Three vie to improve transparency, stick to plans in Marblehead School Committee race

Jun. 19—MARBLEHEAD — As voters will settle a Proposition 2 1/2 tax override to give schools an extra $3.1 million this year, a three-way race for School Committee will also pick two leaders to oversee the dispensing of that money.

Incumbent Sarah Fox, of Beach Street, faces challengers Reece Dahlberg, of Fieldbrook Road, and Alison Taylor, of Orne Street, in Tuesday's annual elections. The School Committee seats are for three years.

Fox is running for a second term because she wants "to continue the work I've started," she explained.

"I've served three years and am really proud of the work I've done in those three years," Fox said. "I've gained a reputation for coming to meetings prepared, asking questions, being able to have harder conversations ... and it's really important to continue.

"And I hope, quite honestly, that I get another voice right up there with me that does that," Fox continued, "because we have a lot of work to do."

That point isn't lost on Dahlberg, who said she sees herself a "a connector," which is "the kind of thing we're lacking — just based on having lived through a pandemic."

"I like collaboration," Dahlberg said. "It's just part of everything I've done in the last 10 years working in the schools."

Taylor rounds out the ballot, bothered by a year of what she described as "growing distaste and a lack of professionalism/respect shown to fellow committee members as well as to the community."

"As elected individuals, it's important to remember why you are there and that this same community is who elected you to serve," Taylor said. "We need to do better and I'm confident we can do better. Our teachers deserve it. Our children deserve it. Our community deserves it."

This all comes as School Committee chambers across the country have been rocked by not just sharper demands for political support from students suffering from COVID-19 pandemic learning loss, but also less-academic fights over flag policies, gun safety, and national volatility over critical race theory.

Taylor seeks to tackle transparency overall, so visibility is improved on all hot-button topics.

"That translates to so many different subjects," Taylor said. "Parents want to understand what their children are being taught. Teachers need to understand the resources they will or will not be receiving. Community members should be able to trust that their funds will be put to good use. Agendas, supplemental documentation, and even line-item budgets need to be made easily available with time to digest in order to allow people to formulate their questions."

Dahlberg leaned on her past work on the Planning for Success strategic plan effort in Marblehead as her leading priority if elected.

"I had a ton of meetings with people ... teachers, staff, community members, other parents — to hear what they wanted for a strategic plan in Marblehead," Dahlberg said. "My priority would be budgeting and adhering to that strategic plan. It's a six-year plan, so just confirming that everything and the decisions we make align with this really in-depth process."

Fox highlighted the same goal as Dahlberg, directly calling out how the town did "a lot of great work for the Planning for Success process."

"We need to finish it," Fox said. "We need to bring it to the next level, which is the strategic plan, and we need to come up with the clear outline for what needs to be done. We really need a clear plan that we articulate to the community, addressing everyone's concerns about learning loss and regression."

Contact Dustin Luca at 978-338-2523 or DLuca@salemnews.com. Follow him at facebook.com/dustinluca or on Twitter @DustinLucaSN.

Contact Dustin Luca at 978-338-2523 or DLuca@salemnews.com. Follow him at facebook.com/dustinluca or on Twitter @DustinLucaSN.