In my opinion, the article in last week’s Harvard Press about the extension of the superintendent’s contract implied that the new contract was irresponsible. Let’s clarify some facts.
The recent School Committee vote to provide a 14-month extension to Dr. Jefferson does not grant him a salary increase. He will be paid the same amount for fiscal year 2010 that he would have been paid without the new contract. This amount was included as part of the fiscal 2010 budget that was just passed at Town Meeting.
People have made the suggestion that the Finance Committee should review the decision in the context of future budgets, but this is not within the purview of a Finance Committee that by law approves a total budget number for the School Committee, which then has the authority to allocate it to individual items. We did not hear any concern about the amount budgeted for the superintendent’s salary during this past winter’s extensive meetings with the Finance Committee as members combed the budget line-by-line and asked questions. Additionally, we heard no comments during multiple joint meetings of the selectmen and the Finance and School committees as we cut budgets. Therefore, we presume their financial projections are unaffected by our recent vote.
The Press reported little about the superintendent’s evaluation, which is very clearly tied to the contract extension. School Committee members were unanimous in their positive reviews of the superintendent. The evaluation summary concluded that “educationally, the district is thriving and continues, with great pride, its long tradition of being one of the highest-performing districts in the commonwealth. Tom continues to serve the Harvard schools well as the educational leader. He has provided a roadmap with a strategic plan that clearly defines a path for continuous refinement of our schools. He supports administrators in their building initiatives, offers the staff opportunities for growth, and stays true to the mission of the school.”
The School Committee commended Dr. Jefferson numerous times at its last meeting for his handling of the process that led to the signing of two contracts for the education of a limited number of Devens students. In total, these contracts will provide more than $500,000 annually to the Harvard schools. Who championed the most recent contract when it was politically unpopular to do so? Dr. Jefferson. And this is only one example of how our superintendent has proven himself in many ways to be a fiscally responsible leader, helping the schools steer clear, at least for this one very challenging budget cycle, of a fickle Proposition 2½ override vote.
In this unprecedented economic climate, school administrators managed to find their way forward without having to lay off employees or radically diminish services. With this set of facts as a basis, I see no reason why Dr. Jefferson shouldn’t receive his unanimous, positive set of evaluations, along with the vote of confidence that a new contract implies. Furthermore, it was appropriate for the evaluation and contract extension to be handled by the sitting committee of members who had worked with Tom for the past year and were responsible for holding him accountable.
If there are people who feel that a contract extension was unwarranted in this economic climate, perhaps they should get a Ph.D. in education, commit to a 25-year career in educating young people, and become a superintendent—something very few people, as it turns out, are choosing to do in this day and age.
Willie Wickman has just completed 12 years as a member of the School Committee.
