Former EPS School Supt. finds job in Brockton

City clerk awaits Lambert’s letter of resignation

By Neil Zolot

Former Everett School Superintendent Priya Tahiliani was appointed Interim Superintendent in Brockton by their School Committee on Tuesday, July 9. The vote was 7-1. Her one-year contract was approved at a July 16 meeting by a unanimous vote, with committee Chair and Mayor Robert Sullivan declaring his vote “wholeheartedly yes.”

Tahiliani was offered a start date of Monday, July 22, but chose to start Wednesday, July 17. “I’m excited to get to work,” she said after her contract was approved.

It will be her first major job since being placed on paid leave last October amid allegations of misconduct filed by 10 School Department employees submitted to the City’s Human Resources Department and counter allegations of racism and gender-based discrimination against her. An investigation is ongoing and lawsuits are pending.

At the time, Asst. Superintendent Kim Tsai issued a statement supporting Tahiliani. A number of teachers and others also spoke in support of Tahiliani and asked the then School Committee to hold off on any decisions until new members took office in January in contentious School Committee meetings. Her contract, which started March 1, 2020, was set to expire on February 28 anyway, but William Hart was named Interim Superintendent in November and to the position with a long-term contract in December.

The School Committee voted not to renew Tahiliani’s contract well before her being placed on paid leave. Her not being allowed to finish out her term of employment was perhaps unusual, but the decision not to renew the contract was not. In any event, she was paid through the end of the contract, which could negate any claims of lost wages.

In addition, any claims that the terms of her leaving Everett affected her ability to find a new job might be negated by her getting the job in Brockton, which seems to be a good fit for someone who was Superintendent in a similar working-class city like Everett. In the interim, Tahiliani applied unsuccessfully for superintendencies in Melrose and Natick.

Brockton and Everett are both classified “gateway cities” by state authorities, being considered midsize, working-class cities facing economic challenges, but in retrospect were “gateways” to economic prosperity. Among other local gateway cities are neighboring Chelsea, Malden and Revere and nearby Lynn, Peabody and Salem. Brockton School Committee Vice Chair Tony Rodrigues liked Tahiliani’s familiarity with urban communities.

A motion by the Everett School Committee to have the case dismissed in Federal District Court in Boston was allowed in part and disallowed in part, and lawyers are reportedly now in the discovery stage of the proceedings.

Meanwhile, Samantha Lambert has not submitted a formal letter of resignation from her at-Large seat on the School Committee, which she announced on Monday, June 17. “Until there’s a letter, she’s still a member,” City Clerk Sergio Cornelio reported.

Her seat will be offered to those who finished out of the running in the 2023 election for at-Large seats, all of whom received the necessary 20% of the vote to be considered. Lambert led the field, followed by Samantha Hurley and Joseph LaMonica for the three seats on the ballot. Cynthia Sarnie, who was an incumbent in 2023 and trailed LaMonica by only 16 votes with 1,527, finished fourth. Kristin Bairos finished fifth with 1,450 votes, 77 behind Sarnie. Farah Costa finished sixth with 1,297 votes.