City Government
Melrose School Committee & Superintendent
The Superintendent
Cari Berman
About 3,700 Melrose students start their day in this district, and one person answers for all of it. Cari Berman came to Melrose Public Schools in 2001 as a special education teacher at the high school and never left. She taught for ten years, then ran special education for the high school and the middle school, became the high school’s assistant principal in 2016, and later served as Assistant Superintendent of Pupil Personnel Services. When her predecessor resigned in the summer of 2025 she stepped in as interim superintendent, and on December 16, 2025 the School Committee voted unanimously to give her the job permanently. She proposes the school budget, sets academic priorities, and reports to the elected School Committee that hired her. Her first full year has been shaped by the override: the money voters approved in November 2025 let her bring the team model back to grades six and seven at Melrose Veterans Memorial Middle School.
| Role | Superintendent of Schools |
|---|---|
| In office | Interim from summer 2025, permanent since December 2025 |
| District office | 360 Lynn Fells Parkway, Melrose, MA 02176 |
| Phone | 781-662-2000 |
| Website | melroseschools.com |
The School Committee
The Melrose School Committee has seven seats, and one of them belongs to the Mayor. Six members are elected by the voters of the whole city to staggered terms, and the Mayor holds the seventh by virtue of the office, a rule written into the city charter. Unlike some Massachusetts cities, the Mayor does not chair the committee. Every January the members choose their own chair and vice chair, which is how Seamus Kelley became chair and Matt Hartman vice chair at the organizational meeting on January 14, 2026. The committee hires and evaluates the Superintendent, approves the school budget before it goes to the Council, and sets the policies that govern about 3,700 students across eight schools.
Seamus Kelley
Matt Hartman
Margaret Raymond Driscoll
Melissa Holleran
Sheri Leo
Jennifer Razi-Thomas
Jen Grigoraitis
The District at a Glance
- Enrollment: 3,730 students.
- Schools: eight, including Melrose High School at 360 Lynn Fells Parkway.
- Graduation rate: 97.6 percent for the most recent reported four-year cohort.
- State data: DESE profile (code 01780000).
Meetings & Participation
- When: agendas and the meeting calendar are posted on the district website.
- Public comment: residents may address the committee with the chair’s permission. Check the agenda for sign-up details.
- Why it matters: if a course got cut, a bus route stopped working, or the middle school schedule changed, these seven people are the ones who can undo it.
- Contact: Melrose Public Schools, 781-662-2000.
Sources
Melrose school committee (melroseschools.com). Verified July 2026.
What this seat decides
Your schools
School Committee. Start times, the school calendar, bus routes and stops, the phone policy, athletics and activity fees, and the policies in the student handbook. It sets district policy, and the total size of the school budget is voted by the City Council.
Your principal and your superintendent. The principal for how a school rule works day to day in your building. The superintendent for how the whole district runs. The School Committee selects the superintendent, and the superintendent appoints the principals, so a question about any other staff member goes to the district, not to the board.
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