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Resuming the practice of evaluating superintendents after a several-year pause, Haverhill School Committee members rated Margaret Marotta as somewhere between proficient and exemplary at her job during last week’s meeting.
Vice Chair Paul A. Magliocchetti, who supervised the evaluation, said, “The past four years have been extremely difficult for educators and school leaders. Dr. Marotta has been an exceptional leader and fiscal manager that has guided us through the most difficult challenges and Haverhill has come out the better for it, and a lot better than most other communities in the Commonwealth.”
Other Committee members critiqued the process, saying Marotta was not given advance notice of how she would be evaluated. Some also questioned whether new members—who started this January—knew enough about her to make informed judgements.
Magliocchetti revived the practice this year, saying previous Committee leadership had stopped. He added that Maura L. Ryan-Ciardello was the only member not to respond to his survey.
“The School Committee really dropped the ball with not working with Dr. Marotta to set goals and set priorities, and so she’s flying blind for the past two years without real leadership on the part of the School Committee,” member Jill Story said. “I think that was unfair to her in many ways.”
In recent years, Marotta said she has set her own goals, based in large part on state expectations for educators. She then produces a document justifying how she met them.
Member Gail M. Sullivan called the review “imbalanced” and “unfair” to Marotta in large part because new members were involved.
“I know that three of us have been here for years with Dr. Marotta, observing day by day, her brilliant handling of extreme challenges. She has set goals every year, which she has submitted to us. I think it’s a very odd situation to have three people who have known her and admired her for years, and then to have a new group of people who didn’t have that advantage, who were asked to evaluate somebody after a few months of knowing them.”
A recent addition, member Yonnie Collins defended her ability to properly evaluate the superintendent, saying she is trying to represent the voices of those who don’t have direct access to city higher-ups. “The evaluation did just [what] it was supposed to do and have a circular view of not just someone who has the phone number of Dr. Marotta, but someone who has also experienced her decisions and leadership. And I am grateful, Dr. Marotta, for your leadership.”
She continued, “Moving forward, as we look at equity and inclusion, that it’s not just inclusion for those who can show up at meetings, but also for the families who can’t, for the families who can’t even log onto the Zoom call because they’re busy, and they have multiple children in the school district, and have multiple issues, and are just trying to get by, and just want the best for their kids.”
Also new to the Committee, Mayor Melinda E. Barrett said she didn’t interpret Sullivan’s comment as a “slight,” adding she found it difficult to grade Marotta having known her for only a short time.