Marblehead Teachers Slam Lack Of Property Tax Override Campaign

MARBLEHEAD, MA — The Marblehead Education Association slammed the lack of a town general property tax override campaign in a statement Tuesday night months after saying the town must increase property taxes beyond the 2.5 percent annual level allowed under state law without a referendum to keep up with salary and service requirements of the schools and other municipal offices.

The statement comes a week after Town Administration Thatcher Kezer said during the State of the Town Address that while an override would not be necessary to fund level services for the 2026 fiscal year, there remains a "significant gap" as the town faces a structural deficit in the coming years amid escalating costs and the impact of new employee contracts. Kezer estimated the gap to be $14 million through 2030 without additional new revenue.

• 'A Significant Gap': Marblehead Structural Deficit Looms As Tax Override Push Unlikely

The MEA said its statement on Tuesday was in support of the Marblehead Municipal Employee Union whose members it said "are working under an outdated and expired contract, long overdue for a cost-of-living raise."

"The members of the Marblehead Municipal Employee Union deserve a fair contract —one that offers competitive pay and modern, manageable working conditions," the MEA said. "In a surprise to no one, Town Administrator Thatcher Kezer is once again turning negotiations between the town and its municipal employees into a hostile and unproductive sham.

"The town administration wants residents to believe Marblehead can pay its bills without asking voters for a general override this year. However, this determination should not come at the expense of exploiting hard-working municipal employees."

The MEA argued during its protracted negotiations, which included a historic strike that cost 11 school days this past fall, that a property tax override was necessary to meet the town's financial obligations — including teacher raises and long-delayed school service investments — in the coming years.

• Marblehead Teachers Strike: $926 Average Tax Override Will Settle Deal

The Marblehead School Committee countered during those negotiations that any new deal must include modest increases whereas school staffing and services would not be decimated should residents vote against an override — which they have done multiple times in recent years.

"Marblehead must face reality when it comes to its costs and revenues," the MEA said on Tuesday. "The town needs to take the necessary steps to properly fund municipal services and schools it has been actively starving for too long.

"If town officials are serious about addressing the financial catastrophe we are all watching in real-time, Marblehead can both plan for a future override and settle a fair contract now — one that offers fair and well-deserved wages over the life of the agreement."

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The MEA criticized Kezer's recent bargaining with the MMEU as "antagonistic" and "distracting from the real work that must be done to secure a realistic, long-term fiscal plan that supports the kind of community Marblehead residents want and receive."

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)