By DAN TOMASELLO
LYNNFIELD — A group of residents urged the School Committee to launch a superintendent search during a May 20 meeting.
The School Committee voted to appoint then-Interim Superintendent Tom Geary as the permanent leader of Lynnfield Public Schools in a 4-1 vote last July despite a large group of residents and representatives from the Lynnfield Teachers Association airing concerns about the panel bypassing a permanent superintendent search and appointing him to the top job.
School Committee Chair Kristen Grieco Elworthy, School Committee Vice Chair Jim Dillon, School Committee member Kate DePrizio and former School Committee Vice Chair Jenny Sheehan voted to appoint Geary as superintendent. School Committee member Jamie Hayman voted no because he wanted a superintendent search to be undertaken.
A citizens’ petition posted on iPetitions.com is urging the “School Committee to launch a formal, transparent and community-inclusive search for a permanent superintendent of schools before Oct. 1, 2025 — the date by which the current interim contract will automatically renew.”
The petition received 138 signatures when the Villager went to press on Friday, May 23.
Before being appointed interim superintendent and later superintendent last year, Geary began working for the district in July 2006 as the School Department’s finance director. His title was changed to assistant superintendent of finance and operations in the fall of 2022. Geary was appointed acting superintendent in December 2023 after former Superintendent Kristen Vogel went on a medical leave of absence during the fallout of the educator morale crisis.
Elworthy said during the May 20 meeting that the School Committee will be evaluating Geary on Tuesday, June 3, which will be the day before residents head to the polls to cast ballots on the proposed $4.65 million Proposition 2 ½ override on Wednesday, June 4.
“On June 10, we will be talking about next steps for our superintendent as Tom will approximately have a year remaining on his contract,” said Elworthy.
During the public participation portion of the meeting, former School Committeeman Phil McQueen said, “Passing the override and starting a superintendent search are not mutually exclusive.”
“Fallaciously merging these narratives into one that states: ‘if we start a superintendent search the override will fail’ is misleading and dishonest,” said McQueen.
McQueen said comparing the override and a superintendent search are not “black and white” issues and is a “false narrative.”
“Community members’ stances on the override and distrust of the School Committee live in the gray and are complex and nuanced,” said McQueen. “Many more people than the 130-plus people who have signed the petition are in favor of a superintendent search, however, they don’t feel comfortable signing the petition for fear of reprisal. This is very disturbing. What has become of civil discourse in our town?”
If voters reject the proposed override, McQueen said it will because of residents’ “lack of satisfaction with the School Committee and the budget process.”
“The town elected Kim Baker Donahue in April to the School Committee with a resounding mandate to get things done, and one of the things she ran on was raising the issue of, and starting conversations about, a superintendent search,” said McQueen. “Please start listening to what your constituents have to say. I also think starting a superintendent search could sway more people to actually vote for the override.”
While Magnolia Drive resident Lindsay Weiss said she respected Geary for stepping up to serve as interim superintendent “in a real time of need” last year, she said that she signed the petition because “it is time for the community to take a thoughtful and honest look at the state of the district’s leadership.”
Weiss said Geary does not have “the fundamental things most superintendents have such as experience in school-based leadership, special education oversight, curriculum experience, teacher evaluation experience and classroom building-based teaching.”
“What I want to know is whether the superintendent is filling these gaps in his experience and, if so, how?” Weiss asked.
Weiss said she and other community members are “constantly told everything is going well and everything is perfect.”
“Yet, at every meeting, I am reminded that things are not perfect,” said Weiss. “We are told that parent data isn’t as important as other data. We see pushback on the idea of parent surveys. And while it is common for the School Committee chair to present at some Town Meetings, in this case at the last Town Meeting, the absence of Mr. Geary from the major presentations spoke volumes. We watched the Select Board implement an unusual level of oversight by appointing (Town Administrator) Rob Dolan as a voting member of the School District Negotiating Committee.”
Weiss also noted that Geary will be giving budget updates to the Select Board on a regular basis in fiscal year 2026.
“These things imply a lack of confidence by other town leaders,” said Weiss.
Weiss said the petition “did not create unrest.”
“The conversations are happening across town — among residents, teachers and leaders,” said Weiss. “They are not isolated whispers. They are signs of a broader unease in this town.”
Weiss said the School Committee’s decision last year to bypass a superintendent search was “a missed opportunity.” She also said Geary’s evaluation should be “tabled” until after the override vote on June 4.
