting they thought it had been submitted to the chair but it didn’t get into the folder on time. The committee member referenced a previous discussion from April when they addressed sexual violence awareness prevention month, explaining that October is domestic violence awareness month and a local citizen had come forward asking them to consider this proclamation for October. The committee had decided in April not to do the October proclamation but were now over two weeks into the month.
The committee member read the full proclamation into the record, which recognized October 2025 as Domestic Violence Awareness Month. The proclamation included several “whereas” clauses highlighting that domestic violence affects individuals of all ages, backgrounds, and communities; that October is nationally recognized as Domestic Violence Awareness Month; that statistics show 1 in 3 women and 1 in 10 men experience domestic violence in their lifetime; and that organizations such as HAWC (Healing Abuse Working for Change), the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, and local crisis centers provide vital services to support survivors.
The proclamation affirmed that every community member can play a role in preventing domestic violence by promoting a culture of respect, consent, and safety, and by standing in solidarity with survivors. It stated that Marblehead Public Schools joins advocates, survivors, and organizations across the nation in recognizing the importance of Domestic Violence Awareness Month and affirms its commitment to supporting survivors and working toward a future free from domestic violence.
The committee member noted there were a couple of typographical errors in the version being read and requested that if the proclamation passed, they would hold off on signing it until a corrected version could be prepared. The committee member made a motion to approve the proclamation, which was seconded by Williams. The motion passed 4-0. The committee member indicated they would prepare a clean copy for signing and would put the corrected version in for the next meeting so the public could see it, with the date changed to the 30th.
Superintendent Progress Versus Goals Review (Link: 00:29:00 – 01:12:00)
Williams clarified that the committee was not voting on the superintendent’s goals but would discuss next steps after the superintendent presented his progress report. The superintendent apologized for the short notice and presented progress on three goals that were approved by the committee the previous year: a professional practice goal, a district improvement goal, and a student learning goal.
The superintendent began with the professional practice goal, which focused on establishing a consistent district-wide culture and development of appropriate staffing patterns to meet student needs. He acknowledged that progress toward this goal had been moderate and admitted the goal was too broad and difficult to track effectively. He stated that ongoing discussions and reviews of programming with principals occurred throughout the 2024-25 school year, resulting in planning decisions for the current school year. The superintendent worked with assistant superintendents to determine staffing efficiencies within different district programming areas including special education, ELL programming, and general programming to assess impacts on budget and student learning environments.
The superintendent noted that he had met with all PTOs and PCOs but only had surface-level discussions about staffing rather than the deep dive conversations he had intended. He also did not generate surveys as originally planned, citing survey fatigue as one reason. However, he reported that school culture shifts were underway through ongoing collaboration with community partners, administration team discussions, and follow-through by principals and district leaders to create more alignment across buildings.
Schmeckpeper asked for clarification about the timeline, confirming these goals were set in October 2024. She expressed disappointment about the lack of progress on staffing analysis, noting this would have been important information heading into a difficult budget season. A committee member emphasized the need for a detailed staff accountability report and zero-based budget, explaining the goal was to understand every resource in each building and central department down to the granular level of individual students and their needs.
There was discussion about whether the superintendent should have engaged School Advisory Councils rather than PTOs and PCOs for staffing discussions, as SACs are statutorily designed for this purpose and include community members, staff, and parents. The superintendent acknowledged this feedback and indicated he would provide more regular updates on goal progress throughout the year to allow for course corrections.
The second goal focused on developing a district improvement plan, also referred to as a strategic plan, to replace Marblehead’s Plan for Success which expires next school year. The superintendent reported the draft plan encompasses six overarching goal areas: curriculum, instruction and evaluation; teacher quality and professional development; human resource management; student support programs and services; leadership, governance and communication; and financial and asset management effectiveness and efficiency. Each area includes benchmarks with objectives outlining improvement strategies, responsible persons, resources needed, and assessment evidence.
The superintendent explained he had gathered input from central administration, principals, and the leadership team, and planned to push the plan out to staff and community partners before bringing it to the school committee. He hoped to present a proposed final copy to the committee in January for review and feedback, with approval targeted for implementation in the 2026-27 school year. Committee members requested to see the current draft and asked for a suggested timeline for the approval process.
Williams expressed concern about the linear process that places the school committee at the very end, suggesting earlier involvement would be better to avoid potential major changes that could dishearten staff who had invested significant time in the process. The superintendent acknowledged this feedback and noted that much of the proposed plan stems from previous school committee conversations and discussions.
