Ipswich Schools Hire NESDEC for Superintendent Search

School Committee · Meeting of September 17, 2026

Ipswich School Committee hires a search firm and stalls on a disputed land easement. Meeting Sept. 17, Chair Jennifer Donahue's board voted unanimously to retain NESDEC over the Massachusetts Association of School Committees for $13,760 to run its superintendent search, with members saying the choice shouldn't come down to the roughly $2,000 price gap. Finance officer Tom Markham reported Ipswich Public Schools closed fiscal 2026 with a $48,000 surplus and has used 14.5 percent of its $41.3 million fiscal 2027 budget.

Reviewing a 17-article Special Town Meeting warrant, the committee abstained on four zoning bylaw articles as outside its purview and tabled Article 9, a water-department pump-station easement, after learning Town Field's ownership is disputed; a 1923 deed memo surfaced just two hours before the meeting. "I did go to the microphone and say you asked for our permission," Donahue said. Members also shifted $137,974 in fiscal 2027 cost-center funds and named Jenny as the new school-warrant signatory.

In the full story:

• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report — 4,207 words

Source: the School Committee meeting of September 17, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.