After announcing the four finalists for superintendent, the School Committee last night took another direction and reopened the invitation to in-house candidates who did not make a search committee's grade.
The decision came against the wishes of some members of the superintendent search committee.
"When I took on this challenge ... I did that with an open mind, fairness, thinking about Waltham, thinking about all the people in Waltham," said Susanne Ivor, School Committee vice chairwoman and search committee member. "The fact is it was a committee of 11 that worked very hard on this."
Members of the search committee have screened candidates for the last few months. McIvor said 27 people applied and the committee interviewed 12.
The four finalists are Peter Azar, a former co-chairman of the Massachusetts Association of School Committees and now superintendent in Winchendon; Kriner Cash, a former superintendent on Martha's Vineyard and an associate dean at Howard University in Washington D.C.; Lynne Sarasin, a deputy superintendent in the Lexington public schools; and Kathleen Skinner, an official with the Massachusetts Teachers Association.
McIvor asked the committee to move forward with the final four.
"The task for the School Committee now is to act on the (four) candidates going forward and conduct full public interviews," McIvor said. "We need a motion to do that."
Yet one member was not ready to give his OK to those four finalists.
Committee member Michael O'Halloran said he has been inundated with phone calls concerning rumors about the possibility of internal candidates who applied, asking why they were not selected for final interviews.
"We cannot always insulate ourselves against rumors and speculation ... but for the larger public, what can we do moving forward?" O'Halloran asked. "I don't want the new leader of the school system to have a ball and chain of questions (surrounding them)."
After a lengthy deliberation, a divided committee decided to give internal candidates who applied, but did not make the final cut, a chance for a second interview before the public and School Committee.
Mayor Jeannette McCarthy said she knows of at least three internal candidates who applied, one of whom she knows personally.
The committee did not disclose the identities of the in-house candidates.
Glen Koocher, of the Massachusetts Association of School Committees, stressed that legally the internal candidates are entitled to their privacy regarding the search.
However, he said that adding more candidates into the mix undermines the search process. He conceded, however, that the School Committee has the right to augment the search.
A motion was made to have the four search committee finalists as the final four to be interviewed by the School Committee. School Committee members Stephen Rando, Margaret Donnelly and Harold Walker voted against the motion, while members McIvor, O'Halloran and Robert Cincotta voted in favor.
A tie vote was broken by McCarthy who voted in favor of the motion to go ahead with interviews.
A second motion was then made for internal candidates who did not make the search committee's final four to be offered a chance for a second interview before the public and School Committee.
School Committee members Walker abstained from the vote, claiming he also knows one of the internal candidates. Cincotta and McIvor voted against it and O'Halloran, Rando and Donnelly voted in favor of the motion.
"This search committee was very devoted to this process," Rando said. " But I'm also aware that the School Committee makes this decision. They can do what they want to do."
The committee also voted to begin interviewing the candidates on May 27-28, including the internal candidates.
Having headed the district since 1998, Superintendent Susan Parrella announced she would leave her position this August, withdrawing a request for a one-year extension in January.
Jeff Gilbride can be reached at 781-398-8005 or at jgilbrid@cnc.com
