What Maher called a "small group" of parents criticized Murphy during the candidate evaluation process--which included eight panels of community members including parents, students and teachers--for never having held a superintendent post.

Murphy, who said he holds no hard feelings, did say that a small minority of parents received a disproportionate chunk of media attention during the selection process.

"I thought the process overall was wonderful," said Murphy. "What was unfortunate was that [those] parents were quoted [in the Cambridge Chronicle] paper, while a lot of parents felt strongly about myself and other candidates."

Sentiment in favor of Murphy and the other candidates was so strong, in fact, that the decision to hire D'Alessandro came only after Grassi cast a decisive swing vote that won her the majority of the selection committee.

Grassi said D'Alessandro's experience cutting costs and increasing the efficiency of a large district similar to Cambridge convinced him she was the ideal candidate for the job.

"All the candidates were well qualified--they all had excellent credentials," said Grassi.

"But we tend to have an achievement gap in the Cambridge school system between students at certain schools and certain neighborhoods, and I don't want to see those students falling through gaps. They need to get the attention they deserve--that was a major influence on my decision," he said.

Seeking Change

A Florida native and graduate of the University of Dubuque in Iowa, D'Alessandro has been working to reduce educational disparity at schools within Florida school districts since 1966.

As superintendent of the Lee County school district (her first superintendent position), D'Alessandro spent the last few years devising a Controlled Choice program with Harvard's own Professor of Education and Urban Studies Charles V. Willie, which takes effect this year.

Controlled Choice--which has been in place in Cambridge since 1981--allows students to rank schools in order of desirability rather than attend a neighborhood school.

Based on an examination of Controlled Choice in Cambridge schools, D'Alessandro developed a similar program last year with Willie and Robert Peterkin of the Harvard Urban Superintendent's Program.

Willie, who served as a consultant to the Cambridge School Committee in updating Controlled Choice in 1995, traveled to Lee County last year to assist D'Alessandro with her own program.

"She's a first-rate educator and a first-rate educational planner," said Willie. "I was impressed by how dedicated she was to making sure all students, regardless of race or class difference, had access to the districts' resources. The fairness phenomenon is the bottom line for delivering education."

The new superintendent said she will struggle to maintain a sense of fairness and perspective, particularly when reviewing the budget. D'Alessandro, who will be the 17th superintendent to preside over Cambridge, a school system of 8,000 students that spends about $11,000 per student, said she is undeterred by the need to cut costs and is optimistic about working with Murphy, who returned to his post as deputy superintendent Oct. 1.