CORRECTIONS APPENDED

The search for the new superintendent of the Cambridge Public Schools kicked off this week with a series of public forums to gather input for establishing recruitment criteria.

Representatives from Ray and Associates, the consulting firm hired to conduct the national search, presided over the discussions, which were held in various locations across the city.

Feedback collected from the survey passed out at the meetings, along with responses from those who completed it online, will be used to compile a “leadership profile” that will become the basis for recruiting candidates. Members of the School Committee filled out the same survey.

According to David E. Gee, one of the consultants involved, a common concern was that the district would select a new leader who was simply the opposite of outgoing superintendent Thomas D. Fowler-Finn, whose controversial administration was unpopular among some parents and administrators.

School Committee member Marc C. McGovern said this worry is “valid.”

“We want to be mindful of not swinging 180 degrees in the other direction,” said McGovern, who was a critic of Fowler-Finn.

The School Committee voted in May not to extend Fowler-Finn’s contract through July 2009, and the superintendent announced in September that he would step down in February 2009, six months before his contract expires. But on Nov. 13, he told a surprised committee he actually intended to depart the next day. [SEE CORRECTION BELOW]

But despite the outreach, response to the district’s efforts appears to have been “sparse,” Gee said. Although he was not present at all of the locations, he said that the highest turnout he saw at a single meeting was about a dozen people.

“What we’re finding is fewer and fewer people are coming to meetings, so we try to put things online,” said Barbara Allen, the district’s executive director of human resources.

About 100 online surveys have been completed so far. McGovern said he was not entirely satisfied with this response rate.

“For something this important I really hoped the turnout would be greater,” he said, adding that the School Committee discussed holding additional meetings for the public to speak directly with committee members.

McGovern also said that the online survey will remain accessible, but only for a limited time, because the consultants need to present their findings to the committee next Thursday, when the members will decide whether or not to approve the leadership profile they recommend.

The firm will then recruit prospective candidates and submit a list of semi-finalists to the committee in mid-March, when the list of finalists will be selected. The final decision is scheduled to be made in mid-April.

“We want someone who’s a good manager, who has vision, who knows how to lead organizations,” McGovern said. “If we interview everybody and we’re not satisfied with anybody, then I don’t think we’re going to hire somebody just for the sake of staying in the time line.”

This part of the search is happening on schedule, which was not affected by Fowler-Finn’s early departure.

—Staff writer Michelle L. Quach can be reached at mquach@fas.harvard.edu.

CORRECTIONS

The Dec. 4 story, "City Starts Search For School Chief," stated that the School Committee voted "not to extend Fowler-Finn’s contract through July 2009" and that his departure last month "surprised" the committee. In fact, the committee voted to extend his contract through next July, and committee members were not surprised by his departure.