“The decision to put the evaluation on the agenda the night before the override implies that Mr. Geary is not going to be given any constructive criticism that could possibly concern the voters,” said Weiss. “That worries me. It is unreasonable to suggest that the search is taking away from the override vote, but the evaluation doesn’t.”
Weiss said the School Committee should put a superintendent search on as an agenda item at an upcoming meeting.
Locksley Road resident Edelyne Beauvais-Thomas said she agreed with Weiss that the School Committee should discuss a superintendent search as an agenda item.
“This is something that the community feels really strongly about,” said Beauvais-Thomas. “There are a lot of people who have not signed, but they all feel that this is something that is very critical for us.”
Beauvais-Thomas said the School Committee “didn’t put (Geary) in the best position honestly.”
“He could very well be the best-qualified candidate that is out there, but I don’t know that we followed the process,” said Beauvais-Thomas. “My biggest concern as a HR professional is more from setting the precedent for our town. If we are allowing the most senior leader in our district to bypass such an important search, what gives me the confidence we are not going to do it again?”
Willowdale Drive resident Jillian String said the 2024-2025 academic year “has been quite a year.”
“Some things arguably have changed for the better while most really haven’t,” said String. “There still remains this culture of fear in our schools and in our community. Fear for speaking up for change, a fear of an us against them mentality. All of us in this room I think envision the best for our students and school staff. But that vision keeps getting lost and keeps getting clouded by inexperience and, in some cases, inexcusable actions. Of course experience comes with time and actions can be forgiven when culpability and accountability are freely given. However, this has not been the case here in Lynnfield.”
String said residents’ “collective vision” for the school district is in “jeopardy again without the passage of a very sizable override.”
“The community has repeatedly called for searches, resignations and more transparent budget processes, and all have seemed to have fallen on deaf ears,” said String. “In April, the voting populous delivered a resounding call to action at the polls when a blank vote earned the number two spot. If this committee continues to dismiss students, staff and community members’ calls for accountability and action, I am afraid that the polls on June 4 will speak even louder than they did in April. That is just something we can’t afford. Let’s acknowledge the weaknesses in the district and come together in support of our common vision for our schools, which includes both passing the override and a community-inclusive superintendent search.”
Speaking as a resident, Finance Committee member Brian Moreira said conducting a superintendent search “reflects sound governance and the will of this community.”
“A public superintendent search will allow for careful planning, community and educator input, and candidate outreach,” said Moreira. “It is also an opportunity to validate and reaffirm our current leadership. The request is also shaped by concerns many in the community have raised over the past eight months, ranging from the handling of school safety incidents to the absence of long-term financial planning to troubling incidents within the district, including public actions that appear to undermine or target elected officials.”
Moreira said the Select Board’s decision to insert “itself into school budgeting oversight” by having Geary give budget updates and providing financial reports to the Select Board “highlights the need for stronger leadership, clearer communication and mutual trust between district and town officials.”
“The recent School Committee election made it clear: Voters want change, including change in leadership and accountability,” said Moreira.
Moreira said launching a superintendent search is “is not about one person.”
“It’s about process,” said Moreira. “This is about earning the trust of parents, taxpayers, teachers and students by showing that Lynnfield is serious about leadership, about planning and about giving the community the voice it deserves in one of the most important decisions we make for years to come.”
Moreira also requested that the School Committee put a superintendent search discussion on an upcoming agenda.
“I understand that the June 10 meeting may include this discussion, but I encourage the committee to be clear and answer these questions: Does next steps refer to launching a superintendent search process or is the discussion limited to contract renewal?” Moreira asked. “The public deserves clarity and a seat at the table in shaping this decision and discussion.”
Retired Technology Coordinator Kathleen Dario said that she is “sorry that part of our community don’t think that we have the best superintendent.”
“I think we do,” said Dario. “As someone who has lived through six Lynnfield superintendents, I can assure you that Tom is doing an excellent job. His focus is entirely on students and staff, where it belongs.”
Dario recalled that Geary has worked for the school system for two decades. She said launching a superintendent search would result in hiring someone who is “less committed to this district, like we have done before a few times.”
“The advantage of having a known entity like Tom is certainly to Lynnfield’s benefit,” said Dario. “He has had the most rigorous and open vetting process right in front of the entire community over the past year plus. Having someone who is leading the district in the most effective way puts Lynnfield ahead of districts, who must hope their selection process picks the correct person and then wait the agonizing time for them to prove themselves like we have done in the past, only to have gotten it wrong. Tom is a proven entity.”