May 1, 2024

Sent via Email

Springfield School Committee

City of Springfield
1550 Main Street
Springfield, MA 01103

Re: Springfield Public Schools Superintendent Search Process

Dear School Committee:

Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR), a legal organization that fights discrimination and fosters
equity, writes to express grave concern with the School Committee’s process for selection of the
next superintendent of the Springfield Public Schools. In light of numerous concerns that have
been raised about transparency and equity in the selection process, the School Committee should
immediately halt the process and then re-start it in a way that will restore integrity and
community trust. The selection of a superintendent for one of the most diverse school districts in
the Commonwealth is too important to be rushed forward amidst significant community concerns
about fairness and equity in the process.

I. Critical Issues Have Been Raised About The Selection Process.

The superintendent selection process has veered off from the fair and equitable process it is
supposed to be.

On February 29, 2024, the School Committee voted to adopt the current selection process.
However, the integrity of the process has been compromised by the absence of more meaningful
and robust community and student representation on the Ad Hoc Committee, and by allowing
one firm to screen all of the candidates without benchmarks to objectively guide the screening
process, particularly in the context of highly subjective and ambiguous qualification criteria such
as “demonstrated senior management administrative success…”.

Some School Committee members have attempted to address these deficiencies, but discussion
has been thwarted. This is misguided. It forecloses the opportunity to course correct and the
disputes have now made their way into the community eroding parent and student confidence in
the process. These problematic dynamics have jeopardized the integrity of the selection process.
The only way to move forward is to immediately halt the process and then re-start the search.

Transparency and accountability are paramount in ensuring public trust and confidence. Once
community trust is broken, the legitimacy of decision-making by a public body is called into

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question. Here, there is a lack of transparency. There is no confidence in the current and ongoing
process to select the superintendent.

II. The Current Selection Process Should Be Immediately Halted And Re-Started In
A Transparent And Equitable Manner.

It is imperative that the Springfield School Committee restart the selection process with well-
defined qualifications for candidates along with a clear and detailed selection process that
rebuilds community trust. By restarting the process, School Committee will gain legitimacy,
clarity, and integrity. The existing obstacles will also be addressed.

Notably, there are no legal impediments to restarting the selection process. It is not uncommon
for a process that proves to be problematic to be revamped and started again. In fact, none of the
candidates have a legally vested interest in the process so halting and restarting is essential to
reinstituting trust and ensuring the integrity of the process. The most legally responsible solution
is to immediately halt the process and then re-start the search. This has the added benefit of
creating an opportunity to foster greater community input and involvement. After all, public
schools depend on community support for their effectiveness.

Restarting the selection process will also be beneficial because it will allow re-evaluation of
vague and ambiguous criteria. Here, the minimum qualifications for a candidate to move
forward in the selection process should be re-examined. Specifically, a rubric should be created
to help objectively guide the assessment of highly subjective qualifications such as:
“Demonstrated senior management administrative success in a district-wide position in an urban
setting.”1 The term “urban setting” needs to be more clearly defined with parameters to
objectively compare the relevant background and experience of each candidate vis-a-vis the
demographics of Springfield Public Schools.2

The next Springfield superintendent will also have the responsibility of managing a school
district with a highly diverse student population (approximately 70% Latino and 17% Black). 3
This means that inquiries into candidates’ experiences working with highly diverse populations
are rightfully a part of the selection process. To pretend otherwise, either explicitly or implied
through a culture that overlooks students of color, contributes to a discriminatory and toxic
environment. This opens the City of Springfield and the Springfield School Committee to
liability under federal and state laws, including Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42
U.S.C § 2000d et. seq.

1
SPRINGFIELD PUBLIC SCHOOLS, Invitation To Apply Superintendent of Schools, p. 9, DownloadFileByUrl.aspx
(springfieldpublicschools.com) (last viewed April 30, 2024).
2
U.S. EQUAL EMP. OPPORTUNITY COMM’N, EEOC-CVG-2006, EEOC Compliance Manual on Race and Color
Discrimination-Section 15 (April 19, 2006), https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/guidance/section-15-race-and-color-
discrimination. (discussing Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964).
3
MASSACHUSETTS DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, Enrollment Data,
https://profiles.doe.mass.edu/profiles/student.aspx?orgcode=02810000&orgtypecode=5 (last visited May 1,
2024).
Additionally, the screening of qualified candidates is one of the most sensitive roles in an
employment search. We strongly advise caution in limiting resume review to one firm or one
person as this exponentially increases the likelihood of conscious or unconscious bias,
favoritism, impropriety, and corruption. It may also insulate a hiring choice from the kind of
scrutiny that Title VII requires. From a best practices perspective, the Selection Committee
should be allowed to review all candidates to create the appropriate checks-and-balances in the
evaluation process and to ensure a fair assessment with a level playing field.

III. Conclusion

We must avoid even the appearance of impropriety and unfairness in the selection process. Here,
the integrity of the process has been called into question, and to rebuild trust the process and
search must be started again.

LCR welcomes the opportunity to provide assistance with creating and implementing a fair and
equitable process.

Sincerely,

Tasheena M. Davis, Esq.

Ivan Espinoza-Madrigal, Esq.
Lawyers for Civil Rights