They usually want people who have worked in more than one district for these positions. That can cause issues with local candidates in any district, but it is this way at all schools. However, in this case I'm betting there may be something else, but if the woman from Newton has worked in several districts the fact that she does not have a doctorate should not be a factor. If she had been pre-selected for that position they would NOT have put in any language about a doctorate. Sometimes people just have to move for a promotion - sounds like sour grapes.

Really bad move for the gentleman to pull out the race card in this situation. Marks him as a malcontent. The ironic thing is that his being African-American is a plus that he could "use" to apply for the dozens of headmaster jobs that come up in Massachusetts every spring.

Mims should cut his losses and move on somewhere else. Why stay when you want to move up and you're not wanted? And if he was being discriminated against, most whistleblowers will tell you that it's always bad news when you remain at your old place of employment after the complaint....especially if you lose.

Mims was an invited guest, never to be a member of the family. BHS isn't the first "liberal bastion" to have a foundation built on sand.

Mims sounds like a talented and dedicated educator who feels that he was discriminated against. He has every right to pursue his case as discrimination is as American as apple pie! I wish him well in his endeavor and would encourage him to move on to another district as very few school systems welcome a public display of dirty laundry.

How can there be transparency when the race card id played?

This is an appointment that only a legal suit can determine if the situation involves racial discrimination. We don't have an open and transparent hiring process in Cambridge, MA and consequently, the City Manager, Robert W. Healy's racial-discrimination has cost Cambridge millions of dollars in legal fees and subsequent awards to persons who have been faced Healy's racial prejudice. One person should never have 'control' of the hiring process.Good luck Adrian Mims.

Kudos to Mr. Mims. Discrimination is discrimination, and as such, should not be tolerated nor allowed to occur by any public or private entity that receives funds from the government. It is his right and duty to expose this apparent sham. Those who disagree have obviously not been the recipient of such. Perhaps Mr. Mims will not directly benefit from this action; however, "liberal" Brookline has been exposed, and all will be watching from now on.

I went back and read this again. Obviously if there is open racial discrimination going on there's an argument to be made that Mr. Mims stand on his principle and take them on to be Principal. But even if you win.....I don't know.... the job..... it's tough. I was interested here Walker says that Mims - heard that someone on the committee said that Brookline wasn't (I'm paraphrasing) ready for a black Headmaster. Did he hear that from Lupini? Did the Superintendent tell him that. I doubt very much that the Superintendent would say anything like that to Mr. Mims. So we don't know and if that's all Mims has to go on, (literally hearsay) he won't prevail in court. Even if he gets this person on the stand to tell about what he heard someone say it's hearsay. Even if he were to get the person on the stand (who supposedly said this) to testify as to what he or she said in the past, it's STILL hearsay. You would have to have someone on that committee come up to testify on court that they currently think Brookline isn't ready for a black Headmaster. Obviously no one is going to do that. Good luck Mr. Mims.

Sadly, most of these jobs are filled with out of town candidates. Medford is looking for 3 or 4 principals this year and while there are MANY qualified candidates in our district, I think all so far have been filled out of town. Not discrimination, just the way they seem to operate. Lawsuit is childish or a money grab at best. You didn't get the job, guarantee you weren't the only candidate turned down.

Mr. Walker, Do you think that maybe you could have built up Mr. Mims case a little more? You provided very little information to us which could have convinced the reader that he was in fact the right choice. I finished the article and said "Huh? That's it?". I wish Mr. Mims the best in his future, as he sounds like a wonderful person to have in one's school system.

Please keep in mind that this is an Adrian Walker article, and, therefore the "facts" are suspect at best. I'll need more verification from reliable sources before I indict the Brookline School system.

Mr. Mims, being black entitles you to nothing! If you play the pathetic race card you are considered a loser. Go elsewhere, and try to find another position that will be acceptable to your entitled self!

A little confused here. Job went to a women who had experience running Newton South HS. A high school with the same size and demographics as Brookline HS. Located in same geography so she probably understands student needs and has a feel for local population. Seems to make sense that you would hire someone with experience. Perhaps Mr Mims should find a principal job in another community and then try to move up to a more desirable post like Brookline High. Where is the problem ? People get turned down all the time even though they're well qualified. People get hired all the time because of a personal connection. What is the issue here ?