While members of the Milton School Committee raved about some of the qualities Marblehead Assistant Superintendent Nan Murphy would bring to the top job in Milton, the board voted unanimously Friday morning, Jan. 6 to offer the position to one of the other three finalists, Peter Burrows.
For the past 10 years, Burrows has served as the superintendent of the Addison Central School District in Middlebury, Vermont, and that experience of having already led a district is among the qualifications that swayed the board.
At least a couple of the board members also explained that they had been impressed that Burrows had not applied for other positions but had sought out Milton specifically as an opportunity that would offer both professional growth and the chance to work within a more diverse community.
Milton School Committee Chair Ada Rosmarin briefly paused the virtual meeting over Zoom to inform Burrows of the board’s decision and returned to the meeting to report that Burrows had gratefully accepted the board’s offer, pending the successful completion of contract negotiations.
Throughout the discussion of the candidates’ strengths and areas for growth, Rosmarin and the other members repeatedly expressed what a difficult choice they had before them, and how any of the finalists — Medford Assistant Superintendent Peter Cushing was the third — would have served the town well, while bringing different leadership styles to the role.
The meeting opened with each of the Milton School Committee members taking turns to offer their conclusions drawn from a lengthy process that culled a group of 19 applicants to the three finalists. The three finalists were then brought to Milton for daylong visits with school administrators, teachers, staff, students and other stakeholders.
School board members noted that they had been receiving a wealth of feedback from the community, including email that continue to arrive into the wee hours of the morning on Jan. 6.
In offering their summations of the process, some board members were torn between two candidates, and when that was the case, Murphy tended to be one of them.
After board member Elizabeth White expressed a preference for Burroughs, her colleague Anna Varghese said she had narrowed her choice down to either Burroughs or Murphy.
Of Murphy, Varghese said she had been struck by the examples of Murphy’s use of data to improve student outcomes. She was also among the board members to comment on Murphy’s work in Lowell, particularly her six and a half years as principal of the McAuliffe School, which went from being a “high needs level 3” school to “level 1” in just three years under her leadership.
Board member Elizabeth Carroll explained that she had been unable to sleep on Thursday night as she grappled with the weighty decision before the board, even as the fact that the town had attracted three “exceptional, high-caliber” candidates gave her some comfort.
Carroll then said that she had found Murphy to be the clearest communicator, adding that she also felt that Murphy would be the “strongest instructional leader,” especially with respect to early literacy, an issue that is “top of mind,” given the “unfinished learning” that the pandemic had created.
Carroll said that she “found a lot in the other two candidates to be excited about.” But for her, Murphy was the choice.
For member Beverly Ross Denny, however, Burroughs brought to the table demonstrable “change management skills” across an entire district, and Cushing was likewise someone who could “work at scale.”
Member Celina Miranda said she had wound up in a similar place as Varghese, with Murphy and Burroughs as her two top choices.
Miranda said she had been particularly taken by Murphy’s refusal to use a lack of resources as an excuse.
“In every conversation, I also heard that limited resources were not going to stop her from seeking that north star and knowing where [the district] needed to go,” Miranda said.
Miranda also liked Murphy’s commitment to mentorship and identifying future leaders for the district, which she called a “gift.”
But after the board’s chair, Ada Rosmarin, expressed a preference for Burroughs, it became apparent that Burroughs was the one candidate on which the entire board could agree.
Carroll then spoke up and threw her support behind Burroughs, saying her colleagues’ remarks had reminded her of some of Burroughs’ strengths.
When Miranda spoke, she said she was still “leaning towards Ms. Murphy.”
But when Rosmarin called the roll a few minutes later on a motion to appoint Burroughs Milton’s next superintendent, all six votes were in the affirmative.
Murphy remains one of five finalists in Dedham, which began a series of daylong site visits with those finalists on Jan. 5. Murphy is scheduled to spend the day in Dedham on Monday, Jan. 9.
While members of the Milton School Committee raved about some of the qualities Marblehead Assistant Superintendent Nan Murphy would bring to the top job in Milton, the board voted unanimously Friday morning, Jan. 6 to offer the position to one of the other three finalists, Peter Burrows.
For the past 10 years, Burrows has served as the superintendent of the Addison Central School District in Middlebury, Vermont, and that experience of having already led a district is among the qualifications that swayed the board.
At least a couple of the board members also explained that they had been impressed that Burrows had not applied for other positions but had sought out Milton specifically as an opportunity that would offer both professional growth and the chance to work within a more diverse community.
Milton School Committee Chair Ada Rosmarin briefly paused the virtual meeting over Zoom to inform Burrows of the board’s decision and returned to the meeting to report that Burrows had gratefully accepted the board’s offer, pending the successful completion of contract negotiations.
Throughout the discussion of the candidates’ strengths and areas for growth, Rosmarin and the other members repeatedly expressed what a difficult choice they had before them, and how any of the finalists would have served the town well, while bringing different leadership styles to the role.
Murphy remains one of five finalists in Dedham, which began a series of daylong site visits with those finalists on Jan. 5. Murphy is scheduled to spend the day in Dedham on Monday, Jan. 9.
According to the website dedicated to the superintendent search, the Dedham School Committee is not expected to make its final selection until “late February or March,” with community online input forms open until Jan. 16.
The other four finalists in Dedham are Marlene DiLeo, current superintendent of Ware Public Schools; Renee McCall, currently assistant superintendent of the Newton Public Schools; Armand Pires, current superintendent of the Medway Public Schools; and June Saba-Maguire, current assistant superintendent of the Brockton Public Schools.
