The School Committee got it wrong Tuesday night when members failed to select former committee man Charles N. Gallo as a finalist for the job of secretary of the School Committee.
Simply put, Gallo is not just the best candidate out of the eight interviewed for the job, he is the only candidate qualified to perform the job. That is an observation rooted firmly in facts and common sense.
Let me be perfectly clear when I say I consider the three finalists who will be interviewed for the job next Thursday — Mary Jules, Joe Martin and Frances Martinez — hard-working, well-intentioned people who love Lynn and who want the best for its kids. I have known Frances for more than 25 years. I’ve known Joe for more than 10 years and sat with him in more meetings than I can count. I’ve known Mary for two or three years and she strikes me as an intelligent, committed professional.
That said, the three finalists are not the right choices for the important and pivotal job of secretary of the School Committee. The job description for the secretary position states that candidates should have excellent interpersonal and communication skills. That’s like saying all you need to go into the logging industry is an ax and a chainsaw.
Part of the challenge involved in defining why the secretary job is so important lies in the fact that the man who did it for 21 years made the job look effortless. With his polished professionalism and poise, Thomas P. Iarrobino performed his duties as secretary in “a nice, even-keeled way.”
That description was provided by committee member Donna Coppola, who should have demonstrated the leadership and sense of perspective necessary to motivate her to nominate Gallo as a finalist for the secretary job.
Mayor Thomas M. McGee and committee members Brian Castellanos, John Ford and Jared Nicholson nominated Gallo, but Martin and Jules each received five committee votes and Martinez is a unanimous committee choice to be a finalist.
Castellanos is a relatively inexperienced committee member but he succinctly summed up the reasons for why Gallo should be committee secretary by citing Gallo’s legal background and his service from 2012 to 2016 on the committee. “He provided strong constituent service as an elected official,” said Castellanos.
Consider these facts for a minute: Gallo is the only candidate for the secretary job who knows first-hand how the committee and school administration works. He is the only candidate who sat in meeting rooms night after night observing Iarrobino do the secretary job and interacting with Iarrobino on committee matters.
Does it need to be said any simpler? Gallo is the only candidate for the secretary job with what is tantamount to on-the-job experience. He knows what committee members expect from the secretary. He knows how the secretary works with administrators from the superintendent down and he knows about all the proverbial fires Iarrobino extinguished and donnybrooks he unraveled in an ongoing effort to effectively act as a liaison between the committee and school administration.
Guess what? Coppola, the committee veteran, also saw Iarrobino at work but she somehow concluded that Gallo’s first-hand experience dealing with the secretary did not make him as qualified to do the job as the finalists slated to be interviewed on Sept. 20. When asked why she didn’t nominate Gallo, Coppola replied: “I’m not going to get into why I didn’t pick him.”
That’s great. In the meantime, it’s impossible to understate the importance of having the right person picked to succeed Iarrobino as secretary of the School Committee. Superintendent Dr. Patrick Tutwiler is just beginning to make his mark as school leader and the necessity for crystal clear communication between the superintendent and the committee is paramount.
The School Committee can’t afford at this pivotal time with a new academic year just underway to not pick someone who can hit the ground running with the skills required to be a strong, efficient secretary. Only one candidate for the job fills that bill: Charlie Gallo.
