Councilor Stephanie Fante, chair of the Lawrence City Personnel and Administration Committee, opened the Nov. 12 meeting to begin interviews for appointed seats on the city’s school committee and explained the selection process, scoring rubric and next steps. "First, we want to ensure that this is a fair, consistent, and transparent process for the evaluation and interview of all of the candidates," Fante said.

The committee approved minutes from its July 20 and Aug. 25, 2025 meetings after Councilor Anna Levy moved to approve the records and Councilor Wendy Luzon seconded; Madam Clerk called the roll and each voting member present — Luzon, Levy and Fante — voted "yes."

Fante said a prescreen was performed by the personnel director with assistance from the city attorney and city clerk to verify applicant eligibility (residency and other qualifications). The personnel committee will conduct two rounds of interviews: the committee’s interview session(s) will be followed by an executive-session process in which members complete individual score sheets (1–30 points per member) and then meet in executive session to tally and average scores. "The top 2 applicants from each category will be recommended to the full council for the final interview," Fante said.

The committee described the interview focus areas as education policy knowledge, teamwork and collaboration, communication and community engagement, ethics and judgment, decision-making and a commitment to equity and inclusion. Fante reviewed the scoring rubric, saying a score of 5 represents an "excellent" response and 1 a "poor" response.

Before interviews began, Councilor Levy moved to enter executive session "for the purpose of personnel, and interviewing," a motion seconded by Councilor Luzon; the roll call vote was unanimous in favor and members moved into the closed session. Chair Fante said the committee will return to regular session after the executive session.

What happens next: the committee will hold the private interview breakouts, complete and seal score sheets and forward the top two candidates in each category to the full City Council for final interviews and appointment votes. The personnel director, city attorney and city clerk will support the process; the personnel director's memo initiating the process was sent to council on Nov. 5 and stamped received Nov. 6. No appointments were made in open session on Nov. 12.

Votes at a glance: Approval of minutes (July 20 & Aug. 25, 2025) — motion by Councilor Anna Levy; second Wendy Luzon. Roll call: Luzon — yes; Levy — yes; Fante — yes. Motion to enter executive session for personnel interviews — motion by Councilor Anna Levy; second Wendy Luzon. Roll call: Luzon — yes; Levy — yes; Fante — yes.

The committee recessed into executive session to begin candidate interviews and indicated it would return to regular session upon completion of the closed proceedings.