Marblehead task force chairs defend teacher

MARBLEHEAD — Task Force Against Discrimination Chairs Helaine Hazlett and Diane Gora sent a letter to school officials in support of Candice Sliney, one of the employees of the school district who is under investigation for discrimination.

Sliney, who has taught Spanish at Marblehead High School since 2005, is a former member of the task force, which she resigned from last year.

At a meeting of the task force on Thursday, Hazlett spoke of Sliney’s work on the task force and how she attended and helped with many events, including Juneteenth celebrations and a commemoration of Holocaust Remembrance Day.

“She was a very passionate and active member of this committee,” Hazlett said.

Parents of children in the school district received an email from then-interim Superintendent Theresa McGuinness on June 13 stating, “We (the district) have multiple formal complaints of harassment and discrimination from interpersonal disputes among adults working for the district.”

According to the email, the district “attempted to investigate the claims internally, but the investigators themselves have been subjected to accusations of being conflicted.”

At a School Committee meeting, Committee Chair Jenn Schaeffner said the concerns that prompted the investigation revolve around the district’s curriculum and accusations of antisemitism.

The committee voted to hire an independent investigator to determine the merit of accusations of antisemitism in the school district. Recently, the committee authorized interim Superintendent John Robidoux to choose which investigating agency examines the accusations and provided a budget of $25,000 for the investigation.

Sliney has denied all accusations of discrimination.

Hazlett said she and Gora sent the letter as individuals and not on behalf of the task force.

Gora and Hazlett said they sent the letter to Schaeffner, Robidoux, McGuinness, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Julia Ferreira, and other School Committee members and administrators.

Hazlett said that she would send the letter to the task force to receive the approval of its members, and would explore the option of sending a letter to the district’s administration on behalf of Sliney and the task force.

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