Malden School Committee hires statewide agency to lead new Superintendent search

Mass. Association of School Committees service is now underway to supervise process

By Steve Freker

A superintendent search service under the auspices of the Massachusetts Association of School Committees (MASC) will lead the process of hiring a new Malden Public Schools (MPS) leader. Co-Superintendent Search Committee Co-Chairs Jennifer Spadafora and Sharyn Rose-Zeiberg led a presentation regarding options for the selection of a professional search service at the recent Malden School Committee meeting. Spadafora also serves as School Committee Vice-Chairperson and said she had appointed Rose-Zeiberg co-chair of the Superintendent Search Committee to share the workload of the process.

At the meeting, two choices were presented, while a third option did not materialize when that service declined consideration from the Malden school board. After a unanimous 8-0 vote, the School Committee formally hired the MASC group to lead the process. The second option was the New England School Development Council (NESDEC), which is led by former MPS Superintendent Dr. David DeRuosi, who serves as NESDEC executive director.

What had been expected to be a third option, the Collins Center, which is affiliated with UMass Boston, did not come about. The Collins Center had led the search process that resulted in the selection of the present MPS Supt. Dr. Ligia Noriega-Murphy. Dr. Noriega-Murphy’s contract expires on June 30 this 2023-24 school year. Spadafora relayed that a Collins Center representative informed the School Committee it would be unable to participate in a new search at this time.

When asked by Ward 1 School Committee Member Michael Drummey if any reason was given for the decline by Collins, Spadafora said there was none, specifically. Drummey did note that MASC has been the service that led to the hiring of four of five of the last several Malden Public Schools superintendents, dating back close to two decades.

Cost appeared to be a factor in the recommendation by the co-chairs that MASC be the preferred service. MASC’s fee is $11,500; NESDEC was asking for a $16,650 fee. “For cost considerations and services offered, we believe MASC offered the most value for our specific purposes,” Spadafora said.

One key part of the service, both Spadafora and Rose-Zeiberg agreed, in their presentation, was that MASC incorporated multiple focus group opportunities to contribute to the search – with no additional fee increases. “They are willing to lead a number of focus groups, which we have found to be valuable and necessary in our search process,” Spadafora said, referring to the past search where groups such as the Special Education Parent Council (SEPAC), the Chinese Culture Connection and MPS faculty and student groups were included.

NESDEC offered more limited options as to focus groups, the School Committee Vice Chair said. While NESDEC indicated it would lead some focus groups, at one point it would be an additional charge per group, she said, apparently $400 or $450.

Following the unanimous vote, Spadafora told the School Committee that work is already underway to create an in-district Superintendent Search Committee, consisting of representatives from the community and school district itself. Invitations have already been sent out via email to members of the faculty, administration and staff of MPS and also students are being solicited to participate on the search committee as well.

Spadafora said a Superintendent Search Page is being established on the Malden Public Schools website as well, so the public and the MPS community can keep updated on the process. The MPS website is at www.maldenps.org

While no timeline has been publicly discussed, it is expected the intention of the School Committee is to have a new superintendent selected and in place to start the next school year on July 1, 2024.

MASC describes the superintendent search service on its website: masc.org.