jackiedoherty.org

News, schools, and views from a uniquely Lowell perspective
24th January 2008

Best candidates critical for supt search

Posted by Jackie on January 24, 2008
posted in Education, Local Politics |

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...

Citizens’ Screening Committee

  • 2 parents (CPC chair or designee, and one minority)
  • President of Lowell Plan or designee
  • President of Lowell Chamber of Commerce or designee
  • UML Chancellor or designee
  • MCC President or designee
  • 2 current teachers (UTL determines)
  • 1 veteran principal (group self-selects)
  • 1 veteran social worker (Unit B determines)
  • 1 special education parent (selected by SPED PAC)
  • Community Teamwork Inc, (executive officer or their designee)
  • Ted Rurak, previous Lowell deputy superintendent
  • Eileen Donoghue, former mayor and city councilor (non-voting chair)
  • Susan Mulligan, Lowell Assistant Supt.for Personnel (non-voting secretary)

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 24th, 2008 at 9:34 am and is filed under Education, Local Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.

There are currently 6 responses to “Best candidates critical for supt search”

Why not let us know what you think by adding your own comment! Your opinion is as valid as anyone elses, so come on... let us know what you think.

  1. 1 On January 24th, 2008, Victoria said:

    For three Wednesday nights in a row, a group of about 15-20 minority parents have attended these school committee meetings. Why? Because they understand the importance of minority representation for this search committee. Although there was a lot of “talk” about having the appointed institutions, such as the Lowell Plan, Community Teamwork, the Chamber of Commerce, etc., having the ability to appoint a minority person, I am wondering what the school committee will do if in fact none of these entities provide minority representation, especially of the three largest minority groups in the city: Cambodian, Latino, Brazilian.

    Connie Martin emphatically corrected Paul Georges when he stated that teachers were the most important in considering for this search. She stated that students actually are the most important. As I have said repeatedly, 59.9% of these students are minority. That’s about 8400 students.

    So what is the plan if none of the designee’s from the appointed groups provide minority parents? I’m glad that special ed parents, whose children represent 15% of the school population, were considered an important interest group. Using the 15% ratio, then this search committee should have 4 minority parents, not one. Or the ratio of teachers – 2 per 1600 – that would be 10 minority parents. No matter what ratio is used, minority parents end up grossly underrepresented compared to everyone else.

    So, what is the plan if none of the appointed groups provide minority representation?

  2. 2 On January 24th, 2008, Jackie said:

    I honestly don’t have a plan to address this issue, and I agree, it could be a real problem. Perhaps when we see who the actual members of the screening committee are as determined by the organizations selected, the school committee will have to revisit this issue.

  3. 3 On January 24th, 2008, Anonymous said:

    Was the meeting at the River Road Cafe illegal?

  4. 4 On January 24th, 2008, Jackie said:

    I wasn’t there, but my understanding of the meeting is that it included two members of the school committee and the mayor, which is not a quorum and therefore would not be illegal.

  5. 5 On January 25th, 2008, Notokay said:

    I’m truly surprised at your vote against transparency. This makes me feel that there is already a superintendent in the wings. I really give newcomer Dave Conway credit for coming down on the right side, For you four, it’s Lowell politics as usual. Not the best candidate, but the one with the most political connections. I hope that Eileen refuses to chair this secret screening committee.

  6. 6 On January 26th, 2008, Jackie said:

    I’m sorry you feel that way about my vote. Fortunately, I learned years ago you can’t make everyone happy, so I vote my conscience every time, regardless of popularity. In this case, what’s best for the education of our children starts with getting the absolute best-qualified candidates to apply. I’m not aware of any “supt in the wings” nor will I support anyone but who I believe is the most-qualified person for the job. Obviously, we need as many excellent candidates to apply as possible for that to happen.

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