LYNN — School administration and the School Committee are at odds over whether the supervisor of attendance should remain a two-person job following the departure of an attendance officer last month.
School administrators are seeking to replace Officer Ryan McDermott, who was hired back by the Lynn Police Department last month. The district’s remaining supervisor of attendance is Kristin Fraher.
Both were hired in March 2018.
Last week, the School Committee voted to table a request from administration to post a job listing for the position. Members asked for Superintendent Dr. Patrick Tutwiler to come back to them at their Jan. 30 meeting with more information about why the second attendance officer is necessary.
School Committee member Michael Satterwhite said he was not convinced the second position was still needed. He said there was not enough data to show the progress made in the district since their hires.
“I know this was a compromise between the School Committee and the administration to have these two positions,” said Satterwhite. “This was never a two-person job. I want to make sure we’re using our money for good.
“I don’t think we have enough information to move forward on this. The sole supervisor of attendance hasn’t had the time to see if she can handle the responsibility on her own.”
But Tutwiler said there would be a risk involved in that type of wait and see approach because it’s his professional opinion that the supervisor of attendance is a two-person job.
“Two people per 25 schools, that’s a gargantuan undertaking,” said Tutwiler, who added the position has evolved over the past two years.
The supervisor’s contractual salary is $78,666, according to the school business administrator’s office.
Deputy Superintendent Kimberlee Powers said the success of the two positions lies in the district’s improved accountability data. For instance, she said there’s been an improvement in the district’s attendance and a reduction in its chronic absenteeism.
To cut the position back to one person would be a “huge loss” to the district’s “Every Student, Every Day” attendance initiative, Powers said, noting that she’s taken on some of the position’s responsibilities since McDermott left.
“It’s not sustainable for (Fraher) to manage 25 schools,” said Powers. “One person could not do that and do that well. The job is enormous and it’s bigger than wellness.”
Two years ago, McDermott and Fraher, a former juvenile justice supervisor with the Essex County District Attorney’s office, were hired as a compromise between then-Superintendent Dr. Catherine C. Latham and the School Committee.
In a 6-0 vote (Mayor Thomas M. McGee, committee chairman had voted present), the committee denied Latham’s recommendation for McDermott to be hired as the district’s attendance supervisor.
Committee members were in favor of the other finalist, Fraher. At the time, Vice Chair Donna Coppola said she was inclined to opt for Fraher because she was a Lynn resident (McDermott lived in Melrose at the time), while member Brian Castellanos said she simply stood out to him more.
The “no” vote took Latham by surprise, who told the panel they were second-guessing what was an open, fair and extensive search process that resulted in her recommendation.
A month later, Latham came back to the committee with a compromise to expand the position to a two-person job and recommended that both finalists from the search process, McDermott and Fraher, be hired.
The position was open because the district’s long-time attendance and discipline officer, Richard Iarrobino had retired, according to Tutwiler.
Committee members voted, 5-2, to expand the position, with Coppola and member Lorraine Gately voting “no,” but the panel unanimously approved the two hires.
Last Thursday, committee member John Ford said he was skeptical at the time when the position was expanded to two people because of the extra expense, but he said the district’s increased enrollment justifies the growth.
Gately suggested it might make more sense to add a truancy officer rather than an additional attendance supervisor, but Castellanos appeared to be more supportive of the administration’s proposal to open up the search.
“It sounds like it’s a two-person job,” said Castellanos. “A one-person supervisor could do a great job, but if she’s overwhelmed, it’s a big risk.”
Responsibilities of the position include filing the school’s child requiring assistance cases (CRAs), attending court discipline hearings for students and acting as the keeper of records for Lynn Public Schools.
