LYNN — Superintendent Dr. Patrick Tutwiler will lead the Lynn Public Schools for another five years after signing a new contract with the school committee.
Under the new agreement, which becomes effective on Aug. 21, Tutwiler will remain the district’s superintendent through July 31, 2026.
Tutwiler will be paid $230,000 during the first year of his new contract, which represents a $20,000 salary increase over what he is making in the final year of his current deal.
He will receive a 1.6 percent raise each year under the new contract, which would have to be renewed by the school board before May 1, 2026, according to the document.
“I feel deeply honored to be given the opportunity to continue to work with families and our professional family on a plan that we’ve outlined over the next period of time,” said Tutwiler. “I feel like I’ve established some really strong relationships and really have a strong handle on what the system needs and how it can improve. I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to continue working on that over the next five years.”
Tutwiler said he will be focused on meeting the needs of the community in terms of what he wants to accomplish during the duration of his new contract.
“First and foremost, we want to see an optimal learning experience developed and facilitated with students and for students,” he said. “We still have work that needs to be done in terms of closing achievement gaps. We are always evolving in the ways that we can extend learning for students who are ready for additional challenges.
“That’s obviously going to be No. 1, and No. 2 (is), I think the community is quite thirsty for new and improved facilities for students, and it’s my sincere hope to be part of a process for new schools for the city of Lynn over the next handful of years.”
Tutwiler was hired as the city’s superintendent of schools in the spring of 2018. A deputy superintendent for the Lynn schools at the time, he replaced former Superintendent Dr. Catherine C. Latham, who retired at the end of the 2017-18 school year.
Upon his hire, Tutwiler agreed to a three-year contract with the school committee, which included a first year salary of $207,000 with a $3,000 discretionary bonus, followed by a $210,000 salary for the second and current year of that agreement.
The salary increases in the new contract will amount to $233,680 in the second year, $237,418 in the third, $241,217 in the fourth, and $245,077 in the fifth and final year, according to the document.
“We looked at peer districts,” said School Committee Member Jared Nicholson, regarding how the board determined Tutwiler’s new salary. “That’s a main driver, to understand what the peer group comparison is. The first contract he had, he was new to the role. He was a first-time superintendent, and I think he’s now, in this contract, in the role of a more experienced superintendent.”
Nicholson said the school board and Tutwiler agreed to the terms of the new contract in early January, but it didn’t become official until it was signed during a school committee meeting last week.
“I think it’s exciting for the district,” said Nicholson. “It provides some stability at the helm of the Lynn Public Schools with someone who has really shown himself to be a tremendous asset to the district.
“I think that Dr. Tutwiler has shown tremendous leadership and also a really strong drive to improve, and I think that’s one of the things we were all excited about,” he added. “(It) is not only the thoughtful leadership and vision he’s provided, but his willingness to hear feedback, to work with others and be receptive and responsive, and that’s something I look forward to from him over the next five years.”
A Chicago native, Tutwiler resides in Andover, but considers Lynn to be his home, which he cited as one of the driving factors in his decision to sign a lengthier contract with the district. Before becoming superintendent, he was a deputy superintendent in Lynn for three years.
“This is home for me,” said Tutwiler. “That’s not a phrase that I would utter casually. I feel a deep connection with the community, with the families, with my professional colleagues. I feel a deep commitment to the work, and this is just a place that I love and I am really, really enthusiastic about an improvement effort happening in this community that I love.
“I used to joke when I said this, and now I really mean it — I will stay here as long as the community will have me.”
