To the editor:
Our community is being asked to support a $4.65 million override to invest in the future of our school district. I strongly support the override. But I also support holding the School Committee accountable to conduct an external superintendent search. These are not opposing ideas. They are both rooted in responsible governance, transparency and making informed decisions that build community trust.
The superintendent’s contract gives us the opportunity to conduct a proper external search. Why wouldn’t we take it? As many have said: This is not about any one person. It’s about the process. It’s standard practice in other school districts and in the corporate world to conduct an external search even when there’s an internal candidate. Sometimes the search confirms the internal candidate is the best fit for the role. Other times, it results in new leadership. Either outcome builds confidence in the decision. But when we bypass a search entirely, we deny ourselves that clarity. It also sends a strong message that a fair and transparent process to the community is not important and set a concerning precedent for one of the most critical roles in our district.
To be clear, it’s entirely possible he is the most qualified candidate. But we’ll never know, because the School Committee skipped a critical step. Other MA towns recently conducted external searches for their superintendents. Why are we lowering our standards? It’s especially troubling that a former School Committee member who voted to bypass the search recently pointed to a much lower performing district as a comparison that also did the same. We should benchmark ourselves against districts with strong governance and better student outcomes, not simply the ones that also skipped best practices.
It seems as if the Committee is hesitant to conduct a search because the last external hire didn’t work out. But fear of failure is not a reason to avoid doing what’s right. Avoiding a search out of fear of making another bad hire isn’t accountability – it’s simply avoidance. We should be holding the School Committee to a higher standard, not lowering expectations. The proper search wasn’t done last year, and the School Committee rushed the hiring decision. We should perhaps learn from our mistake and reevaluate our hiring processes. Let’s also not forget that just last year, our district hired an educator without performing a thorough background check. These decisions suggest a pattern that deserves review and corrective actions. If we continue avoiding best practices out of fear or convenience, we’re setting a harmful tone for future hiring decisions, not just for the superintendent role, but potentially across the district.
Meanwhile, we’re being asked to support a major override. I still believe it’s the right thing, and we should vote for it as our schools need that funding. But this doesn’t mean we should ignore governance missteps. In fact, it’s all the more reason to ensure our leadership is as strong and transparent as possible. The superintendent was the district’s finance director before stepping into this role. And now, we are facing a significant override. That alone warrants deeper reflection.
We also need to ask: How are we measuring the current superintendent’s success? Some say staff morale is up and that teachers seem happy. But with a major override vote coming in June, many staff are understandably staying quiet. Put yourself in the educator’s shoes. Would you risk speaking up if your job or classroom resources might be in jeopardy? Especially when so many towns are facing similar override challenges? It takes more than “teachers seem happy” to define and measure effective leadership.
This moment isn’t about personalities or politics. It’s about doing our due diligence – for our students, our educators and our wonderful town. A transparent, thoughtful superintendent search is the right next step and the contract allows it.
Support the override at the polls on June 4 but don’t stop there. Demand transparency and accountability from the School Committee by demanding a superintendent search.
Sincerely,
Edelyne Beauvais-Thomas
