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September 13, 2023
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VOLUME 1, ISSUE NO. 40
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ON SOCIAL @MHDCURRENT
INTERIM SUPERINTENDENT
SEPAC denied seat on screening committee BY LEIGH BLANDER At the School Committee’s Sept. 7 meeting, Chair Sarah Fox announced the members of the interim superintendent screening committee, upsetting some parents and advocates who wanted it to include a representative from the town’s Special Education Parent Advisory Council.
“I am disappointed,” said Jennifer Jackson, co-chair of SEPAC, who spoke at the School Committee meeting after sending an email to Fox on Sept. 1 urging her to include a SEPAC member on the committee. There are more than 550 students on active individualized education plans, or IEPs, in the district, according to Jackson. “SEPAC believes that its
participation is critical to ensuring that the School Committee and district officials — current and future — understand the role of and voice of the community with respect to the education and safety of students with disabilities as the search for a new district superintendent begins,” Jackson wrote in a Sept. 1 email to Fox. Jackson said Fox never
responded to her. Committee member Meagan Taylor made a motion to include a SEPAC representative on the screening committee. The motion did not get a second. “I did email Sarah requesting that both SEPAC and METCO have a seat on the search committee,” Meagan Taylor later told the Current. That email was sent Aug. 31.
LIFE THROUGH A LENS
Pultizer-winning photographer shares stories from recent adventure
As Meagan Taylor continued to make her case at the meeting, Fox banged her gavel to stop her from speaking. Fox said the New England School Development Council, which is helping with the interim super search, recommended that the committee consist of two SCHOOLS, P. A4
BRIGHT IDEA
Schools eyed again for solar power Next steps: engaging education, town officials BY WILLIAM J. DOWD
ULRIKE WELSCH © 2023 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Marblehead photographer Ulrike Welsch captured this image on her trip to Latvia’s famous Song and Dance Festival this summer.
BY LEIGH BLANDER Pulitzer-prize-winning photographer Ulrike Welsch’s ears are “still ringing with the music” after her latest photography trip — this one to the Baltic states Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia, where she attended the famous Song and Dance Festival in Riga. “It was just so powerful,” Welsch told the Current during a recent interview in her Marblehead kitchen. “The music goes down to your soul.” Welsch, who turns 83 next month, has traveled the world capturing experiences few seldom get to see first hand. She has visited more than 47 countries, snapping photos everywhere she goes. “I like to capture a moment, a WELSCH, P. A5
CURRENT PHOTO / LEIGH BLANDER
Pulitzer-winning photographer Ulrike Welsch edits photos from her recent trip to Latvia.
The Marblehead Municipal Light Department will be reaching out to the town’s public schools before Thanksgiving to discuss new plans to install solar panels (photovoltaic arrays) with batteries at local schools. At a recent meeting, MMLD General Manager Joseph Kowalik said the Light Commission is evaluating solar PV arrays for six schools, and on-site batteries at four of those buildings. He said adding batteries (which would be on school grounds, but not in school buildings) will mean that the stored energy can go straight back into the schools and avoid transmission costs. “We have been involved in high-level discussions with the Light Department in terms of placing solar panels at the high school when a new roof is installed,” Acting Superintendent Michelle Cresta told the Current. “I have not been involved in discussions involving other school locations, but this is a topic that is anticipated to be reviewed this coming year.” Commission members discussed strategies for engaging the School Committee and the Select Board, with the goal of providing a coherent narrative on the benefits and financing options. Plans call for installing solar at Brown Elementary School first, because it has a new roof that was just constructed. “We want to wait at least one year before installing solar panels to ensure the new roof does not leak,” said Kowalik. “This SOLAR, P. A4
Meet the Current’s arts and culture intern BY WILLIAM J. DOWD The Marblehead Current welcomes a fresh face in arts and culture coverage: Benji Boyd, a junior at Marblehead High School, who will be helping the newsroom chronicle the town’s diverse artistic and cultural events for the upcoming year. Boyd’s affinity for writing traces back to his childhood. “I’ve had a love for writing since a young age. I even attempted to write a novel in third grade, which wasn’t exactly
BLACK CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW
a masterpiece,” he said with a chuckle. Despite early setbacks, Boyd has continued to hone his craft and counts English as his favorite academic subject. “An internship in writing seemed like an incredible opportunity,” Boyd remarked. “Even if I were just selling ads, being part of a team that focuses on something I’m passionate about is exciting.” Boyd will juggle this internship alongside his duties as an editor for his high school’s newspaper,
the Marblehead Headlight. He aims to use his position to inspire younger students to engage in writing. “Freshmen often hesitate to publish their work,” he noted. “This year, my goal is to involve more students in the paper.” Outside of writing and editing, Boyd is a multifaceted individual. He holds junior black belts in both karate and jujitsu, and mentors younger students at his martial arts studio. INTERN, P. A5
Meet Benji Boyd, the Marblehead Current’s arts and culture intern, who’s as versed in martial arts as he is in the arts of the written word. From the dojo to the newsroom, this multitalented junior at Marblehead High School is set to make a mark.
CURRENT PHOTO / LEIGH BLANDER