Brookline Public Schools Superintendent Andrew Bott Resigns

BROOKLINE, MA — After three years at the helm of Brookline's School District, Superintendent of Schools Andrew Bott has announced he is resigning. In a letter dated July 19, he said his work over the past few years had come at "great personal cost" to him and his family.

" I have decided that these sacrifices are too great to sustain any further, and so, I have decided to resign as Superintendent," he wrote.

Bott told the School Committee late Thursday of his plans and the committee chairperson wrote a letter Friday to convey next steps to the public and share Bott's letter. Julie Schreiner-Oldham, who is the chairperson of the Brookline School Committee praised Bott in her letter to the community.

"Faculty and students alike felt his warmth and energy as he visited classrooms, guest-judged student competitions, and attended countless community events every week," she wrote. "He led the community through multiple capital expansion projects, rightly insisting that the educational program and support for our students and teachers drive our capital decisions."

Bott was chosen in 2016 to lead the district after working as principal of Lincoln School. He had 14 years of experience in school administrations around Brookline and Boston before he took on the position. He replaced Superintendent William Lupini, who stepped down abruptly in 2015.

The announcement comes as the district is still in the middle of contentious teacher contract negotiations and working out where to place students after plans to move forward with a new school at the Baldwin site was shot down by voters, among other things.

The school committee plans to discuss the issue at a closed-door executive session Monday:

The letter from the school committee:

Dear Brookline Staff and Families,
It is with profound regret and personal sadness that I share with you the attached letter from Andrew Bott announcing his resignation as Superintendent of the Public Schools of Brookline. He informed the School Committee of his decision to resign last night.
Many of you know that Andrew brought vision, energy, and enthusiasm to his tenure as superintendent. Andrew gained the trust and confidence of students, families, educators, and community leaders across the district. Anyone who worked with Andrew understood the depth of his commitment to public education, coming from someone who was first and foremost an educator.
Faculty and students alike felt his warmth and energy as he visited classrooms, guest-judged student competitions, and attended countless community events every week.
He led the community through multiple capital expansion projects, rightly insisting that the educational program and support for our students and teachers drive our capital decisions. Finally and above all, his commitment to diversity in the schools is unmatched: he is leaving having championed hiring that has made our staff more diverse than ever before, allowing us to make important strides on the critical equity initiatives so important to this community.
Losing a terrific superintendent is never easy, but I and the School Committee are committed to ensuring that we have a smooth, efficient leadership transition. I expect that we will appoint an interim leader soon, and know that Andrew will continue to be supportive of that transition, making himself available especially to our deputy superintendents, principals, and staff as we prepare for and enter a new school year.
While I am disheartened by his departure, I am deeply grateful to Andrew for serving our community so well for five years, these last three as superintendent. I believe in this time of transition, and especially as we begin a search for a new educational leader, we will need to reflect on where we have been and where we are going as a school community.
It is vital that our schools feel the full support of our entire community. I urge each of us, individually and collectively, to pull together to create a positive community environment - for our students, families, educators, and each other - for the upcoming year.
The School Committee will hold a meeting to discuss transition scenarios this Monday evening, July 22, at 5 pm in the School Committee room at Town Hall. We will send an update about the transition plan after that meeting.
I know you all join me in thanking Andrew for his years of service and dedication to Brookline. We wish him nothing but success and happiness going forward.
Warm regards, Julie Schreiner-Oldham, Chair Brookline School Committee

Related:

Brookline Approves New Superintendent

Patch reporter Jenna Fisher can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna).