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Cambridge School Committee incumbents were forced to defend their records at the first School Committee forum of the election season, revealing widespread discontent after a consequential term full of contentious decisions.
Thursday’s forum, which was hosted by the Cambridge Education Association, welcomed 14 out of the 18 candidates to answer questions about the superintendent search, algebra for eighth graders, school closures, and Cambridge’s ranked choice system — all issues which rose to the fore during the term.
But while all candidates had the chance to address the issues, CEA president Chris Montero zeroed in on the incumbents in attendance — David J. Weinstein, Elizabeth C. P. Hudson, and Richard Harding, Jr. — to justify their voting record.
“This last question is only to incumbents,” Montero said. “Explain why you have refused to halt the failed superintendent process.”
The ongoing superintendent search has received significant condemnation from teachers and caregivers alike. In August, the CEA released a statement calling for the search to be restarted with more public input. During last week’s School Committee meeting, four of the challengers and five other residents criticized the process and several supported the CEA statement.
Hudson spoke first, saying that while she took issue with the firm contracted for the search, she ultimately believed there was a significant, present need for a permanent superintendent.
“One of the challenges is we have terrible leadership,” she said. “We need somebody in the permanent seat now so that we can replace every assistant superintendent and at least a couple of our principals, and do that now, not three years from now.”
Both Weinstein and Harding said that if at the end of the process they felt that the candidate was not the right person they would vote not to hire them. But all three incumbents said they were committed to seeing this process through and that there were some viable finalists.
“I do think that we owe it to our children to see this process through and fully evaluate the well-qualified, dedicated leaders who have been selected through a national search and the multistep review process,” Weinstein said.
But the challengers were not satisfied.
“If you listen to what the incumbents said about the superintendent search, and you were sold, you were persuaded, then I’m not your candidate,” Arjun Jaikumar said. “If you still have questions, you should vote for me or one of the 12 other challengers that we have, which I think speaks to the desire for change.”
While the CEA called for change in the superintendent search, they also sought assurances that candidates would not change course and close current CPS schools.
Moderators asked candidates if they would keep all existing CPS schools open, restricting their answer to a simple yes or no. Ten answered yes, while incumbents Harding and Hudson, and challengers Anne Coburn and Eugenia Schraa Huh replied no.
The School Committee closed Kennedy-Longfellow elementary school earlier this year — one of the most controversial decisions of the term, and a defining issue in the election. The school, which primarily served English language learners, low-income students, and individuals with disabilities, closed due to underperformance and underenrollment.
“School closures are traumatic for teachers, students and communities, and have long term effects,” Caitlin E. Dube said.
Across the board, candidates advocated for increased communication with parents and teachers to help mitigate district problems. Several candidates – Jaikumar, Hudson, and Lilly Havstad – also suggested adding a non-voting CEA representative to the school committee.
“To hear a teacher’s union asking, ‘How will teacher voices be respected and valued?’ indicates that teacher voices have not been respected and valued,” Dube said.
The CEA plans to release their candidate endorsements next Tuesday night.
— Staff writer Ann E. Gombiner can be reached at annie.gombiner@thecrimson.com.
— Staff writer Claire A. Michal can be reached at claire.michal@thecrimson.com.
