Schools
New School Committee Member to Leave Operations to Administrators
It took two rounds to break the deadlock and give the new committee member the requisite five votes.
William Ackerman was appointed to the School Committee Wednesday for the remaining year in former member EuRim Chun’s term.
Ackerman received the requisite five votes from a joint conference of Selectmen and School Committee members, gaining the deciding vote the second time around the table at Abbot Hall.
Ackerman, 47, was unequivocal in his support for the School Committee letting the superintendent do her job.
At least twice during his interview by the panel he said that the number one job of a committee member is to support the superintendent.
Each of the five candidates for the open seat were asked identical questions by the panelists in 25-minute interviews.
Several queries measured the candidates' inclination toward activism, toward being micro-managers.
Panelists asked candidates if they, as School Committee members, would let the superintendent know ahead of time if they were to visit a school — other than as a parent; and did they think a School Committee member should tell a superintendent what to do?
Ackerman said yes to the first question and no to the second.
The married father of three is a Marblehead High grad who has a master's degree from Stanford and manages the technology budget for Fidelity Investments.
In his interview before the joint panel he said he grew up hearing from his parents and others about the pride Marblehead people took in their town and schools.
He said he wants to bring back that sense of pride.
School Committee Chairman Kathleen Leonardson said after the meeting that Ackerman's experience in finance with large budgets and his strong ties to the community will be an asset to the committee, which had a rough end to the year.
The four other candidates for the open seat included highly educated and experienced individuals, as well.
They were Rossana Ferrante Francis; Elizabeth Moore, a retired Marblehead principal; Scott H. Solberg; and Alexa Squitieri.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.