By Adam Swift
The school committee approved a new two-year contract for Superintendent of Schools Lisa Howard at last week’s school committee meeting.
The contract is retroactive to the 2025-26 school year and runs through the end of the 2026-27 school year.
The only change to Howard’s previous contract is the salary, according to school committee member Gus Martucci. The new contract sets the salary for the recently completed 2025-26 school year at $216,000 and at $220,000 for the current year, which began on July 1.
School Committee Chair Layne Petrie thanked Howard for waiting almost a year and a half for the committee to update the contract.
“That’s okay, we’ve had many pressing tasks to get through in the last two years – the override and all the contract negotiations – which to me are more important,” said Howard. “Thank you to the school committee, and certainly to the parents and the staff for all the work that they do. You can’t do this job alone at all … you are only as good as the folks that surround you, in good times and in bad times.”
Howard said that there are more good times than bad in Winthrop, and that the district has many people who think creatively and outside the box.
“We have a great administrative team that works very closely together,” said Howard. “We’ve made some changes for next year, so it will be challenging but interesting and fun to work new people into the leadership team and get some new perspectives on things.”
Looking ahead to the new leadership team and the next school year, Howard said leadership meetings and summer retreats begin this week with additional dates in August.
“I think that will be a good time to integrate the new people,” she said. “I’ve been working pretty closely with (new interim assistant superintendent) Brian Curley over the last month or so, transitioning him into the assistant superintendent of curriculum, instruction, and accountability. Right now, all the principals are working on some aspect of that.”
The principals taking on that role for a time has had a positive impact, Howard said, giving them some perspective on how the district runs outside of their buildings.