Belmont Schools Announce Three Finalist For Superintendent’s Post; Interviews, Public Forums March 14, 15

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Photo: The finalists for the Belmont school superintendent (from left) Dr. James ‘Kimo’ Carter, Dr. Jill Geiser and Dr. Carlee Simon

After an accelerated search process, the Belmont School District announced the three finalists as the next Schools Superintendent on Friday, March 10.

The candidates are:

  • Dr. James ‘Kimo’ Carter, Assistant Superintendent, Weston Public Schools
  • Dr. Jill Geiser, Assistant Superintendent, Billerica Public Schools
  • Dr. Carlee Simon, former Superintendent of Schools in Alachua County, FL

A 22-member search committee of residents selected the candidates, parents, school committee members, administrators, union officials, and teachers.

Carter joined the Weston Public Schools on July 2018 as the new assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning. Before his move to Weston, Kimo was the principal of Watertown Middle School from 2005. In addition, he was the assistant Principal of Hawthorne Brook Middle School in Townsend and a social studies teacher in Billerica. 

Carter enrolled at Wesleyan University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree. In addition, he holds a Master of Arts in Teaching Degree in History and Education from Boston College, a Master of Arts in Educational Leadership from Harvard University, and an Ed.D in Educational Administration from Boston College.

Joining the Billerica schools in 2017, Geiser was the principal of the Pre K-8 Healey School in Somerville from 2012. She also served as a middle school principal and high school assistant principal in the Lawrence schools. In addition, she is an adjunct professor at Boston College, taught in Arizona and New York City, was a Foreign Language Instructor in Thailand and was a Peace Corps volunteer for two years in Nepal.

Geiser holds a doctor of education degree from Boston College and graduate degrees from the Teachers College at Columbia University and UMASS Boston. In addition, she enrolled at the University of Delaware where she earned a Bachelor of Arts.

Simon currently runs the non-profit Families Deserve Inclusive Schools. She was the Superintendent of the school board of Alachua County in Florida from Dec. 2020 to March 2022.

She was an Adjunct Faculty Member at the University of North Florida from July 2019 – