Gardner Public Schools
School Committee & Superintendent
Who Runs the Schools
Seven people set policy for Gardner Public Schools. Six of them are elected at large, by every voter in the city rather than by ward, and they serve four year terms with three seats on the ballot at each city election. The seventh is the Mayor, who chairs the committee by right of office and votes on it like any other member. So when you count the seats you can vote for, the number is six, not seven.
The committee does three things that matter to a student directly: it writes the policies the schools run on, it approves the school budget before that budget goes to the City Council, and it appoints the Superintendent. It does not run a building, hire a teacher, or set a grade. That is the Superintendent’s side of the line, and knowing which side your question falls on is the fastest way to get an answer.
Committee Members
Michael J. Nicholson
Rachel Cormier
Anne Hurst
John M. LaFreniere
Robert Swartz
Paul Cormier
Gardner’s charter sets the committee at the Mayor plus six members elected at large. The city’s own School Committee page is the current roster of who holds each of those six elected seats: gardner-ma.gov. Meetings are at 6:00 p.m. on the second Monday of the month in the City Council Chambers at City Hall, and Gardner Educational Television carries them on Channel 8.
The Superintendent
Dr. Mark J. Pellegrino
Dr. Mark J. Pellegrino is Superintendent of Gardner Public Schools, appointed by the School Committee, which under the city charter appoints a superintendent annually. He signs the district’s own Superintendent’s Message, and the committee’s minutes record him present at its meetings through the 2025-26 school year.
The Superintendent runs the district the committee sets policy for: 2,470 students across four schools, the staff who teach them, and the budget that pays for both.
| District | Gardner Public Schools |
|---|---|
| Website | gardnerk12.org |
| Appointed by | The School Committee, annually, under the city charter |
The District at a Glance
- Enrollment: 2,470 students.
- Schools: four. Gardner Elementary School, Gardner Middle School, Gardner High, and the Gardner Academy for Learning and Technology.
- Four year graduation rate: 87.8 percent.
- State profile: DESE profile (code 01030000).