School Committee Goes Private on Superintendent's Contract

The Cambridge School Committee met publicly tonight for just nine minutes before it adjourned to executive session in order to discuss extending the tenure of Superintendent of Schools Thomas Fowler-Finn, who has led the Cambridge Public Schools since 2003.

The School Committee’s legal counsel, Demitrios M. Moschos, said that the superintendent’s current contract will not be renewed but that the committee has decided to negotiate a new contract. According to several unnamed school system officials quoted in The Boston Globe yesterday, the committee is trying to negotiate a new contract with Fowler-Finn that would expire in August 2008, a one-year extension on his tenure.

The one-year extension has been favored by veteran committee members Alfred B. Fantini and Joseph G. Grassi. They co-authored a letter in The Cambridge Chronicle last month stating their desire to give Fowler-Finn an additional year. Though dependent on the terms of the new contract, the result of a one-year extension is that the debate over a long-term extension of Fowler-Finn’s tenure will likely be replayed next summer, a few months before an election in which the School Committee members and the mayor are all up for reelection.

The fact that tonight’s meeting was conducted almost entirely in executive session drew fire from some, namely Cambridge Civic Journal proprietor Rob Winters. He had urged residents earlier this week to “buy seven fat cigars, wrap each in a crisp dollar bill, and send one to each member of the School Committee to enjoy in the privacy of their smoke-filled back room.”

Moschos, however, cited the committee’s legal authority under the Massachusetts Open Meetings Law to “determine strategy and conduct negotiations” regarding the contract in executive session, during which time he said “appropriate procedural votes” can also be taken.

The vote to adjourn to executive session was unanimous, and the members added that they would not return to public meeting after the session ended.

Fowler-Finn has been frequently criticized for his top-down management style; committee member Luc Schuster said that some have likened him to former University President Lawrence H. Summers. In his annual evaluation in June, the School Committee gave him low marks on reaching out to the community.

Following the annual evaluation, Fowler-Finn vowed to make a greater effort to listen to his critics. The superintendent’s supporters also point out that Fowler-Finn has continued to enjoy the support of the Cambridge Teachers Association, and that most of the parents testifying at School Committee meetings have spoken in his favor.

—Staff writer Paras D. Bhayani can be reached at pbhayani@fas.harvard.edu.