By ADAM SWIFT
LYNN — There will be a delay in bringing a new special education administrator to the schools.
Thursday night, the Lynn School Committee unanimously approved Superintendent Dr. Catherine Latham’s recommendation to repost the position.
“I feel strongly that we have not yet interviewed the candidate we need,” said Latham. “We need someone with district-level experience.”
Latham said six candidates were in the running for the position, with resumes reviewed, interviews conducted and references called.
However, she said none of the candidates had the kind of district-wide experience in a large school system that she feels is necessary to succeed in Lynn.
The school committee has final say on the position and could have gone ahead to appoint a candidate without a recommendation from the superintendent. But the board agreed to repost the position and have Latham present the qualifications she would like to see from candidates to the committee.
In addition to district-wide experience, Latham said she would like to see someone who has a strong curriculum background.
“I hope to have someone in place by July 1,” she said.
The position will pay about $110,000, but could vary slightly based on experience and education, committee member Jared Nicholson said. He said the person hired would oversee all of the special education services in the Lynn Public Schools.
Prior to the Thursday meeting, members of the school committee unanimously put forward two names for the superintendent’s consideration, Ellen Kelleher-Rojas and Lesia Diego. John Ford, a school committee member, also submitted a third name, Jeffrey Lappin.
But on Thursday night, the members agreed that they should select someone who has Latham’s trust and recommendation.
“On the reposting, I would like to see who is out there,” said committee member Lorraine Gately.