The search for a permanent superintendent for Cambridge schools began Tuesday with expert advice to keep the process transparent to the public.
Glenn Koocher, executive director of Massachusetts Association of School Committees, spoke at a two-hour roundtable meeting of the Cambridge School Committee on Open Meeting Law, contract negotiations and possible timelines for the search.
One of the first steps is to set up a search committee made up of varying constituencies and demographics. Koocher advised strongly that the committee take care to follow laws laid out by the attorney general that limits the involvement of School Committee members in the initial search to three, warning of people who sit at home and live to “insert themselves and disrupt the process” by reporting committees for not following laws.
That members are aware of public concerns about the openness of a search process was made clear in September, when they embraced David Murphy as a longer-term interim superintendent than expected during his appointment in June. He stepped in for Victoria Greer when she was asked to resign before the end of her contract in June 2025.
Previously the superintendent’s seat was held by Kenneth Salim, who ended his contract two years early coming out of the Covid pandemic, citing “personal and professional challenges.”
“For me, the central question is how to ensure both authentic public engagement and the strongest pool of candidates” for a permanent leader, member Rachel Weinstein said in a September website update.
A majority of the Tuesday meeting was spent discussing possible timelines for the hiring, as laid out in a memo from mayor and committee leader E. Denise Simmons on Sept. 17.
The three options were to make a job offer before the new year; in April; or December 2025. Committee members – affirming their direction from September – agreed tentatively on aiming to make a job offer by December 2025, with the new superintendent to start in September of the following year.
“The part that I think is going to take the most time is going to really have what I call authentic citizen participation,” Simmons said. Community input is an important first step that is expected to be absorbed mainly through surveys, which Simmons cited as the most accessible way to collect feedback.
The meeting locked in little. A concrete plan for next steps will be established at a special committee meeting at which members will vote on items such as timeline, modes of community engagement and whether to hire an outside search firm to compile the applicant pool. Although member Elizabeth Hudson urged for clear updates to the community on next steps, the date for the special meeting remains unclear.
A stronger
Please consider making a financial contribution to maintain, expand and improve Cambridge Day.
We are now a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and all donations are tax deductible.
Please consider a recurring contribution.