GROUPS AT ODDS AHEAD OF PICK
At least one group is endorsing one of two Boston Public Schools superintendent finalists, another has taken a no-confidence vote in the search process, and a third is calling on Mayor Michelle Wu and the school committee to extend the process, rather than choose the next superintendent Wednesday night.
The advisory board of SchoolFacts Boston, a group of BPS families, is endorsing Tommy Welch, a regional, K to 12 BPS superintendent, over Mary Skipper, superintendent of the 5,000-student Somerville Public Schools. Both were interviewed publicly last week by a series of panels and the school committee.
Among the reasons the advisory board cited in its endorsement are Welch’s “intimate local knowledge of BPS,” a sense of “urgency” about getting federal aid to school leaders as soon as possible, and his ability to start in his new position on Friday, the day after current Superintendent Brenda Cassellius steps down. He also speaks Spanish, the board noted, something Skipper does not.
Another group, the Boston Education Justice Alliance, has taken a no-confidence vote on the process the district underwent to find a replacement for Cassellius.
“We need stronger options, people who have more experience with larger school districts,” like Boston, which has more than 48,000 students, said Ruby Reyes, executive direct
In the same vein, the Boston Coalition for Education Equity is calling on the mayor and the school committee to extend the search process now that state Education Commissioner Tommy Riley is no longer recommending that the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education declare BPS an “underperforming” district.
“We believe it would be a disservice to the families of BPS to appoint a new superintendent now,” said Lisa Green, president of the Boston Coalition for Education Equity.
Shortly after Wu and Cassellius announced in February that they had “mutually agreed that she would step down on June 30 after three years in the job, Wu said she wanted a new superintendent selected by June.
The school committee hired an executive search firm for $75,000 to find candidates for the position.
They also appointed a 9-member search committee to vet those candidates. Beginning with 34, the search committee conducted private interviews throughout May and June.
On June 16, the search committee selected a group of finalists for the school committee’s consideration. Two candidates withdrew prior to the start of public interviews, leaving Skipper and Welch as the sole remaining finalists.
Skipper leads a district of 5,000 students, and Welch oversees 15 schools educating 7,000 students in the BPS.