Natick says “no” to Tahiliani and her quest for supt. job

By James Mitchell

Former supt. of Everett Public Schools Priya Tahiliani was passed over by the Natick School Committee for the open superintendent’s position after the Natick School Committee recently voted unanimously to offer the district’s superintendent job to Melissa Spash, who has been the deputy superintendent of schools in Lawrence since last January, according to a story in the Metro-West Daily online.

According to the story, Spash was chosen for the Natick job over Tahiliani; David Thomson, superintendent of schools in Norwood; and Sandra Trach, assistant superintendent for teaching and learning in Wellesley.

Last year, Tahiliani was also named as one of four finalists for the Melrose supt.’s position but reportedly withdrew her name given the background by the three other candidates.

Tahiliani once again found herself outshined in education and experience by her fellow candidates as the other three held not only superintendent’s positions, but doctorates and master’s degrees in education and educational leadership. Spash was also an assistant superintendent and a principal at two Lawrence schools, beginning her career as a math teacher.

According to Tahiliani’s resume, Tahiliani holds a master’s of liberal arts degree in creative writing and literature from Harvard University and is currently working toward earning a doctorate of education in urban education leadership from the University of Phoenix.

Back in 2023, Tahiliani was placed on paid administrative by the School Committee at an irregularly scheduled meeting on October 30, pending an investigation into allegations of misconduct submitted by 10 teachers to the city’s Human Resources Department.

In a story published last year in this newspaper, during her turbulent tenure in Everett, Tahiliani filed two discrimination lawsuits against the city of Everett and Mayor Carlo DeMaria, the first claiming that the mayor had installed security cameras in her office to spy on her which were found to have been disconnected over a decade prior to her arrival; and the second, after the school committee decided not to extend her contract. Both lawsuits received attention with the Boston media but were never pursued as she only publicized them—but never served the complaints, thereby protecting herself from ever having to be called to account for having filed them.

Tahiliani, along with Asst. Supt. Kim Tsai, offered students extra credit to hold walkouts during class time and carry signs claiming racism by the mayor and city officials following the announcement of the lawsuits, posing for photos for the Boston Globe and supported by the Everett Leader Herald’s admitted liar and fabricator, publisher Joshua Resnek.

Resnek, who is awaiting trial along with the newspaper’s owner, Matthew Philbin, in a defamation lawsuit filed by Mayor DeMaria, admitted to making up stories about the mayor and fabricating quotes in order to discredit and ruin the mayor’s chances of reelection in 2021 against challenger Frederick Capone.

Although DeMaria won the general election despite years of the newspaper’s slanderous stories and editorials, a small group of Capone’s supporters, one a former felon currently facing his own legal issues, attend the school committee meetings harassing former school committee members in support of Tahiliani, disrupting the meetings.

It also didn’t help Tahiliani and Resnek when in August 2023, the U.S. Attorney Office for the District of Mass. and the Civil Rights Division of the US Dept. of Justice jointly informed the city of Everett that their preliminary inquiry of allegations of racial discrimination, gender discrimination and sexual harassment by City employees and officials was closed.

Order and stability was restored when the last school committee voted unanimously to hire William Hart as the city’s new school superintendent.