The School Committee voted against approving and posting a job description for a central-office human-resources manager after about an hour of testimony from principals and committee discussion.
Superintendent Skinner told the committee the position’s funding is already in the approved budget and said the district needs the role to strengthen recruitment, licensure processing and retention work that has migrated to central office after previous staffing cuts. “We have to recruit. We want the best staff for our district. We want diverse staff for our district,” Skinner said, urging the committee to act.
Two principals — Dr. Kate McLaughlin (Maury School) and Jamie Moody (Butler School) — said the district lacks dedicated HR capacity and that principals lead hiring and daily culture work. Moody said the district’s strategic plan calls for an expert, diverse workforce but currently about 18 percent of district staff identify as people of color while 81 percent of students do. “This is not just a recruitment issue. It’s about conditions, culture and coherence,” Moody said.
Several committee members voiced reservations about adding central-office positions. Committee members asked how the proposed job would interact with existing central-office leaders, including the assistant superintendent who oversees principal development, and whether the work could be handled by a recruitment specialist or redistributed. The superintendent said HR needs persist and pointed to prior cuts: “In my first year, we cut eight positions. We’ve since cut other positions,” he said.
A roll-call vote failed to approve the posting. The clerk recorded one yes and six no votes; the motion therefore did not pass. Committee minutes show the motion’s outcome as failed; the mover and seconder were not specified in the public comment recorded during the meeting.
Committee discussion produced several clarifying points: the position’s funding is included in the FY26 budget; principals remain responsible for interviewing and recommending candidates for hire while central office handles vetting and credential processing; and the administration committed to provide additional organizational charts and details on central-office responsibilities when requested.
The record shows a formal request (motion) from the committee to provide a central-office organizational chart was later approved. Several members asked the administration to return with a refined job description and stronger guardrails to ensure the hire would focus on districtwide recruitment and retention rather than serving as an internal promotion to central office.