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Both Bill Martin and Karla Brooks Baehr took the high road on the radio (UML 91.5) this morning in response to pointed questions about Lowell politics.  Martin maintained that whatever motives, political and/or personal, caused the delay in the superintendent hiring process (achieved through what he called “an obscure parliamentary move”), he didn’t sense that there was an attempt to try “to rig the process” for an insider candidate.  He regrets the loss of two weeks at what could be a prime time for school leaders to contemplate a career move, reasoning that the holiday vacation period would be a logical time for qualified candidates to think over their options and take a look around at what’s available.  He also agreed that the district will have to “up the payscale” to attract the right person.  No surprises there! I have to admit I was never a big fan of Bill Martin’s until this last term where he has shown real integrity and vision in a position of leadership, both on the council and on the school committee. I’m sure these qualities were there all along, but maybe not as visible. He’s really come into his own and I’m going to miss having him as our mayor. 

Both Martin and Baehr pointed out the recent successes in the district around hiring practices, new teacher training and test scores, while noting the challenges of our school population, some of which bear repeating constantly to critics of the administration:  Forty percent of our children who take the MCAS in English are non-proficient in the language, 75% receive free or reduced-price lunches – an indicator of poverty. Martin said that one of the things that impressed him about Dr. Baehr from the beginning was that she really wanted to come to Lowell, she wanted the challenges of the urban school system.  For her part, Baehr was more than generous in her praise of Lowell as a terrific city, a place where so many people care so deeply about the education of the children in our schools.  This was in response to what advice she would give to her successor about Lowell. I was thinking she might say, “watch your back,” but Karla Baehr is always classy, always forward-looking. I’ve said all along that we were lucky to have her in Lowell, and I wish her the best of luck in her next endeavor (hopefully as our new Commissioner of Education).