Perfect candidate an ‘impossible feat’
Wanted: A Boston Public Schools superintendent who must meet the following qualifications:
• Get along with a controlling, impatient mayor.
• Navigate the rough and tumble politics of Boston.
• Communicate with a vocal, activist group of parents.
• Control a difficult, sometimes unreasonable teachers’ union.
• Deal with aging, crumbling schools.
• Work with tight budget constraints.
Besides that, it’s a piece of cake. But is there anyone out there who can really meet all the demands of one of the toughest school jobs in the nation?
That’s the question now facing Mayor Martin J. Walsh and the parents, teachers and students of the city school system.
“They won’t find someone that will satisfy everyone’s requirements,” said City Councilor Annissa Essaibi George, who chairs the council’s education committee. “That’s probably an impossible feat.”
Impossible, but Walsh has to come close. Choosing the next leader of the city’s schools could be the most important decision the mayor makes in his second term. After the failures of the 2024 Olympic bid and the disastrous Indy Car race in his first term, and now the superintendent’s midcontract ouster
at the start of Walsh’s second term, it’s critical that the mayor make the right choice.
Walsh made it clear he was not happy with his first superintendent, Tommy Chang, who was pushed out on Friday. And while Chang may have made mistakes, it’s Walsh who should be held accountable for the failures of the Boston Public Schools.
The mayor has control of the School Committee and control of the school budget. He’s the one who makes policy and leads the direction of the schools.
But in choosing the next superintendent, Walsh should not just pick the candidate whom he can control the most. Not just a yes person. He needs someone who can push back when needed.
And forget a costly, long nationwide search. That’s how Chang was picked and he never really seemed at home in Boston.
Walsh should pick a local candidate, “someone who is obviously very aware of the city, its history and the school system,” according to Essaibi George, a former teacher with three kids in the Boston schools.
And not someone who is a career bureaucrat.
“It’s very important we have someone who has spent a lot of time in the classroom, especially in Boston,” she said.
Getting that candidate is a tough chore. Many of the bureaucrats Chang surrounded himself with were from out of town, and there may not be an adequate replacement in the ranks.
And getting a good candidate to agree to come to Boston will be tough. This city has a well-deserved reputation of being tough on newcomers. Just look at the search for a new chancellor at UMass Boston. All three finalists abruptly dropped out after getting a no-confidence vote from the faculty union.
Whatever Walsh decides, he should do it quick. Boston’s troubled school system can’t afford to be without a permanent leader for an extended period of time.
‘They won’t find someone that will satisfy everyone’s requirements.’ — City Councilor ANNISSA ESSAIBI GEORGE, left,