Braintree Superintendent Named Finalist For Waltham Job

BRAINTREE, MA — School Superintendent Frank Hackett was one of four finalists selected to be Waltham's next superintendent. The Waltham School Committee on Wednesday released the names of the candidates, which included Hackett, North Middlesex Regional Superintendent Brad Morgan, Sergio Paez, the director of Equity, Empowerment and Excellence for English Learners in Central Falls, RI, and Wilmington Assistant Superintendent Brian Regan.

Hackett, who is in his fifth year in the Braintree School District, and the other candidates will interview for the Waltham job Feb. 1.

Prior to coming to Braintree, Hackett was the superintendent in Pembroke for eight years and also spent 20 years as a principle and office administrator in Maine. He has his Doctorate of Education from the University of Maine.

While serving in Braintree, Hackett led the charge in recommending Grade 5 students be moved to classrooms in the middle schools to free up space in the elementary schools. The plan was to add an addition to East Middle School and build a new South Middle School.

Grade 5 students are expected to move to East Middle School next year when construction is complete. As for the South Middle School, the project was granted $31 million from the Massachusetts School Building Authority. Mayor Charles Kokoros has proposed a debt exclusion to cover the rest of the cost. Kokoros said the debt exclusion would cost about $63 million over a 30-year period.