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Last night’s four-hour meeting to determine the process and makeup of the Citizens’ Screening Committee regarding the search for a new superintendent will be broadcast in its entirety on Lowell Educational TV, channel 22, during the following days/times: Friday, Jan. 25 at 7:00 pm; Saturday, Jan. 26 at 9:00 pm; Sunday, Jan. 27 at 7:00 am; Monday, Jan. 28 at 12:00 noon. It will also be accessible beginning tomorrow evening on LTC’s website under school committee meetings.

Co-blogger Dick Howe writes a compelling post regarding his dispute with last night’s majority decision of the school committee to keep the names of the applicants for the superintendent position confidential until they become finalists. Although most of the nearly four-hour meeting was spent deliberating the makeup of the screening committee, this decision was the most divisive for the group, and for me, the most difficult. I had no doubts about adding a special education parent, a social worker, a veteran principal, and another teacher to the screening committee, which we ultimately did; I also felt strongly that we needed another representative from the non-profit sector, which I was unable to get. In the end, 13 citizens will be on the screening committee—four more than the original motions—in addition to adding former mayor Eileen Donoghue, who will serve as a non-voting chairperson. Like others, I want this process to be open and fair, which is one reason I fought for expanding the screening committee. That said, we absolutely must attract the best candidates. I sought advice from several credible sources who all told me it was imperative we ensure the confidentiality of the applicants if we were to attract experienced candidates. Just hours before last night’s meeting, I spoke to Glenn Koocher, executive director of the Mass. Assoc. of School Committees, about the process, the shortage of superintendents statewide (there are currently 38 openings), and the lack of candidates (we have only five applicants so far). Mr. Koocher was adamant about the confidentiality piece. I also discussed it with Supt. Baehr, who noted that we may get assistant superintendents to apply, but without confidentiality, we will limit the pool of sitting superintendents. Just like the city manager’s position over a year ago and the state’s recent search for an education commissioner, the names of applicants will be kept confidential until they become finalists; all finalists will be interviewed in public and televised live. At the end of the day, my job is to do what I believe is best for the education of our children. Right now, that means getting the most qualified, talented candidates to apply to be our next superintendent, having a fair process in place to assess those applicants, and choosing the best one.

For a listing of the makeup of the 13-member screening committee, see: more »