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Todd Bloodgood, who served as director of facilities and maintenance for Marblehead Public Schools, died March 1. He was 58.
Bloodgood, a Beverly resident, was a quiet, steady presence in the district's daily life — a technically skilled professional who directed a custodial and maintenance workforce, oversaw a multi-route transportation operation and showed up before dawn to make sure things worked. His death came as a shock to colleagues across the school district and town government, who said they had not anticipated losing him.
School Committee member Jenn Schaeffner said Bloodgood had worked for the district for at least seven years. He oversaw the maintenance, repair and cleaning of all school buildings in the district, as well as its transportation operations — including Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity buses, internal Marblehead routes and athletic team transportation.
Before joining the district, Bloodgood had worked at Essex Tech and at one point owned a paint store, Fire Chief Jason Gilliland said. That varied background gave him a working fluency with the mechanical and structural realities of running large buildings that colleagues said made him unusually effective.
"He knew how to repair things. He knew how things worked. He understood the mechanics of them," Schaeffner said. "So he really was able to troubleshoot and help support the guys."
Schaeffner said Bloodgood regularly climbed onto rooftops alongside contractors to supervise repairs firsthand, a habit that earned him credibility with tradespeople and custodial staff. He knew, she said, when a problem required outside help and when he could handle it himself.
Bloodgood was the district's point person for a flood response at the Veterans School earlier this winter, managing roofing contractors brought in to address the damage. He also had been set to manage contractor relationships for an upcoming high school project. Schaeffner said he helped determine how to maintain aging systems, when to replace them and how to sequence capital investments across multiple buildings.
"He was really, really helpful in putting together our long-term facilities master plan," Schaeffner said. "Understanding how we maintain things, how we do preventative maintenance, and when we need to replace things."
Bloodgood also served on the Brown School Building Committee, where fellow member Jim Zisson said his contributions were grounded and practical. Designing a school with long-term maintenance in mind can shape a building for decades, and that, Zisson said, was exactly the lens Bloodgood brought to the table.
"He always brought to the design of the school the maintainability aspect — the common-sense side of doing things in a way that lets you maintain the heating system, the structure of the school and the cleanliness of the building," Zisson said.
Zisson, who tends garden beds at the Brown School, said he often arrived before 6 a.m. and found Bloodgood already making his rounds.
"I'd go down there at dawn, sometimes before 6 a.m., to water them or do something before my workday starts," Zisson said. "And I'd see him doing his rounds, checking on the schools."
Gilliland, who became a personal friend through years of cross-department work, said Bloodgood's approach to leadership was unmistakable.
"He certainly was the type of guy who wasn't going to sit there and watch somebody else work," Gilliland said. "He was going to jump in too."
Gilliland added that Bloodgood had a near-reflexive willingness to help when colleagues came to him with problems.
"Very seldom, if you went to him and said, 'Hey, I need this handled,' would he say no," Gilliland said. "He would always find a way to help you out."
That quality showed up in high-pressure moments. Gilliland recalled when officials had to move the 2025 Town Meeting from the Veteras Performing Arts Center to the Marblehead High School Field House on short notice, a complex logistical change involving setup, equipment and coordination across departments.
"He made it work," Gilliland said. "There was a lot of logistics to pull together. He got his crew together and made it happen pretty quickly."
Gilliland described him simply as "pretty low-key, but he got things done."
Bloodgood's relationships with the custodial and maintenance staff he supervised were noted by those who worked closely with him. Schaeffner said those employees were visibly shaken by his death, in part because Bloodgood had built genuine working relationships with them — including during a period of labor tension when other departmental relationships were strained.
"He really maintained good relationships with everybody," Schaeffner said. "He had a really good working relationship with them — he was out there plowing."
Schaeffner said Lisa Manning, who worked directly under Bloodgood, was taking his death especially hard. "She and Todd worked very, very closely together," she said. "It's really hard for her."
Gilliland said he spoke with Bloodgood the afternoon of March 1, the day he died, while the two were tracking down a replacement part for a town snowblower.
"We were looking for a part," Gilliland said. "I talked to him that afternoon, and he was always willing to help."
Zisson described him as "an unassuming guy" who worked without seeking recognition and handled pressure calmly. "Quiet and didn't get flustered about stuff," he said. "He had a lot of things going on but just took it in stride."
Gilliland said the district would feel the absence. The staff Bloodgood built is strong, he said, but there is no easy substitute for the person who held it all together.
"He has a great staff there, and they all work very well for him," Gilliland said. "But Todd's the quarterback there. And without Todd, it's gonna be tough."
Outside his professional life, Bloodgood was a longtime member of the Volunteer Yacht Club in Beverly, where he served as commodore five times. A GoFundMe campaign established after his death described him as someone who led "with humility and dedication, always putting the club and its members first" and who gave his time "freely, quietly helping others without ever seeking recognition."
Gilliland, who received an unexpected visit from the family on Christmas Eve — they brought homemade cookies — described them simply as good people.
"They're good people, both Karen and Todd and his daughter, Olivia," Gilliland said. "They're just sweethearts. They really are so nice."
As of March 5, the GoFundMe campaign organized by Melissa Sutton to help cover funeral costs and provide financial support for the family had nearly raised $6,500 toward a $10,000 goal.
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