Marty: No timeline yet for schools chief
Interim boss at helm to start the year
Boston Public Schools will enter the new year with Interim Superintendent Laura Perille at the helm, Mayor Martin J. Walsh said yesterday, adding that the process of making a permanent hire for the position will “take a while.”
Walsh told the Herald there wasn’t currently a timeline for hiring the next leader.
“I don’t think we’re going to start talking about that now,” Walsh said. “The focus right now for the interim is to make sure we’re ready for the start of school and then the process will be, the School Committee will roll out a process and I think we’ll be talking about that in the near future.”
Walsh said, “We’re going to start the year with Laura, and she’s been doing a really good job at this point. And we’re going to continue to stay with her now, and then there will be a process at some point. It will be rolled out to the whole community how we’re going to do it.”
Megan Wolf, a member of the advocacy group Quality Education for Every Student, said a long timeline isn’t a concern.
“I think at this point, she’s who we have as interim, and I don’t think a permanent person can be hired by the time school starts,” Wolf said. “The most important thing is to try and find the right person for the job. I think it’s very important that the public is involved. They need to have a voice in choosing the right person to lead the schools for the coming years.”
The Herald has reported that the School Committee will likely meet in September to staff a search committee, select a search firm and start the process of finding a new permanent superintendent.
A spokesman for BPS declined comment.
“I think we’ll have to have a conversation with the School Committee to see exactly what we want to do as far as what type of search we want to do,” Walsh said. “Depending on who you find, if it’s somebody who’s a superintendent in another district, they got to give notice and stuff, so we’re not going to start the year with a new superintendent.”
Wolf said it was important for the School Committee to “get the ball rolling,” when it meets to discuss search committee and search firm plans. She also noted some concerns when it comes to funding.
“The last time there was funding from foundations, and I worry about influence from the outside,” Wolf said. It’s atypical for a superintendent search.”