It’s hard to understand, however, why the decision is now slated to come so quickly. There is something odd about doing all that homework, so to speak, and then rushing into a decision before the public can really absorb the choices. Interviews concluded Thursday, and the School Committee is scheduled to recommend a candidate to Mayor Marty Walsh on Tuesday. It’s a schedule that seems to undermine the original intent of having a thorough, open process: how can School Committee members reasonably sort through their own impressions, let alone the community feedback they solicited, in a four-day period?
Instead, the thorough candidate interviews should be followed by an equally ambitious period of discussion and due diligence. The School Committee should allow for at least a month before it makes its recommendation.
A controversy that has emerged over Guerrero’s candidacy underscores the need for more time before making the final recommendation. Guerrero’s educational status was misstated on the Boston school system’s website — a mistake School Committee Chairman Michael O’Neill said was his error. But the confusion speaks to the need for more thinking-it-through time.
That should include a deeper look at the candidates’ track record in previous jobs which, in Guerrero’s case, already raises red flags. Far more problematic than his academic background is Guerrero’s performance during an earlier stint in Boston. From 2002 to 2008, Guerrero was principal at the Dever Elementary School, which the state took over from the district in 2013. Even if one couldn’t completely fault Guerrero for the school’s poor performance, it would surely send the wrong message to make him superintendent; the next leader of the Boston schools shouldn’t be associated with a chronically underperforming school. Guerrero may very well be on his way to having a great career in education, but — even putting aside the confusion about his academic credentials — he shouldn’t be hired as the next school superintendent.
If transparency and public input are to be a critical part of the decision, the School Committee should delay the vote scheduled for Tuesday. Clearly, more time is needed to fully vet the candidates and Walsh should be the first to recognize that, since he’s going to be held accountable for the next superintendent’s performance. There’s no reason for the rush.