Waltham committee chooses interim school chief

By Megan McKee, Town Correspondent

The Waltham School Committee appointed a defacto superintendent during its meeting last night after a process that spanned merely a week yet yielded nine candidates who showed up to interview.  

Anne Marie Carr-Reardon, who has been director of Waltham's student support services, was appointed by the School Committee after a six-hour meeting that featured in-depth interviews of five of the nine candidate; all of the nine went through an initial screening at the meeting.

She starts today, the day before the beginning of the school year.

The five finalists were a mix of internal and external candidates: Carr-Reardon; Anthony Colannino, principal of Waltham’s MacArthur Elementary School; former Salem superintendent Herbert Levine; former Waltham principal Susanne McIvor; and Lowell administrator Paul Schlichtman.

“There is much work that needs to be done,” said Carr-Reardon during her introduction to the committee. “This is a challenging time and parents need to know that we will be working hard to make the school years a positive one for each and every one.“

The School Committee voted last week to post the job description and to engage the search services of the Massachusetts Association of School Committee, which helped find retired administrators who could fulfill the duties left open by superintendent Peter Azar's abrupt departure. He announced his immediate resignation on Aug. 11.

By Monday, the School Committee heard from 12 candidates interested in serving as the Waltham’s temporary assistant superintendent of administration. The committee agreed that the title of the position would bypass any unresolved contractual requirements with Azar, even though Carr-Reardon will be, in essence, a superintendent.

Azar, who had been superintendent since 2008, handed out a resignation letter at the Aug. 11 School Committee meeting that stated he was resigning effective immediately.

But Mayor Jeanette McCarthy, who is also chair of the School Committee, said it was clear from Azar’s contract that he is bound to give 120 days notice of his resignation. Until the contract is changed by both Azar and the School Committee, both parties are bound to its conditions, she said.

As a result, Azar is still effectively the superintendent and the School Committee cannot replace him until the contract is changed, she said.

Complicating matters was the recent appointment of assistant superintendent Paul Maiorano, whose new role in Waltham is his first full-time administrative gig. Previously, he had been head of Framingham’s Math Department, and School Committee members expressed concern that he’d be starting a new role in a new district without an experienced administrator leading.

One of his first major tasks has been appointing a principal at Fitzgerald Elementary School. At the start of the Monday’s meeting, Maiorano said he talked with several internal candidates, but decided none were suitable. He then reached out to three former principals, and after conducting interviews and getting references, is now in the process of securing one of the candidates to start on the first day of school, Wednesday.

Carr-Reardon will serve up to one year while the search for a superintendent is undertaken.

Megan McKee can be reached at megan.mckee@gmail.com.