Two Local Candidates Among Semi-Finalists for Lowell School Superintendent Job

By Christopher Scott, The Sun, Lowell, Mass.

Feb. 27–LOWELL — There are two local candidates among six semifinalists vying to succeed Karla Brooks Baehr as the city’s next superintendent of schools.

The two local candidates are: — Wendy Jack, currently curriculum coordinator at Lowell High School. Jack, 56, is also a former assistant superintendent in Hudson and Manchester, N.H.

— Paul Schlichtman, currently the School Department’s research, testing and assessment coordinator. Schlichtman, 55, is a former chairman of the Arlington School Committee and he also served as president of the Massachusetts Association of School Committees in 2004.

The other candidates are: — Chris Augusta Scott, superintendent in Norfolk, Mass.

— Jamie Ortega, assistant superintendent in Boston Public Schools.

— Katherine Darlington, superintendent in Pittsfield.

— Portia Selene Bonner, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction in Hamden, Conn., Public Schools.

Eileen Donoghue, the former Lowell mayor and city councilor who chaired the Superintendent Screening Committee, said eight semifinalists were initially chosen. Two, however, chose to remain in their current positions.

The Superintendent Screening Committee, charged with presenting the names of five finalists to succeed Baehr to the School Committee by March 14, will hold semifinalist interviews next week.

The interviews are open to the public and will be held on Monday, March 3, Tuesday, March 4, and Wednesday, March 5 from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the Little Theater at Lowell High School.

The district received 21 applications for the job. Baehr will leave the district at the end of June when her contract expires.

Donoghue said she is pleased with the semi-finalists, noting they all have individual strengths. She said the screening committee worked diligently to winnow the list to the semi-finalist stage. “The next stage, the interviews, is critically important.”

The screening committee is comprised of 15 members. However, neither Donoghue or Sue Mulligan, the school department’s assistant superintendent for personnel, will vote when it’s time to narrow the list to the finalist round. That vote, which will be carried out by the other 13 members of the committee, will eliminate one candidate. Donoghue said the time-table for that vote is uncertain.

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