Compensation, Curriculum, Free K Top Marblehead School Budget Survey

MARBLEHEAD, MA — Better compensation for staff, updated curriculum and tuition-free kindergarten were the top priorities for the next Marblehead school budget in preliminary survey results that Superintendent John Buckey revealed at Thursday night's School Committee.

Buckey said the "Thought Exchange" survey had 339 respondents and offered perspectives on 172 potential priorities for the district as it looks to set next year's budget. The survey was part of the School Committee and administration's goal of better engaging residents in the budget process after a proposed $3 million supplemental budget tax override failed a townwide vote earlier this year.

While Buckey said he will present a more comprehensive breakdown of the survey results at the first School Committee meeting in January ahead of "budget season," he said Thursday night that "overwhelmingly the top thoughts for the budget" was compensation for staff, tutors, paraprofessionals and "attracting and retaining people by leading the way with compensation."

He said curriculum updates finished second in the priorities while tuition-free kindergarten — which was part of last year's failed override initiative — was third.

"I was very happy that people were able to understand that in order to fill all these vacancies we need to change our compensation structure," School Committee Chair Sarah Fox said. "At the end of the day, it's not that we're not trying to fill those vacancies. It's just that there is a shortage of everyone and you have to be the employer of choice."

Other top priorities, he said, included better classroom materials and supplies, building infrastructure improvements, mental health services, safety enhancements and technology.

He said two priorities that were spoken of extensively during earlier budget focus groups and forums — lengthening the school day and improving transportation — did not fare as well in the online survey.

"Lengthening the school day came in 120th out of 172 thoughts with an equal divide between 'strongly agree' and 'strongly disagree,'" he said. "It very much surprised me that transportation came in 158th out of 172 with the overwhelming majority strongly disagreeing (on it as a priority). From the original exchanges we had, that's not what you would have gotten. But when people looked at it as a budget priority — 'Do we want to prioritize transportation?' — (it had limited support)."

Fox said she also continues to work with the Select Board to find a date for a joint meeting to fill the vacancy on the School Committee created when Emily Barron resigned this fall. Attempts to meet jointly last week to interview finalists and pick an interim School Committee member through the annual town election in June fell through because of scheduling issues.

Fox said efforts to find a date acceptable to all nine members of both boards have proved challenging but it appeared from Thursday night's Committee discussion that Jan. 23 may now be a consensus.

(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.)