School Committee Seeks Public Comment in Superintendent Eval

As part of its evaluation of Superintendent of Schools Paul Ash, the Lexington School Committee is asking residents to weigh in. 

The School Committee earlier this week opened up a two-week public comment period related to the superintendent's annual eval. Rather than seek public input in survey format, the committee is looking for comments in hard copy or email format, signed with the name and address of the submitter.

The public comment period officially opened Thursday, Feb. 16 and extends through Thursday, March 1.

"The process of improving requires that we work on those areas that have less than satisfactory results, but we also build on our strengths," the original annoucement read. "Your input may help the School Committee provide constructive feedback to the Superintendent and promote ongoing improvements in our school system."

Other aspects of the superintendent evaluation include evaluations from the School Committee and professionals who have a working relationship with Ash, such as teachers or consultants working for the town.

Ash's evaluation comes almost a year after he was awarded a two-year contract extenstion to keep him at head of the Lexington Public Schools through June 2015.

The School Committee's handling of that decision -- mainly, that the extension came as a surprise to many following the board's deliberations in executive session -- kicked up some controversy and led to as yet unsettled public records requests from residents.

As well, lingering questions about teacher morale within the district, and an ongoing study looking into that issue, led to some members of the public expressing concern about the anonymity of teachers participating in the superintendent evaluation.

Comments may be emailed to: School-com@comet.ci.lexington.ma.us, with “Annual Evaluation – Public Comment” in the subject header for emails. Comments may also be mailed to the School Committee Chairwoman, Mary Ann Stewart, at 24 Rawson Ave., Lexington 02420.