Meeting Recap: 2/2/26

Last night’s meeting ran just under an hour so I will try to keep my update brief. 

We enjoyed a Mustang Moment double header from the high school’s Best Buddies program and the middle schools’ Project 351 representatives. Heartening to see what community-building and giving back looks like in action; check out the video (linked below) for some smiles!

We approved the Educational Plan for the new high school, which was presented to us at last night’s meeting, and authorized the superintendent to make non-substantial changes as needed. This will be part of the building committee’s official submission to MSBA to move us closer to the design phase. 

We voted to appoint Dr. Galusi as the next permanent superintendent of Medford Public Schools pending successful contract negotiations. I want to thank all the members of the MPS community who shared their thoughts on this issue, whether by email, real time conversations, or the strategic planning survey (which is still open), and also to my fellow committee members for sharing their own thoughts behind their individual votes, beyond general appreciation for Dr. Galusi’s high standard of performance.

Member Graham shared the steps leading up to the situation we were in and outlined the two major pathways forward—leaning into the interim title and launching a search, or leaning into the work of the past year to consider it more akin to “a sitting superintendent with a stellar evaluation”—and expressed her preference for the latter. 

Member Ruseau described the qualities of Dr. Galusi’s work, actions, and approach that he felt exemplified her suitability for the position and alignment with district goals, as well as his reasons for forgoing an external search process.

Mayor Lungo-Koehn spoke about major initiatives currently underway in the district and the urgency of their continuation, as well as her takeaways from the emails she received.

Member Parks shared her research into other local communities’ superintendent search and appointment processes, and her weighing of known and unknown factors.

Member Olapade provided additional context and interpretation of Dr. Galusi’s review, the nature of comments received from the public, and expressed his opinion about the respective risks and opportunities of running a full search, as well as the opportunities for growth even with a positive review. 

I spoke about feedback from MPS educators who felt that a search would disrupt progress currently being made in our schools, and about the need for balance on the leadership team and stability after so much change in such a short period of time. 

Member Mastrobuoni spoke about his commitment to process, his observations, what teamwork looks like, and his interpretation of the moment we are in as a district.

Following the vote, Dr. Galusi expressed her appreciation for the opportunity, encouraged people to reach out to her, and shared her priorities, her values, and her intention to continue working hard for Medford as she grows in the role. 

For full remarks, see the video here. The transcript is available here.

Our next meeting is next week, on Monday, February 9. I think we might be looking at MCAS data!