Welcome to Boston, Mr. Superintendent

An account and study of an urban school system's turnaround in the first year of Robert S. Spillane's tenure as the Superintendent of Schools. Bud Spillane was excited about getting the Boston city superintendent position but at the same time he had some trepidation. Boston was regarded as one of the worst school systems in the country, plagued by mismanagement, racial discord, and political favoritism. In meeting with the chair of his transition team on the first day at school headquarters, he quipped, "I'm not sure which of the cards my friends sent me is going to be true. One sent a congratulations card and the other a condolences card." It would be his first city superintendency, even though he had served in large districts and was leaving the Deputy Commissioner of Education position in New York. He felt this was the challenge he was looking for. Even though a lot remained to be done, there was one thing he had to do within the first few days. He knew he had only one option. The mayor's words in the newspaper hung like a cow's harness around his neck. "Your budget is running in the red and I'm not giving you any more than what you have and if you miss that target, I'm closing the schools. The same thing happened last year and finally your school board did something and finally closed twenty-seven schools." The transition team advised him not to do it. "It's your first year and in fact your first month and school starts in thirty days, it won't go over. The word on the street from the union is the teachers will strike." A week later, he advised the Board to cut a thousand teachers.