L-S Superintendent May Be on the Way Out

Superintendent Scott Carpenter advised members of the Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School Committee at their Tuesday night meeting that he has been named one of three finalists for a Superintendent’s position in the town of Harvard.

“I have spent two decades in high schools, and the opportunity to go to a grade K to 12 setting would involve growth,” Carpenter said. 

He said that the decision to apply for another job does not diminish his deep commitment to Lincoln-Sudbury.  

“I love Lincoln-Sudbury. It’s something I feel very at home with,” Carpenter said, describing a moment of hesitation before he hit the send button to email his application for the Harvard position. “It is sometimes a conflict between growth and where your heart is.”

Carpenter has been at Lincoln-Sudbury as the interim superintendent and then the permanent superintendent for four years.    

“I will keep folks appraised of the search situation,” Carpenter said. 

He said the Harvard School Committee expects to make its selection on Jan. 14.

Prior to the decision, the Harvard school board will conduct reference checks, send school officials to onsite visits to the finalists’ current districts and hold a public forum where people can meet the finalists.

The other finalists are Dr. Judith Paolucci of Yarmouth, Maine and Dr. Jessica Huizenga of Burlington. 

Paolucci, Huizenga and Carpenter were chosen among a field of 31 individuals who applied for the position. The initial stages of the application process are confidential, in order to help applicants avoid issues with their current employers. Once the school committee choses finalists, their names become public.

Carpenter sent a memo to staff this week advising them that he has been chosen as a finalist in Harvard and took some time at Tuesday night’s school committee meeting to advise members that he has “thrown his hat into the ring” for the Harvard position.