Vote of No Confidence in Mayor Michael Cahill, The Beverly School Committee, and Superintendent Dr. Suzanne Charochak

We stand in solidarity with the Beverly Teacher Association’s (BTA) resolution of no confidence in Mayor Michael Cahill, the Beverly School Committee, and Superintendent Suzanne Charochak. These individuals named in the resolution have obligations under elected or appointed positions of public trust to maintain and further high-quality public education for all the students in the City of Beverly. I share the BTA’s deep concerns that these individuals have failed to meet said obligations for the following reasons:

1. Financial Mismanagement and Irresponsibility:

Since Mayor Cahill’s tenure began in 2014, city cash reserves have increased by 156.2%. However, city contributions to school funds plummeted over that same period. As a result, the recommended and approved budgets are now insufficient to maintain quality learning and working environments for Beverly educators and students. In 2013, before Cahill took office, Beverly Public Schools ranked 99th in the Commonwealth in per-pupil expenditures. We now rank 266th.

2. Loss of Community Trust:

Leadership has continually refused to address the crises in Beverly Public Schools, negotiate in good faith, and settle fair contracts for teachers and paraprofessionals. On November 15, 2024, Cahill, the School Committee, and Dr. Charochak allowed their legal counsel to argue in court they are under no obligation to bargain in good faith with the Beverly Teachers Association, revealing the truth of what the BTA has long communicated, that the leadership of Beverly Public Schools has no intention of negotiating fair contracts for Beverly educators.

3. Specific Harm to Learning and Working Environments within Beverly Public Schools:

Prior to Dr. Suzanne Charochak’s appointment as Superintendent, she made promises in recorded interviews to support special education programs, advocate for competitive wages, and work collaboratively with educators to improve Beverly Public Schools. Despite these promises, in her five-year tenure we have seen the decimation of the special education department, insufficient resources and staffing, and high staff turnover.

4. Poor Leadership Skills and Dehumanizing Actions:

The leadership of Beverly Public Schools has continued to promote divisive paraprofessional wage proposals that remain far below living wage standards, and they continue to reject the BTA’s proposed changes for humane parental and family leave for educators, as well as changes to school lunch and recess that our youngest learners desperately need. Leadership not only is holding to these regressive and inhumane positions in the negotiation process, they continue to abuse the communication systems of the Beverly Public Schools and the City of Beverly to spread disinformation to the community about the status of collective bargaining.

5. Irresponsible Hiring of Outside Legal Counsel:

Throughout the BTA’s contract campaign, the Beverly School Committee has allocated hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars to retain the law firm Valerio, Dominello, and Hillman (VDH). This firm was behind six recent educator strikes in the Commonwealth, and have been terminated from at least one district (Newton) following their failure to negotiate a timely settlement during the crisis of the Newton teachers strike. Their association with this law firm is at the detriment of students, educators, and the taxpayer, as VDH is clearly more interested in accumulating billable hours than they are in the vital education of Beverly’s children.

6. Harm to the City’s Reputation:

Throughout the tenure of the current leadership of the Beverly Public Schools, the reputation of our schools has declined significantly. According to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), Beverly's teacher salary ranks 166th, teacher retention ranks 248th, and average class size ranks 314th compared to the rest of the Commonwealth. Many parents have expressed concern with the overall impact these declining benchmarks have on the quality of education students can receive in Beverly Public Schools.

It is imperative that our schools remain safe spaces, free from the mismanagement of the Mayor, the School Committee, and the Superintendent. In light of these concerns, I affirm the Beverly Teachers Association’s resolution of No Confidence in Mayor Michael Cahill, the Beverly School Committee, and Superintendent Dr. Suzanne Charochak. I believe that a change in leadership is necessary to foster an environment that values transparency, collaboration, and the well-being of both educators and students.