Malden Students Protest Against District Leaders

MALDEN, MA — Around 1,100 Malden High School students staged a walk-out Monday in protest of dozens of non-renewal notices sent to staff across the district, the Malden Education Association said in a Facebook post.

A total of 63 non-renewal letters were issued last week, according to a statement issued by Malden Public Schools Superintendent Ligia Noriega-Murphy.

A majority of the non-renewals were attributed to "performance/evaluation, or lack of MA educator licensure." 18 positions were either temporary jobs funded by COVID relief or temporary hires. Nine positions were cut due to "low enrollment or programmatic changes."

Students took issue with the cuts, chanting "save our teachers" and "save our schools" on their way to City Hall Plaza, one Twitter user said.

"These decisions are not made lightly as the district understands that it affects people’s lives and has an impact on students," Dr. Noriega-Murphy said.