Superintendent Search Committee names four finalists for position

Candidates are from Lowell, Medford, Pentucket and Worcester school districts

By Steve Freker

Four finalists have been named to become Malden Public Schools’ new district leader beginning July 1. Malden School Committee Vice Chair Jennifer Spadafora at Monday night’s School Committee announced that the following candidates are the finalists for the post:

—Brent Conway, Assistant Superintendent, Pentucket Regional School District

—Robin Desmond, Chief Academic Officer, Lowell Public Schools

— Dr. Timothy Sippel, Executive Director of Schools, Worcester Public Schools

—Paul Texeira, Director of English Language Education and Title III, Medford Public Schools

The School Committee meeting was held Monday night in the Jackson City Council Chambers at Malden City Hall.

Vice Chair Spadafora, who served as Co-Chair of the Superintendent Search Committee with School Committee member Sharyn Rose-Zeiberg, told her colleagues two public interviews would be held next week in the Malden City Council Chambers. The dates were not set as of press time, but speculation after the meeting was that the public interviews could be held on two of these three nights: Monday, May 13, Wednesday, May 15 or Thursday, May 16. The dates will be posted on the city of Malden website – www.cityofmalden.org – when selected by the School Committee. It is expected that two candidates will be interviewed on each of the two nights, according to their availability on respective evenings. The interviews before the School Committee are expected to last 45 minutes to one hour each.

After the interviews are held, Spadafora said, the School Committee will schedule a third evening for public deliberations and a formal vote to name the next Superintendent of Malden Public Schools.

Spadafora noted that the superintendent search process has been going on since mid-February, about two and a half months, and that she was pleased with efficiency of the committee’s work, especially as it relates to the calendar. “At no point have we been rushing the process, including the present, but it has been very thorough and efficient,” Spadafora said. “We are pleased we are at this point in the process where we are in a position to vote on a candidate before the end of this month.”

Spadafora gave a report on the process that began in February, reading from a memo provided for the School Committee. She said that a total of 14 candidates submitted complete applications for consideration. Of those 14 candidates, seven were selected for non-public interviews by the search committees and one candidate dropped out after accepting a position in another district. The School Committee Vice Chair said that the four finalists were selected after the interviews by the search committee.

In addition to the public interviews next week, Spadafora said, there will also be school tours conducted for the candidates next week.

Most of the members of the Superintendent Search Committee were invited to the rostrum at the meeting while Spadafora read her report. “I would like to thank all of the members of the committee, some of them were not able to make it tonight, for all their dedication and commitment these past three months,” Spadafora said. The School Committee Vice Chair also publicly thanked her co-chair, Rose-Zeiberg, Mayor Gary Christenson’s Chief of Staff, Maria Luise, and also Mass. Association of School Committees (MASC) Executive Director Glen Koocher for their participation and effort in the search.

The MASC was the formal consultant hired to assist the Malden School Committee in the superintendent search. “He [Koocher] answered every phone call either myself or Sharyn [Rose-Zeiberg] had and there were many. It was a great help to us and the committee,” Spadafora said.

Mayor Christenson, who also serves as School Committee chairperson, quipped: “Maria [Luise] asked me this morning if that means she now has to go back working with me.”

The Mayor also had good words for the search committee: “I would also like to express our gratitude for your hard work and diligence. I have served on many a search committee and I know what the work entails.”

The successful candidate would begin a term to be determined on July 1, 2024, and would be replacing departing Superintendent Dr. Ligia Noriega-Murphy, whose three-year contract runs until June 30.