LYNN — Superintendent of Schools Dr. Patrick Tutwiler scolded the School Committee Thursday night after it opted not to approve a recommendation he had put forth for a new human resources position that would be focused on recruiting educators to the district.
If approved, the newly-created position — a human resources generalist/recruitment specialist — would have been focused on actively working “to meet the diversity, equity and inclusion goals of the district,” and ensuring that its workforce “represents the cultural, linguistic and ethnic diversity” of its student population, according to the job description.
The person hired for the position would have been responsible for a variety of human resources (HR) functions and projects. Working under the direction of the executive director of human resources for the district, Carolynn Fabale, the recruitment specialist would be an ideal position for someone with high interest and experience across HR functions, the job description said.
Tutwiler said the need for the position was first identified in October 2019, when he presented the School Committee with a strategy for increasing the racial and linguistic diversity of the district’s staff.
He said the district’s Human Resources department, as it exists now with eight employees, does not have the capacity to complete the recruitment work that would be undertaken by this new position.
After some discussion by the School Committee, which involved several members expressing concerns about certain aspects of the position and the need for a recruitment specialist, committee members opted not to move forward with a vote.
Committee member Tiffany Magnolia had put forward a motion to approve the new position, but none of her colleagues voted to second the motion, effectively killing it and prompting Tutwiler to issue a rebuke of the committee.
“The School Committee hired me to bring forth what I think needs to be done to move the district forward,” said Tutwiler. “What I would say, in not accepting what I bring forward, is that I would also be very thoughtful about your expectations when you’re not accepting what I think I need to move the district forward.”
Tutwiler said the district is understaffed, and this recruitment position would be instrumental in attracting the “best and the brightest” educators to the district.
School Committee member Lorraine Gately was the most critical of the new position, saying that she did not think this new hire would be needed, as the current staff members in the HR department could complete the tasks outlined in the job description, if they were to be trained by Fabale.
Gately said the proposed position’s responsibilities fell under Fabale’s job description as executive director of the department.
“If this is the job you agreed to do when you were hired, you should be doing it,” Gately told Fabale.
“I can’t do it all,” said Fabale. “There aren’t enough hours in the day.”
Fabale said the HR recruitment specialist would help to provide support in areas that she cannot complete on her own, adding that school principals also need this support when it comes to hiring.
This year, she said the district will be looking to hire an abundance of positions, including those in special education, the English Learner Education Department, and social workers.
“The size of the district really necessitates someone to look at those resumes as they come in,” said Fabale.
In response to Gately’s comments, Tutwiler said that the need for a recruitment specialist in the HR department is not based on Fabale’s assessment. Rather, he said this was his assessment of what capacity needs to be added to the department.
“Quite frankly, I’ve had seven years to assess that capacity,” said Tutwiler. “We are a bigger district now than we were seven years ago, both in terms of the student enrollment and staff. Last year, we added over 200 positions. It’s probably too early to start naming how many positions will be added, but it will probably be a good number.
“I believe that that department does not have the capacity to do the kinds of activities that I would like to see done in order to put us in the best position to bring the best and the brightest here for our students and for our families.”
In addition, Tutwiler said the district cannot make the other staff members in the HR department complete the work, in lieu of hiring a dedicated person for recruitment. He said changing their job responsibilities to include this additional work would require negotiations through collective bargaining.
He also said human resources requires specialized expertise, and the district needs to respect that expertise by hiring the most qualified person for the proposed position.
Further, Tutwiler said the idea for this position is not new, as he broached it to the committee three years ago, as part of the district’s plan to increase the racial and linguistic diversity of its staff. Not having this position would make it more difficult to reach that goal, he said, and would reduce the district’s ability to form substantive relationships.
“Delaying it, I’m not sure what the benefit would be,” said Tutwiler. “I can tell you, quite clearly, the detriment, what the harm would be.”
Two other committee members, Brian Castellanos and Eric Dugan, also noted their concerns with the position after it was put forward by Tutwiler on Thursday.
Dugan said that he had some concerns about the traveling that would be required — which he felt would be the dominant task for the position — and Castellanos questioned whether the district needed to look at implementing a structural change to how its HR functions are handled.
“I’m pretty torn on it,” said Castellanos.
With the decision not to second the motion, it was unclear as to whether there could be a move for reconsideration on the position. School Department Attorney Howard Greenspan said he would look into whether a new vote would be lawful.
