Massachusetts / School Boards / Methuen Public Schools
At the March 23 meeting, Jack Burke proposed a funded speech-and-debate program for Methuen schools and offered seed money; Maria Figueroa, a district employee, publicly asked whether new committee members had seen an unredacted audit and raised concerns about central office hours, staffing and bullying processes.
Massachusetts / School Boards / Methuen Public Schools
The Methuen School Committee voted unanimously March 23 to approve a contract for the acting superintendent after a brief reconvened open session, with members expressing confidence in the appointee and the superintendent thanking the committee. The committee said a copy of the contract will be posted online.
Massachusetts / School Boards / Methuen Public Schools
HYA and Zeal Education Group presented rival approaches to running Methuen’s superintendent search: HYA emphasized a four‑phase national recruitment and a transition academy, while Zeal highlighted inclusive stakeholder outreach using a 'thought exchange' tool, candidate 'personas' and written packets with 90‑second videos. Committee members asked about timing, screening committees, and candidate mixes.
Massachusetts / School Boards / Methuen Public Schools
At the March 23 workshop the committee passed on first read a policy requiring standing and ad hoc subcommittee meetings to be recorded in audio and/or video (with exceptions for technical/logistical/emergency circumstances). The committee also approved DECA students’ attendance at the international conference and a maintenance/custodial supervisors job title/description change.
Massachusetts / School Boards / Methuen Public Schools
After more than an hour of debate and two failed amendments, the Methuen School Committee voted to table a proposed procedure for reconsidering classroom library and media center materials and referred the matter to the policy subcommittee for further work, following counsel advice about potential conflicts with an existing media-selection policy.
Massachusetts / School Boards / Methuen Public Schools
Acting Superintendent Dr. Lisa Golovski told the committee the district is pursuing expanded early‑college options (UMass Lowell RTAP apprenticeship, Northern Essex dual‑enrollment) to give students potential to earn college credits or an associate degree while in high school and to create teacher pipelines; grant funding and program staffing are key constraints.
Massachusetts / School Boards / Methuen Public Schools
The Methuen School Committee voted unanimously to appoint Dr. Lisa Golovski as acting superintendent (retroactive to Dec. 15, 2025, through June 30, 2026) and approved a set of routine items including the Methuen High program of studies and a program assistant; the committee tabled selection of a superintendent search firm to interview two top vendors.
Massachusetts / School Boards / Methuen Public Schools
Principals described how crisis interventionists respond to urgent interfering behaviors and the benefits of a risk‑coordinator model for preventive relationship building; principals reported roughly 24 crisis calls and stressed need to balance reactive and preventive roles across buildings.
Massachusetts / School Boards / Methuen Public Schools
After extreme cold froze a gas intake and briefly left areas of the Marsh at about 48°F, the district said it will pursue a facilities assessment and a more definitive capital improvement plan; the accelerated repair application to the state remains in review and the committee discussed contacting the legislative delegation for help.
Massachusetts / School Boards / Methuen Public Schools
The committee appointed three members to a custodial negotiation committee and then adjourned to executive session to discuss litigation. A public letter asked the committee to delay executive-session discussion about consolidating city and school IT until after a charter review workshop.