'Deeply Disappointed': Marblehead Superintendent On Rejected Override

MARBLEHEAD, MA — Marblehead Public Schools will make nearly three dozen staff reductions and eliminate select programs following the voter rejection of a $2.5 million Proposition 2 1/2 tax override on Tuesday that would have restored "level-funded services" to town budgets for one more year.

Superintendent John Buckey said he and many at the schools were "deeply disappointed" in the vote failure on Tuesday and "have great concerns about the significant impact it will have on students, families and staff in our district.

"Without these resources," he said, "we have no choice but to make the very difficult reductions we have outlined throughout this process."

(Also on Patch: Marblehead Voters Deny Override; Change Select Board, School Committee)

The override, which would have amounted to about $248 for the median single-family homeowner for a property assessed at $800,000, needed a majority vote for passage.

According to unofficial results, the measure was defeated by a 3,399 to 2,992, or 51.5 percent to 45.4 percent.

Buckey had said a "no" vote — and corresponding "reduced-services budget" — would result in the cutting of 33 equivalent positions and programs, including high school freshman sports, middle school library services and a middle school language program, in reductions that Superintendent he repeatedly called "gut-wrenching."

The list of 33 equivalent positions being eliminated in the reduced-services budget: district clerk, Glover secretary, payroll coordinator, Village custodian, district human resources director through a reorganization, behavioral specialist, (5) lunch paraprofessionals, a preschool
paraprofessional, two high school paraprofessionals, a permanent substitute, a middle school librarian, a technology specialist, a Glover school tutor, an evaluation lead teacher, a high school math teacher, (2) high school science teachers, a high school English teacher, middle school Latin teacher, Village music teacher, Village physical education teacher, (2) Village school grade level teachers, Brown school special education teacher, Glover speech teacher, Brown school tutor and all high school freshman-level athletic teams and their coaches.

"I know that the defeat of the override is discouraging for many of us in the Marblehead Public Schools," Buckey said on Wednesday. "However, we must respect the will of the voters, and we must move forward more determined than ever to accomplish our goals with the resources available to us.

"As was affirmed during the pandemic, the children and adults in our schools are strong and resilient, and I am confident that we will continue to achieve great things, despite this setback."

The School Department had requested a $3 million supplemental budget general override last year that also won overwhelming support at the annual town meeting — similar to this year's override proposal — but failed the townwide vote by a 2-to-1 margin.

Marblehead voters last passed a Proposition 2 1/2 general override in 2005.

"In these final days of the school year, let us focus instead on all that has been accomplished and on the exemplary work that takes place in our schools every day," Buckey said. "In my final update of the year this Friday, I will share some additional reflections on the past 10 months.

"Please continue to hold your heads high, and be proud of your role in the Marblehead Public Schools."

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)