Commissioner Appoints Jessica Huizenga Receiver of Southbridge Public Schools

 Jessica Huizenga

Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner Mitchell D. Chester today appointed Jessica L. Huizenga, Cambridge Public Schools' assistant superintendent for curriculum, instruction and assessment, to be the receiver for the Southbridge Public Schools.

Dr. Huizenga has been an educator since she graduated from college and has worked in districts in Massachusetts, New Jersey, Texas and South Carolina. She started as a middle and high school history teacher and later served as a principal and district administrator who worked with teachers to align curriculum, target professional development and improve student achievement. 

What’s The Point?

Shortly after the DESE Commissioner announced his recommendation that the Southbridge School District be placed in receivership the Southbridge School Committee's agenda to interview candidates for Superintendent appeared on the town's website.

One has to ask in all earnestness, what’s the point?

On January 12^th the Worcester Telegram reported that George P. King Jr., the assistant superintendent of the Bolton-based Nashoba Regional School District, withdrew his candidacy for superintendent. 

Gardner Appointment As Southbridge Schools Superintendent – Video

Gardner Appointed Superintendent Of Southbridge Schools

Ken O’Brien

Patricia Gardner

At an unusual Wednesday night meeting of the Southbridge School Committee Patricia E. Gardner was appointed Superintendent of the Southbridge School District. She will succeed Basan Nembirkow who had previously announced that he would leave the position at the end of June. He cited health and age as reasons for his departure. Gardner’s appointment is for a one year term, from July 1, 2014 to June 30, 2015.

Ms. Gardner has served as the District’s Director of Teaching and Learning since August of 2013. Prior to that she had served as principal of Turners Falls High School in the Gill-Montague Regional School District. 

Promises, Promises

Ken O’Brien

Kara Donovan

“Noting the ‘most important’ School Committee role is choosing the superintendent in a process that’s ‘as open, transparent and effective as possible,’ she said she feels the committee needs to be able to let the person chosen do the job.”

Those were the words of current School Committee Vice-Chairman Kara Donovan in The Southbridge News 11 days before the 2012 election. That election placed her on the committee, presumably in part because of pledges like that above.

Such a commitment flies directly in the face of Wednesday night’s agenda item calling for the appointment of Patricia Gardner as Superintendent of Southbridge schools. Where was the “openness and transparency”? No public posting of the position, no search committee, no competitive interviews. What became of the much-hyped precedent of the principal search committee which garnered so much fawning praise from partisans only a few weeks ago? 

Southbridge School Committee Still Misleads On Policy

Ken O’Brien

At the November 5 meeting of the Southbridge School Committee Town Councilor Monique Manna questioned the procedure used to select the chairman of the committee following the resignation of former chairman Patricia Woodruff.

Following is a video of the question posed by Councilor Manna and the response from Chairman McLoughlin.