Somerville Superintendent Search Hit By Withdrawal Of Finalist

SOMERVILLE, MA — The Somerville School Committee was scheduled to reconvene Wednesday in its on-going search for a new school superintendent, which took an unexpected turn earlier in the week.

Last week, the three finalists for the position participated in meetings with community members and public interviews with the School Committee.

The committee sought feedback from the public and had said it hoped to select a new superintendent by March, if not sooner.

However, on Monday, Marisa Mendonsa, one of the candidates for the job, decided to remove her name from the candidate pool.

Mendonsa is the deputy superintendent of Pittsfield Public Schools, and Cambridge Day reported that Mendonsa was a "favored candidate," getting positive reviews from members of the public in community feedback sessions and during public comment.

On Monday, School Committee Chair Andre Greene revealed Mendonsa's decision in a statement.

"Unfortunately, just this morning Dr. Marisa Mendonsa decided that for personal reasons she is removing her name from our candidate pool. The School Committee will deliberate tonight and also on Wednesday, if needed, on our next steps."

The other two finalists for the superintendent position were Jannell D. Pearson-Campbell, interim superintendent of Northampton Public Schools, and Kevin McCaskill, assistant superintendent of secondary schools for Boston Public Schools.

Neither was nominated by the School Committee at its Monday meeting, which Cambridge Day suggested was an indication that committee members may be looking to move in another direction.

According to Cambridge Day, the committee now has a few options.

The committee can reopen the current search without reposting the position. This could expand the search to include previous applicants. On Jan. 30, the School Committee had announced that it had narrowed a pool of 27 applicants down to the three finalists.

The committee also could repost the position in September, which would require Somerville to hire an interim superintendent to replace Jeff Curley, the current interim superintendent who did not apply for the full-time position.

The committee could also repost the position immediately.