The third goal focused on ensuring students have a voice in their teaching and learning. The superintendent reported significant progress, noting that principals embraced the goal and found meaningful ways to enhance student voice in their buildings at appropriate grade levels. This was highlighted through school spotlights and meetings, and the superintendent had met with various student groups. He indicated preference for conversations with students rather than surveys and reported that administrators were committed to continuing to enhance student voice across the district.
A committee member praised this goal and suggested exploring more formal structures for student voice, particularly at the high school level through student council or student representative roles. The superintendent noted that learning walks between principals had helped highlight successful student voice initiatives across schools, creating organic sharing opportunities among administrators.
Williams asked about next steps for the evaluation process, and the committee discussed timelines for completing individual end-of-cycle assessments. Committee members agreed to have their individual evaluations completed by the next meeting. There was discussion about whether newer committee members should participate fully in the evaluation, with the superintendent indicating he welcomed any input committee members felt comfortable providing.
The committee discussed the process for compiling individual evaluations into a composite evaluation. Schaeffner strongly advocated for doing this work together in an open session rather than having a subset of members compile it behind closed doors, citing transparency concerns. The committee agreed to meet together to create the composite evaluation, with the superintendent not present during those discussions. They planned to schedule this meeting between the October 30th and November 6th meetings, with the final evaluation to be presented and voted on at a regular business meeting.
Williams concluded by moving to the next agenda item regarding committee goals, noting that after consulting with Alicia Mallon from MASC about potential facilitation, they determined the committee was close enough to finishing their goals without external facilitation. Mallon had praised their goals and particularly liked that they had added who owns each goal, saying she would adopt that approach for other districts.
School Committee Goals Discussion (Link: 01:12:00 – 01:23:00)
Schaeffner expressed fundamental differences with some of the previously discussed goals, stating that she believed at least two of the committee’s goals should be within their purview of responsibility, specifically budget and either policy oversight or superintendent evaluation. She disagreed with having tracking their goals as one of their actual goals, acknowledging she might be outvoted on this position.
Williams agreed the goals needed work and suggested tasking one or more people to refine them, noting that some could be combined and others needed more detail to adhere to the SMART goals framework. He emphasized ensuring the goals focus on the three areas the committee is primarily responsible for: policy, evaluation, and budget. Schaeffner reiterated her concern that some of the proposed goals didn’t fall within these core responsibilities.
Schmeckpeper referenced examples from other committee goals that ladder up to overarching district goals, suggesting this could be a way to filter goals by asking whether they support the committee’s North Star objectives. This led to discussion about whether school committee goals should be developed in conjunction with superintendent and district goals.
Schaeffner noted that nowhere in the current goals was there mention of maximizing student achievement, stating this should appear somewhere in both the learning goals and school committee goals. Williams acknowledged this need but suggested it would be more appropriate as a superintendent or central administration goal, noting the tension between staying in their swim lanes of policy, superintendent evaluation, and budget while also addressing student success.
Clucas offered to take the goals from the previous meeting and consolidate them to fit under the three core responsibility areas. The committee discussed whether to refine existing goals or start over with new ones. Williams expressed urgency since goals should already be in place, suggesting someone bring refinements to the October 30th meeting followed by a workshop session during that meeting.
The discussion evolved toward potentially developing school committee and superintendent goals together after completing the superintendent evaluation. The superintendent suggested that if student achievement became a goal, the school committee’s role might be overseeing and ensuring he maintains that goal, similar to his student learning goal approach.
Schaeffner advocated for workshopping both sets of goals together as committee work, while Clucas preferred working as efficiently as possible with asynchronous work outside meetings. The committee discussed timing, with Williams asking if everyone was comfortable finalizing goals well into November. Committee members agreed it was better to take time to develop achievable goals that would move the needle forward.
Schaeffner noted that school committee goals are typically done in January, so they were already off cycle, suggesting they could do November or December goals with a halfway point evaluation in summer to get back on the traditional timeline. Williams agreed to set up a workshop to address both the evaluation composite and begin the goals process.
Williams then moved to subcommittee chair appointments, explaining that per policy BD, the committee chair would appoint subcommittee chairs and members subject to committee approval. He noted they had established subcommittees but had not yet voted on chairs, suggesting subcommittees could either nominate their preferred chair or request more time to decide.
Subcommittee Chair Appointments (Link: 01:23:00 – 01:27:00)
Schaeffner explained that the committees she serves on, including the budget committee and policy committee, had not yet met or discussed chair appointments. She noted it would have been an open meeting violation if there had been any discussions about this topic outside of an agendized meeting, suggesting either the topic should be placed on subcommittee agendas or the chair should make the decision.
Williams stated he preferred the subcommittees themselves to nominate their preferred chairs rather than having to appoint someone as a last resort. Schmeckpeper mentioned that Henry Gwazda had expressed interest in chairing the communications committee during a previous discussion in July. Schaeffner indicated she did not want to chair the facilities committee but suggested she should chair the budget committee given her background, and stated she did not want to chair the policy committee.
Williams made a motion to appoint Schaeffner as chair of the budget subcommittee, which was seconded. Schaeffner mentioned they were meeting on Friday. The motion passed 4-0. Williams then made a motion to appoint Schmeckpeper as chair of the policy subcommittee, which was seconded and passed 4-0.
Williams made a motion to appoint Gwazda as chair of the communications subcommittee, which was seconded and passed 4-0. However, Schaeffner expressed concern about voting on Gwazda’s appointment without his presence, wanting to be respectful since he would be serving as chair and might have input on the decision. Williams agreed to speak with Gwazda and put the communications subcommittee chair appointment on the agenda for the October 30th meeting to confirm his acceptance of the role.
Williams then moved to ask if there was any new business.
New Business and Field Lighting Update (Link: 01:27:00 – 01:40:00)
Schaeffner explained she was late to the meeting because she was attending open meeting training and asked if the planning board presentation from the previous night had been covered. The superintendent acknowledged he had not included this in his update and proceeded to provide details.
The superintendent reported that he presented a letter on behalf of the committee at the planning board meeting regarding lights at the field. After much discussion and deliberation, the planning board agreed to move forward with allowing the field and lights to be utilized up to 80 nights per school year between fall and spring, with the PA system to be used a dozen times. The matter now needs to go to the zoning board, which requires an application process and the planning board recommended having legal counsel for the application.
Schaeffner commented that she felt the process was flawed and outlined proper procedures for the zoning board application. She emphasized that the school committee needs to vote before any application goes in, as they are the applicants with the superintendent as their designee. She noted that committee representation at meetings should be voted on by the committee, with clear direction on what the representative should say on behalf of the committee.
Schaeffner shared that after the planning board meeting, she spoke with several neighbors who had concerns about issues beyond just the lights. These included students parking in front of driveways, garbage left from coffee cups and food containers, and complaints that had been made to police that would be better served by going to school administration. She encouraged these neighbors to speak with the superintendent and informed them they could attend school committee meetings for public comment.
The superintendent confirmed he had met with a contingent of neighbors and heard similar concerns. He described efforts already underway to address issues, including conversations about containers brought from outside, gating procedures during football games, and coordination with police officers for crowd management. He emphasized his willingness to continue conversations with neighbors and work on solutions, noting that he had updated the neighbors on actions taken and had not heard from them again recently.
Schaeffner mentioned additional concerns from neighbors about adult leagues that use the turf field, with complaints about inappropriate language and behavior from men’s leagues. She noted this was something that could be communicated to facility users as the school has control over the asset and can hold users accountable for proper behavior.
Schmeckpeper noted that the superintendent had met with neighbors and heard these concerns, expressing hope that ongoing collaborative discussions would continue to address issues that were largely separate from the lighting matter itself. She also mentioned that the planning board required the school committee and superintendent to return in a year with data tracking usage over the year.
Williams stated he wanted to delegate Schmeckpeper to represent the school committee in future meetings or communications regarding the lighting matter. Schaeffner clarified that for the zoning board application, the committee would need to vote on the application and provide clear direction on what should be said representing the committee, though the superintendent could serve as their designee to present the application.
The discussion then turned to filing an open meeting law report. Williams explained he had until the 27th to file and that town counsel Tom Costello had asked for time to provide advice. Williams expressed confusion about the self-reporting mechanism since the form appeared designed for complaints against committees rather than self-reporting. Schaeffner clarified that it was a self-report documenting what happened and the remedy taken, not a complaint filing. She suggested using the form to document that the violation was voted on by the committee and the suggested remedy was being implemented. Williams offered to share documentation he had started gathering, and Schaeffner agreed to handle the filing.
Executive Session (Link: 01:41:00 – 01:42:00)
Committee members voted in favor of entering executive session, with the motion passing 4-0. Williams announced that the committee would enter executive session pursuant to Chapter 38, Section 21A30, Purpose 3, to discuss litigation in Marblehead School Committee versus Marblehead Teachers Association, case MUPL 24-10570. He stated that an open meeting may have a detrimental effect on the litigating position of the school committee and declared the committee’s intent not to return to open session.
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