Nineteen candidates met the Friday deadline to apply to be the city’s next superintendent of schools, according to the mayor’s office.
The 12-member selection panel, which includes Mayor Thomas M. McGee, is scheduled to select and interview applicants next month. The final selection, typically four or so candidates, will face a public interview in May and the new superintendent is expected to be hired by June 1.
The pre-K-12 district has 16,000 student from many ethnic, racial, and language backgrounds.
During a listening session in the past month, teachers, administrators, and the public have said the candidates should be asked about raising MCAS scores, school nutrition, overcrowding, the need for new schools, bullying, among other issues.
Superintendent Dr. Catherine C. Latham will be retiring at the end of the school year. The school budget lists her salary as $207,000.
The search is being coordinated by Glenn Koocher, executive director of the Massachusetts Association of School Committees, who has guided the School Committee on the selection process.
Lynn is not the only community seeking a school leader. The districts who have advertised for a superintendent include the Essex North Shore Agricultural & Technical School in Hawthorne; Pentucket Regional School District in West Newbury; Mount Greylock Regional School District, Adams-Cheshire Regional School District, Easthampton, Uxbridge, Haverhill, Seekonk, and Medford. Most are seeking to fill a three-year contract with salaries ranging from $135,000 to $215,000.
School Committeewoman Lorraine Gately said she has lots of confidence in Koocher and is impressed that so many applicants want to lead Lynn’s schools.
“I’ve been impressed that the hiring process has been very transparent and I’m hopeful that out of this we will come out with a top notch superintendent for the Lynn Public Schools,” she said.
McGee declined comment. Other members of the Search Committee could not be reached for comment.
