Search for Superintendent Stirs Conflict on Committee-July 24, 1991

Norwood School Committee Sparks Controversy Over Superintendent Search Committee Composition

On July 24, 1991, the Norwood School Committee became embroiled in a heated debate regarding the composition of the search committee tasked with finding a successor to outgoing Superintendent James Savage.

Meeting within the town’s administrative complex, committee members clashed over how to structure the 9-member panel, which currently included three school committee representatives and one past member.

School committee member Joseph Pentowski criticized the current setup as a “farce,” warning that public trust would suffer without broader community backing. He proposed expanding the search committee to 11 members by adding two representatives from the PTA while designating Chairwoman Marilyn Saltzberg as a non-voting member to offset school committee dominance. “I’m not complaining about the individuals, I’m concerned about the numbers. I don’t think the public will support this,” Joseph Pentowski argued. However, search committee chairman Timothy McDonough pushed back against the proposal, asserting that his authority should remain respected and that he would not be undermined. The power struggle was further complicated by the recent departure of search committee member Alan Uliss, leaving a vacancy that Timothy McDonough planned to temporarily fill until gathering final school committee recommendations. Meanwhile, search committee member Susan W. McQuid emphasized the necessity of incorporating fresh perspectives representing parents-at-large to ensure a well-rounded and objective hiring process for the district.

Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger