A LARGE CROWD of parents and educators attended the School Committee’s July 10 meeting.
By DAN TOMASELLO
LYNNFIELD — A number of parents urged the School Committee to conduct a superintendent search and hold off appointing Interim Superintendent Tom Geary as the district’s permanent leader during a July 10 meeting.
The parents aired their concerns about the superintendent search process before the School Committee voted to appoint Geary as superintendent of schools (see separate story).
Phillips Road resident Deirdre Donovan said Geary has “done an amazing job” as interim superintendent. However, she wanted the School Committee to conduct an “open, transparent and full search for a superintendent.”
“I am a lifelong educator and the credentials are important to me,” said Donovan. “I have been in the classroom for over 30 years. I want to publicly support a full search because the job is just too important not to ask the best and the brightest to step up.”
Former School Committee member Phil McQueen said the next superintendent should have an education background.
“This isn’t a business,” said McQueen. “We want a district leader who has educational experience and vision, and knows current contemporary curriculum and the current mandates from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education regarding high-quality instructional materials. It is not something we can skirt around because we are Lynnfield. Everybody has to do it. I think Tom has done a bang up job since he has taken over, but I think we need to have an educational leader who is also an educator.”
School Committee Chair Kate DePrizio said former Superintendent Kristen Vogel previously had teaching experience, and said her three-year tenure leading Lynnfield Public School was “devastating.”
“We are making sure that we are paying attention to what will serve this district well,” said DePrizio.
Speaking as a parent, Library Trustee Darlene Kumar also encouraged the School Committee to “hold off” on appointing Geary as permanent superintendent.
“I implore you to take the time and get everyone’s feedback about the superintendent position,” said Kumar. “This isn’t personal, as I have known Tom for years. You are an excellent finance director, but I think the next superintendent should be an educator. Please take the time to get more information and feedback from the stakeholders and the teachers. I would like to see all parties collaborate together. I think that is how a school district is successful.”
School Committee Vice Chair Kristen Grieco Elworthy said several Central Office positions are currently vacant and it has been difficult to fill them the last several months.
“It is unique that our bench is totally wiped out right now,” said Elworthy. “Normally when you do a superintendent search, you have these other positions locked in but we don’t. From the feedback we are hearing from candidates, we will not have those positions locked in while we have an interim superintendent.”
Elworthy also said the two-year contract Geary will be receiving is “the most conservative contract that you can imagine for a superintendent.” If a search was conducted, she said the “unproven and untested person” hired as superintendent would be given a three-year pact.
Kumar also urged the school board to prioritize “retaining our talented teachers” as opposed to focusing on the revised dress code policy and new cellphone policy that are works in progress. She noted that Lynnfield High School recently lost Band Director Harry Wagg and library media specialist Janice Alpert to different school systems. She also said that former Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning Kevin Cyr, who she called an “unsung hero,” recently accepted a similar position with the Masconomet Regional School District.
“Parents are concerned that the high school keeps getting cut,” Kumar added. “It breaks my heart. My son is going to St. John’s Prep in the fall because I don’t think he is going to get the same education that my daughter was able to scrape through.”
While Candlewood Road resident Paul Briggs said Geary has “done a very good job” as interim superintendent and is “very committed to the district,” he urged the School Committee to conduct a superintendent search.
“If we went through a process, he would probably be the best candidate especially when complimented with a good curriculum director,” said Briggs. “It is also putting Tom in a difficult position. If things go bad for any reason, people are going to automatically assume the outcome would have been better if we did a full search to find a superintendent.”
Briggs also said he shares Kumar’s concerns about the budget cuts at LHS that have occurred the last several years. He said he would like to ask superintendent candidates “about educating high school students and the challenges they face.”
“We are spending 4 percent less on the high school than in previous years,” said Briggs. “As a parent, the school day sounds more like a training regiment than it does an educational environment. We are depriving these kids of opportunities that they so badly want. I think we need to be thoughtful about that as we think about future budgets. We hold ourselves up as one of the best districts in the state. In order to achieve that goal, we need to figure out ways to enrich these kids. I have put three kids through LHS and I went through LHS, and I have serious doubts about whether I want to send my third child to LHS. I don’t want to make it sound bleak, but it’s something I am thinking about now due to the changes taking place.”
DePrizio said the School Committee recognizes “that the high school needs some love.”
“We need programming that encourages our students to explore robotics, technology, coding and things like that,” said DePrizio. “We want to give you programs and classes. We value those things as well.”
While most of the parents who spoke wanted a superintendent search to be launched, former School Committee member Tim Doyle expressed his support for appointing Geary as the district’s permanent leader.
“No nationwide search and no series of interviews, either private or public, could test a candidate’s leadership skills, moral compass and work ethic any better than what Superintendent Geary as endured on behalf of this community for the past eight months,” said Doyle. “As a committee, you have had an opportunity to assess Tom’s character, you have the greatest understanding of the challenges he has faced and you have the greatest understanding of his capabilities. Instability is the agent of chaos. If you acquiesce to consistent internal interference with committee and school operations, the biggest cost and the greatest risk will be to the students and the staff at Lynnfield Public Schools. Choosing a path of stability is prudent and wise.”
Bishops Lane resident Kathleen Dario, who worked for the district’s Technology Department for 20 years, agreed with Doyle.
“I 100 percent support Tom getting this position and extending it an additional year,” said Dario. “Our past performance of selecting superintendents was not very good.”
