Letter of support for Override

Kathleen M. Buckley, Ed.D.
Melrose, MA 02176

I am writing to urge support for the Mayor’s proposal for an override. I have a particular interest in this, not just because I have lived in Melrose for sixty-three years but also because I have served as a principal at the Horace Mann, Roosevelt and Franklin schools during an eight year period from 1985 to 1993. During that time, we did pass an override in Melrose and I did see the benefit to the schools and the city with the additional funding. However, new demands on the schools, as well as conditions that were not addressed at that time, make it clear to me that it is time for us as a community to again step forward to support our public schools.

After I left the Melrose Public Schools I served as Assistant Superintendent in the Winchester Public Schools, and then as project director for a 9.5 million dollar Star Schools grant at the Massachusetts Corporation for Educational Telecommunications. My final position before retirement wasas department chair for Programs in School Leadership at Cambridge College. All of those experiences allowed me to see how changes in our society are placing increasing demands on our public schools. I am sure I don’t have to elaborate to you on the challenges of quickly evolving technology, cultural changes, and global influences facing our educational system. In addition, here in Melrose we have a growing student populationand several outdated elementary schools, including the Horace Mann that was outdated when I was principal.

I am also concerned about the fact that the Melrose teachers’ salaries are almost 25 percent below the state average and the lowest in the Middlesex League. This can result in the high turnover with newer teachers–an unwelcome phenomenon after the time and money invested in supporting these teachers as they gain experience in their profession. However, I am also concerned about the effect of the low salaries on our experienced teachers who have remained committed to the school system. In doing my dissertation research on career teachers, I saw that low salaries become increasingly dissatisfying as teachers increase in experience. This can affect morale and interest among our senior teachers, the very people we rely on to educate most of our students and to mentor our teachers. We have been fortunate that our students have donewell as they move to higher education and/or careers. If we want this to continue, we need to make sure that we take care of the educators who help them reach their goals.

Finally, I am also writing as a retired citizen, living on my pension and savings. Many other senior citizens I have talked to about this, feel as I do that we have an obligation to contribute to the future by being willing to pay an increase in our taxes so that our young people are assured of getting the education they and our country need.

Sincerely,

Kathleen M. Buckley, Ed.D.