The Cambridge Public Schools district is hosting a series of forums for community members to join and talk about who the next superintendent should be. This comes after the School Committee terminated the contract of former superintendent Victoria Greer last spring. David Murphy, former chief operating officer of the district, has served as interim superintendent since. A “nationwide search” is underway for the next superintendent by the district in partnership with The Equity Process, a local community collaborative, officials said.
Here’s what you need to know about the search for a permanent superintendent.
Greer’s role ended in spring of 2024
Greer was ousted 13 months ahead of the end of her contract last spring in a 5-2 vote by the committee. One of the two voting to keep her on was mayor E. Denise Simmons. The decision was anticipated after months of complaints of “botched hiring practices” and “mistreatment” of district staff.
Murphy is appointed as interim
Murphy stepped up as interim superintendent after the departure of Greer. Recommended by his predecessor, he stepped into the role under the presumption that his term would last anywhere from 90 days to a year.
A year later, the search for a permanent superintendent is underway with a dedicated webpage saying the deadline to apply is Friday. Not all public messaging about the search is clear; emailed press releases identify the district’s director of communications as a source of information, while the webpage identifies the School Committee’s executive secretary and the district’s Human Resources director.
The selection is to be made before the biennial election of committee members – Nov. 4 – yet the webpage and emails to the public say: “The goal is to select a superintendent of schools on or before July 1, 2026.” That would be two years after Greer’s departure and 13 months after the application deadline on the website. If a visitor goes a few clicks deeper to read the role’s job description, the language specifies that applicants need to get information in by Friday and there is an “anticipated start date,” rather than a selection date, of “on or before July 1, 2026.”
July 1 is a final start date meant to accommodate a hire who needs to finish out work at an existing job, School Committee vice chair Caroline Hunter explained after this story was first posted, and she didn’t know the posted language suggested that a superintendent might not be selected until then.
Community engagement wanted
The district is holding forums in which community members can join the conversation around finding a permanent superintendent – though some suspect the job already belongs to Murphy – but response has been lacking, according to people familiar with the process: A first forum held Thursday reportedly drew three people, and sign-ups for future forums have been slow.
Questions about engagement so far and the potential start date of a permanent superintendent were directed Monday to a district spokesperson, School Committee executive secretary and Human Resources officials, but personnel were either out of office or not able to answer immediately.
Community forums are scheduled for:
- Monday from 6 to 8 p.m. in the cafeteria at the Putnam Avenue Upper School, 100 Putnam Ave., Riverside.
- Tuesday from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the cafeteria at the Rindge Avenue Upper School, 70 Rindge Ave., North Cambridge
- June 11 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the cafeteria at the Vassal Lane Upper School, 158 Spring St., East Cambridge
With the community forums, the district has released an online survey on which community members can voice their questions, comments and concerns for or about the superintendent search.
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