'Be Alarmed': Beverly Teachers Demand Nationwide Superintendent Search

BEVERLY, MA — The Beverly Teachers Association demanded an expansive and nationwide search for a new superintendent of schools as a means for the city and School Committee to "rebuild trust" with educators after a 19-day strike in November.

The call came in the days following Superintendent Sue Charochak's announcement that she intends to retire at the end of the school year.

"The timing of Superintendent Charochak's retirement announcement puts the city on a very tight timeline for conducting a thoroughly open and nationwide search — unless they were planning to fast-track an insider all along," said Julia Brotherton, Co-President of the Beverly Teachers Association.

The announcement rekindled lingering frustrations and resentments over the strike that is forcing students in the district to make up 12 missed school days during the second half of the year — including forfeiting much of the two remaining vacations and adding five Saturday school days to the calendar.

• 5 Beverly Saturday School Days To Make Up For Teacher Strike Days Lost

While BTA leaders hailed the ultimate agreement to end the strike as one that would usher in a "wave of change" in the district, BTA Co-President Andrea Sherman said in a statement Friday morning that "we've returned to a Middle School that largely operates with the status quo."

• 'Wave Of Change': Beverly Teachers End Historic Strike After 12 Days

"We have learned that we cannot sit idly by," Sherman said. "The BTA will continue to work with educators, students, and parents to ensure we fight for the schools we all deserve.

"Our advocacy will continue now, and we demand that BPS does the right thing and commits to finding the next top school manager to rebuild trust with the community."

The demand for an outside search comes as some nearby districts — including Swampscott to replace retiring superintendent Pamela Angelakis this past fall — moved forward with an internal, hand-picked successor from within the district to fill vacancies. The School Committee in that town cited the challenges in conducting a large-scale search in a short window amid the current hiring climate and the desire to have someone familiar with the district as primary reasons for foregoing a traditional search process.

"We know that everyone in the senior management ranks is well aware of the continued special education problems within our district," said Laura Newton, a Speech Language Pathologist at Centerville Elementary School, in the BTA statement. "If the district plans to put together a performative superintendent search committee and has decided on this being an inside hiring job, our students will continue to suffer.

"We weren't joking leading up to the strike, during the strike, and now that our students are not getting the services they need to succeed. Our community must be alarmed by the timing of this retirement announcement and demand a transparent public search. That's the only way to ensure a pathway to do right by our students."

• Beverly Teachers Form 'Political Education' Committee Following Strike

Sherman told Patch in December that while the BTA was likely not moving forward with its recall election efforts on Mayor Michael Cahill and School Committee members, it was forming what it called a Committee on Political Education designed to establish a candidate review and endorsement process.

"Our strike was the wake-up call that the city needs to seriously reconsider the way it funds and supports education," she said.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)