Analysis: A Closer Look At Process, Vote In Superintendent Choice

Arlington MA

30 November, 2020

4:14 PM

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From Your Arlington: Last Updated: 30 November 2020 Written by Judith Pfeffer It was a long process, full of surprises. That is one way to view the lengthy superintendent search, which began in June and ended, at least for now, with a lopsided vote at the Nov. 24 meeting of the Arlington School Committee. One surprise could be considered the timeline itself. It currently appears that that Dr. Elizabeth Homan – presumed successor to retiring Superintendent Dr. Kathleen Bodie – may have seven months' lead time from her Nov. 24 positive vote until officially taking the reins July 1. For comparison's sake, that is thrice the transition time accorded President-Elect Joe Biden from his Nov. 3 election to his Jan. 20 inauguration – 34 weeks versus 11 weeks. Then there is the fact that Tuesday's agenda item had been described simply as a "superintendent discussion." That was consistent with Chair Jane Morgan's statement at an earlier meeting that a vote was not necessarily to be expected that evening -- barely two days before Thanksgiving Day. That scheduling of a meeting to consider such an important matter might itself be considered a surprise. Celebrating the holiday responsibly in 2020 meant dining with as few others as possible. But preparing the traditional meal plus cleaning and decorating the home typically is a labor of many hours if not days even if arranged for only two participants and carried out by someone – such as this correspondent -- who has been doing so for decades. Sought committee's 'will' Another surprise was that when, without asking for a vote, Morgan merely sought "the will of the committee," all seven members showed immediate commitment to a candidate. They were considering two finalists, Homan and Dr. Victoria Greer, who had been accepted by the committee Nov. 4 after having been advanced by a search group convened by and led by longtime School Committee member Paul Schlichtman. His group – 15 members and two alternates -- met many times and was itself created through a lengthy process intended to ensure multiple viewpoints from a variety of stakeholders. Another surprise was that Greer and Homan were both deemed so eminently qualified that advancing three, four or five finalists, as originally intended, would have been "artificial," said ad hoc search subcommittee and School Committee member Len Kardon at the Nov. 4 meeting. No matter what the issue, committee members are never allowed to discuss voting plans with each other outside of public meetings. That meant that each one independently and privately researched the two finalists as they saw fit without comparing notes. That is, assuming they were following legal requirements, they had no direct way to influence each other's deliberations. Opening the discussion Nov. 24, Morgan said that Greer and Homan were "both impressive and very skilled" and reiterated that they been chosen as the sole finalists because they were the "two strongest and most viable candidates." 5 initially backed Homan However, it became immediately clear that five members unequivocally supported Homan: Kirsi Allison-Ampe, Liz Exton, Kardon, Morgan and Jeff Thielman. They described her as intelligent, thoughtful and analytical, and having provided detailed, specific, meaningful responses to their questions while displaying a calm, matter-of-fact demeanor. That leaning itself might well be viewed as a surprise. Greer seemed the safer choice – older, more experienced and a person of color in a year when diversity, equity and representation likely have never been more valued locally. Member Bill Hayner initially advocated for Greer, saying that Arlington's situation cries out for experience, particularly given the ongoing rebuilding of the high school and the continuing pandemic. He observed that, unlike Homan, Greer has held superintendent rank, had overseen a similar major construction project in Sharon and that a K-12 hybrid education plan has been implemented there. (Homan is assistant superintendent in Waltham, where virus metrics have inveighed against permitting hybrid instruction in every grade.) Ad hoc search subcommittee leader Schlichtman was even more forceful on behalf of Greer. He was also the only member to allude to the fact that she had been put on leave at her current job and had filed a complaint alleging discrimination. Schlichtman attributed this impasse to Sharon's "level of dysfunction" and said that Greer had done admirable work in her immediate previous role as assistant superintendent in Cambridge. Cites 'core function' Schlichtman emphasized the importance of knowing how Arlington Public Schools are funded and the interplay between APS and the town as a whole. He said it was "a core function" for a top education official to already be expert in public governance, municipal finance and related matters and that Arlington is "not a community to be put on training wheels." Another possible surprise – and surely a blow to the senior committee member – was that his colleagues simply did not agree with what he was saying, as became apparent when Morgan called for another round of comments. At that point, surprisingly, Schlichtman then switched tactics, saying that "we are doing this too quickly," that "the community has not had a chance to digest" all the information, that it was "not obvious that one candidate is superior" and that "we haven't even met the candidates in person." Urged site visits He made a motion to postpone a decision in favor of scheduling site visits for both candidates -- a motion seconded by Hayner, who said he was doing so only for the purposes of discussion, which then ensued. Minus Hayner, who did not choose to speak at that point, the five others all indicated again that their minds were made up in favor of Homan. Another surprise occurred at that point when Allison-Ampe sharply addressed Schlichtman for attempting to delay what seemed to be the inevitable; historically, committee members don't criticize each other, even mildly. "I see this as a divisive move. It does not feel good to me," she said. She implied that Schlichtman was trying to buy time in which to rally not only committee members but possibly local residents to his position. She used two strong negative phrases -- "muddying the waters" and "poisoning the well" -- to characterize what she thought was occurring. Throw out process? Schlichtman's motion was defeated, 6-1. Not even Hayner stood with him. Schlichtman was visibly upset and, in yet another surprise, informally proposed throwing out the entire months-long superintendent-search process, which he had led and starting the recruitment process over from scratch. This was ignored. Thielman then moved to direct Morgan to immediately begin to negotiate with Homan as the putative new superintendent; Exton seconded the motion. The first session – all are closed -- is set for Tuesday, Dec. 1. The vote was 6-1, with Schlichtman again alone on the losing end. Perhaps Allison-Ampe had the most thoughtful comment overall, toward the end of the evening, saying that "our decision will be scrutinized through many different lenses." Almost certainly that will prove to be true in the coming weeks, months and possibly even years. YourArlington.com has provided news and opinion about Arlington, Mass., since 2006. Publisher Bob Sprague is a former editor at The Boston Globe, Boston Herald and Arlington Advocate. Read more at https://www.yourarlington.com/about.