Letter: District has had success with superintendents

The Observer’s coverage of the Oct. 5 School Committee meeting quoted a speaker as saying that WPS superintendents change “every two to three years on average.” This surprised me: our family has known only two superintendents during our time in WPS.

Weston has a long history of successful relationships with its superintendents. A review of permanent superintendents’ tenures since 1984 shows an average of approximately six years: Thomas Whalen (1984–1988); Meredith Jones (1988–1997); Alan Oliff (1998–2008); Cheryl Maloney (2008–2015); Robert Tremblay (2016–2017); Midge Connolly (2017–2023); and Karen Zaleski (2023–present). John Stayn (1997–1998) and John Brackett (2015–2016) each served a planned one-year interim appointment.

The speaker may have been referring to Robert Tremblay, who left after nine months in 2017 to lead the larger Framingham district. One unusually short tenure to take on greater responsibilities does not establish a pattern. 

Kenneth Newberg, Merriam Street