Interviews are underway in the search for the next Boston Public Schools superintendent. The mayoral-appointed search committee on Wednesday morning launched the first of two interview sessions with candidates seeking the district’s top post. This week’s interviews are closed to the public and will be conducted only in executive session. Superintendent Brenda Cassellius in February announced her resignation, effective at the end of June when school ends.
Here’s what you need to know about the process:
- The committee has winnowed down the 34 applicants to a “subset” to interview remotely today and Thursday. It’s unclear how many candidates are being interviewed, but during a School Committee meeting last week, the search committee co-chair said they were aiming for 20 percent or around 7 people.
- The pool of candidates, according to Eddinger, is diverse and includes people with superintendent experience, “local knowledge” and national perspectives.
- The search committee will narrow down this pool of candidates to a smaller group to interview in person next week — also conducted in private — before selecting a group of finalists. The school committee will publicly interview the finalists in mid-June, with plans to vote on a new superintendent at the end of this month.
- Even if BPS is able to hire a new superintendent by Cassellius’s departure, the district may still need to name an interim chief the to allow for transition time, School Committee members acknowledged publicly for the first time last week.
Bianca Vázquez Toness can be reached at bianca.toness@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter at @biancavtoness.