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Equity team outlines community values and clarifies role on candidate vetting; members press for CORI checks
Summary
The equity process presented themes for what Cambridge wants in a superintendent—authentic family engagement, transparency, DEI, and an explicit first‑90‑days plan—while committee members pressed for comprehensive background (CORI) checks; Weeks Bradley said the equity team does not run CORIs and noted legal limits on pre‑hire inquiries.
Miss Weeks Bradley, representing the equity process, summarized themes gathered from caregiver sessions and school-council meetings: authentic family and community engagement, stronger communication and transparency, deliberate use of decision-making power (including a clear first 90‑day plan), proactive diversity-equity-inclusion efforts, and expanded student engagement and technology access.
Weeks Bradley said the equity process delivered confidential candidate files and rubrics and that the team would surface any issues discovered at the appropriate stage. She read legal guardrails aloud, citing state and federal protections, and said certain probing inquiries are limited until a candidate reaches a final hiring stage. "Some of the laws that protect candidates... MGL c.151B... Title VII... ADA..." she said.
Member Harding insisted the committee must ensure "no stone unturned" and argued for CORI (criminal record) checks; Weeks Bradley and Mayor Akorn clarified that CORI checks are performed by the district or city, not the equity process, and that CORIs should be run at the correct stage to avoid legal problems.
Weeks Bradley also described the performance-assessment components (introductory letter, 90‑day plan, simulated town hall) and said the committee and staff have access to the candidate files, rubrics, and memos.
