Succession planning to be priority for School Committee
The Masconomet Regional School Committee voted last week to appoint Tyngsboro School Superintendent Darrell Lockwood as their district’s new superintendent over Harvard’s superintendent, Thomas Jefferson. After being deadlocked 6–6 in a previous vote between Jefferson and Lockwood, the Masconomet committee voted 10–1 in favor of Lockwood on Saturday, Feb. 27.
“You’re not really competing with someone individually in a situation like this,” Jefferson said this week. “I don’t know Darrell well, but I have heard wonderful things about him.” Jefferson said he hasn’t been actively looking for a different job, but that “I get a lot of calls, because of what Harvard has accomplished.” He added that he was not applying anywhere else at this time.
Masconomet School Committee member and Superintendent Search Committee Chairman John Spencer told the Press that the committee is very happy with the decision, but that they had two very well-qualified candidates to choose from, and either Lockwood or Jefferson could have done the job well. Asked what factors changed the previous 6-6 vote, Spencer said the long deliberation centered on the styles of the candidates. They saw Lockwood as a quiet listener, and although Jefferson is a good listener, they decided Lockwood had an edge. Spencer added that the Masconomet district is less concerned about innovative ideas, and more concerned with pulling together the different parts of the three-town community. According to Spencer, terms of a contract with Dr. Lockwood are still being negotiated.
Asked if the pending action of the Massachusetts Ethics Commission was a negative factor for Jefferson, Spencer said that if anything, it was a positive, citing “grace under pressure.” He said the committee appreciated Jefferson’s transparency in discussing the ethics issue and in helping them understand the circumstances that led to the complaint. The committee never speculated about the possible outcome of the complaint, he added.
With regard to other searches that are still ongoing, Spencer said he knew that Andover was tracking a few weeks behind Masconomet in their search, but he did not know if Jefferson is a candidate in that or any other active searches. He did say that several superintendencies will be coming open in the near future, and that he had told Jefferson he would have no trouble finding another position. Spencer also volunteered that he would be glad to give a positive reference, based on Jefferson’s open and transparent assistance in helping the Masconomet search committee consider his candidacy.
Harvard School Committee member Stu Sklar said of Masconomet, “Their loss is our gain. I’d have hated to lose Tom, and I’m thrilled he’s staying.” Jefferson’s contract in Harvard runs until Aug. 31, 2012.
Even so, Harvard School Committee Chairman Keith Cheveralls said that both Jefferson and Hildreth Elementary School Principal Mary Beth Banios, who was recently a finalist for positions in Lexington and in Weston, have given “a clear signal of their intentions to advance their careers—and we respect that.” Cheveralls stated that succession planning would be “a priority after the budget process.”
According to Jefferson, Banios is likely to remain in Harvard for the immediate future. “It would take a very special school for her to leave,” he said. Banios has been in Harvard six years, which Jefferson explained is a rather long tenure for a principal. Likewise, few superintendents stay in a district longer than six years, he said. (Jefferson has been superintendent of Harvard’s schools since July 2005.)
Asked about succession planning, School Committee member Virginia Justicz responded that the issue raises questions about different models that the committee could consider, including sharing a superintendent with another town. She noted that many towns in western Massachusetts had adopted this plan. “My sense is that there are not a lot of economies to be had with that system,” she said, “but we haven’t really studied it yet.” Justicz suggested that a subcommittee including different constituencies—parents, teachers, and townspeople—might be warranted to consider an appropriate model for a re-shaped school administration.