Chris Augusta Scott is new
Lowell Superintendent
Richard
Howe
By a vote of four to two on March 24, the
Lowell School Committee elected Dr. Chris
Augusta Scott to be the next
superintendent of the Lowell public
schools.
Scott, who is presently superintendent of
the Norfolk, Massachusetts school system,
won the votes of Mayor Bud Caulfield and
committee members Jackie Doherty, Jim
Leary and Connie Martin.
Committee members Dave Conway and Regina
Faticanti both voted for Dr. Wendy Jack,
the Director of Curriculum and
Instruction at Lowell High School.
The seventh member of the school
committee, John Leahy, voted
present. Paul Schlictman, Lowell’s
Director of Assessment and Testing
received no votes.
A fourth candidate, Portia Selene
Bonner, an Assistant Superintendent in
Hamden, Connecticut, withdrew her
candidacy after being hired as the new
superintendent in New Bedford on the
morning of the Lowell vote. Scott
had been a finalist in the New Bedford
search, so her Lowell supporters breathed
a sigh of relief when news of Bonner’s
selection was released.
Scott, who holds a Ph.D from the
University of South Australia, began her
teaching career in her native Halifax,
Nova Scotia in 1988 and remained in that
53,000 student district for twelve
years. In 2000, she moved to
Massachusetts after being hired by
Cambridge to be the principal of a Pre-K
to 8 school.
After spending two years in Cambridge and
one in Wayland as Director of Curriculum
and Accountability, Scott became
Superintendent of the 1100 student
Norfolk school district in 2004.
School committee members voting for Scott
cited a number of reasons for their
choice. Connie Martin said that she
looked for someone with vision, a strong
background and the ability to inspire
others. With these factors in mind,
Scott rose above the rest. Jackie
Doherty said that in many ways, casting
this vote required a leap of faith since
no one had a crystal ball that could
predict the future. Doherty said
that geography wasn’t a big
consideration for her – meaning that
being a candidate already employed or
living in Lowell would not be a major
factor. Instead, she wanted someone
who could continue the momentum that
currently exists.
Doherty felt that Scott had the vision
and skills needed for the job and was
particularly impressed with the
improvement in academic performance by
special education students in Norfolk and
the strong support Scott received from
Norfolk public officials such as the
police and fire chiefs. Jim Leary
said that being the best urban school
system was not good enough for
Lowell. He wanted someone ready to
compete with suburban schools.
He said that Scott’s demonstrated
strength in building employee morale and
being a leader in the community helped
him decide to vote for her.
While Mayor Bud Caulfield voted for
Scott, his remarks focused exclusively on
a plea for unity after the vote no matter
what the result. He reminded everyone
that the best interests of the children
and no other considerations should drive
the post-selection process.
Committee member John Leahy explained
that he would vote “present”
because he was unconvinced that the four
candidates included the best person for
the Lowell superintendent’s
position, so he advocated re-opening the
search process.
The two committee members who voted for
Dr. Wendy Jack, Dave Conway and Regina
Faticanti, both cited Jack’s
experience with curriculum and her work
with a diverse student body as reasons
for their votes.
Both Faticanti and Conway emphasized
their adherence to a “promote from
within” philosophy and with Dr.
Jack, they had an eleven year Lowell
employee who had demonstrated competence,
loyalty and the ability to do the job.
After Dr. Scott was elected, the
committee voted to meet with her in
executive session at a mutually
convenient time to negotiate her
employment contract.
If those negotiations are successful,
Scott is expected to start in Lowell on
July 1, 2008.
Unfortunately, these negotiations are no
mere formality. During a recent special
meeting of the school committee, members
drafted a preliminary offer sheet for the
eventual superintendent-elect.
Using the current superintendent’s
contract as a starting point, the
committee chopped away at items such as
vacation time and a travel
allowance.
While neither of those perks would be a
deal breaker, the committee exhibited
such an enthusiasm for holding the line
on salaries and benefits that many were
left asking “why can’t they do
that when negotiating with the teachers’
union?”
With an existing contract in Norfolk that
extends until 2011, Scott is not exactly
desperate for a job, so these
negotiations could be complicated.
Assuming that Dr. Scott does take the
Lowell job, she will face a number of
challenges. There are the very
tough but very predictable issues facing
all urban schools – high rates of
poverty, English language learners and
special education students. But
Lowell also poses its own set of
challenges.
A succession of hires from outside of
Lowell to fill high profile and high
paying jobs in both City Hall and the
school department created an electoral
backlash in the last election.
Our nation’s continued economic
decline has not bypassed Lowell and only
reinforces this “anti-outsider”
sentiment. Winning over the many
who consider a Lowell zip code the
premiere qualification for employment
will be a challenge.
A bigger challenge is to win the support
of the general public for the
schools. Most Lowellians have no
direct contact with public education and
view school improvement efforts more as
the cause of higher taxes than as a
precondition to meaningful economic
development.
If Dr. Scott is able to inspire the
community the same way she inspired a
majority of the Lowell school committee,
her tenure here will be a success.
Richard P. Howe Jr. is the creator of
www.richardhowe.com,
a blog that provides commentary on
politics in Lowell. He also serves
as Register of Deeds of the Northern
District of Middlesex County. You can
email him at lowelldeeds@comcast.net
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