page_title: Boston Public Schools
section_title: Leadership
hierarchical_section_title: Boston Public Schools / Leadership
caption_attribution_description: Boston Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Carol R. Johnson (back row, left) meets students and their teacher and principal at the Bates Elementary School.
context_page_description: Boston Public Schools is a school district serving the city of Boston, Massachusetts, United States.
context_section_description: The district is led by a Superintendent, hired by the Boston School Committee, a seven-member school board appointed by the mayor after approval by a nominating committee of specified stakeholders. The School Committee sets policy for the district and approves the district's annual operating budget. This governing body replaced a 13-member elected committee after a public referendum vote in 1991.  The superintendent serves as a member of the mayor's cabinet.
  From October 1995 through June 2006, Dr. Thomas W. Payzant served as superintendent.  A former undersecretary in the US Department of Education,  Payzant was the first superintendent selected by the appointed School Committee.  Upon Dr. Payzant's retirement, Chief Operating Officer Michael G. Contompasis, former headmaster of Boston Latin School, became Interim Superintendent, and was appointed superintendent in October 2006.  Dr. Manuel J. Rivera, superintendent of the Rochester City School District, had agreed to become the next superintendent of the BPS, but instead accepted a post as deputy secretary for public education for New York Governor Eliot Spitzer. In June 2007, the Boston School Committee voted unanimously to appoint Dr. Carol R. Johnson as the next superintendent, beginning in August 2007.  Dr. Johnson had served as superintendent of the Memphis City Schools since 2003. Dr. Johnson's tenure ended in summer 2013, and John McDonough served as interim superintendent until July 1, 2015. The superintendent was Dr. Tommy Chang until his resignation. Laura Perille served as interim superintended until July 2019 when Brenda Casellius began her tenure.
  The mayor and Boston City Council have control over the overall appropriation for the Boston Public Schools, but the School Committee has control over how funding is allocated internally, and has control over policy.
caption: Dr. Carol R. Johnson (back row, far left), former Superintendent of the Boston Public Schools, meets students and their teacher Mrs. McClain and principal at the Bates Elementary School in Roslindale.
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