On August 11th, 2025, after a months long and highly contested selection process, the School Committee announced three finalists in the search for the next superintendent of the Cambridge Public School District (CPSD).
The process started in May of last year, with the School Committee launching a nationwide search for the best candidate. By August the search had been narrowed down to three finalists, a list that included former superintendent of Rutland City Public Schools in Vermont, Adam Taylor. Taylor received backlash after a 2019 controversy regarding a comment he made comparing building trust with students to building relationships with “pimps or pedophiles.” This led the Cambridge Education Association (CEA), to call for his removal from consideration, writing in a statement that “If CPS and The Equity Process were not aware of the candidate’s comments, then this is nothing short of gross negligence and incompetence. If [they] were aware, then this is a callous and calculated decision to present a false choice to the Cambridge community.” Taylor has since been dismissed as a candidate.
The CEA, however, still feels that there is a deeper issue that needs to be addressed. In August, they called for the process to restart, saying they felt that community voices had been left out. “The search process has been a sham,” Chris Montero, president of the CEA, told the Register Forum, “it was conducted in secret … We feel like this is part of a larger culture problem in Cambridge. Elected officials, who are supposed to serve at the pleasure of the public, show complete disrespect and disdain for the people they serve.” To repair this damage, the CEA has called for the search to restart, this time keeping caregivers and educators informed throughout and “co-designing the hiring process” with the community.
However, there does not seem to be any plans from the Committee to restart the process, with the final vote scheduled to proceed on October 6th. The choice will be between finalists David Murphy, Dr. Lourenço Garcia, and Magaly Sanchez.
Murphy, formerly CPSD’s Chief Operating Officer, has been the acting superintendent of CPSD since July, 2024. For his end-of-year evaluation, the School Committee rated Murphy’s work as “proficient,” noting “improvement in the responsiveness, transparency, and communication to all constituents, caregivers, staff, the public, and the Committee.” During his time, Murphy has made changes to teacher evaluations, universal Pre-K, and middle-school math curriculums. Most notably, he made the controversial decision to close the Kennedy-Longfellow Elementary School.
The other two finalists both come from outside Cambridge, with over 20 years of educational experience each. Garcia currently serves as the Assistant Superintendent of Equity and Inclusion in Revere Public Schools, where he advises the district on anti-racism practices. Sanchez is the Chief Family Advancement Officer for Boston Public Schools, focusing on creating strong connections between the district and families.
Final interviews of these candidates are scheduled for September 30th and October 1st, and will be live streamed on the CPSD website.
