Superintendent Greer’s Evaluation Again Postponed at Tuesday School Committee Meeting

For the second time in two weeks, Cambridge Public Schools Superintendent Victoria L. Greer’s midpoint evaluation was delayed, a move that comes despite repeated calls for change in district leadership.

Two weeks ago, parents flooded the March 19 School Committee meeting expecting an evaluation presentation from Cambridge Public Schools Superintendent Victoria L. Greer on her performance. At the meeting’s onset, committee members abruptly postponed the evaluation to Tuesday.

But there was a sense of deja vu at Tuesday’s School Committee meeting, when after approving CPS FY25’s $268 million budget, members turned their attention to Greer’s highly anticipated evaluation presentation.

Just one minute later, they unanimously voted to adjourn the meeting, postponing the evaluation once again.

The committee provided no indication as to when her evaluation will be rescheduled.

“The committee and the superintendent have jointly decided to hold the normative evaluation in advance while they exchange necessary documents pertinent to the evaluation,” Mayor E. Denise Simmons said. “We expect to provide more information in the coming days.”

Over the last several days, school committee members have met behind closed doors in two executive sessions to discuss whether they will renew Greer’s contract. The committee has until June 30 to notify Greer whether they will renew her contract, or else it will automatically extend for an additional year.

After Greer received a “needs improvement” on her annual evaluation last summer, the midpoint evaluation was initially scheduled for the March 19 school committee meeting. In an interview directly following the March 19 meeting, Simmons said that the additional two weeks would give the committee time to take a “deeper dive” to fairly evaluate Greer.

At the March 19 meeting, nearly thirty parents still demanded a change from district leadership, raising concerns over the district’s response to allegations of a toxic workplace environment under Graham & Parks Principal Kathleen M. Smith.

Sunday was Greer’s deadline to inform Smith whether the district would renew her contract, or else it would automatically extend for an additional year. As of early Wednesday morning, several parents and a teacher said they had not yet received word from the district about whether Smith will continue in her position.

Greer’s administration has also faced scrutiny following the release of the district’s annual climate survey results, which revealed widespread dissatisfaction among staff, in addition to a district environment below nationwide medians.

Although the school committee has held closed-door executive sessions to negotiate Greer’s contract so far, the final vote must occur in an open-session, according to the Massachusetts Open Meeting Law.

—Staff writer Elyse C. Goncalves can be reached at elyse.goncalves@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @e1ysegoncalves or on Threads @elyse.goncalves.

—Staff writer Darcy G Lin can be reached at darcy.lin@thecrimson.com.

—Staff writer Emily T. Schwartz can be reached at emily.schwartz@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @EmilySchwartz37.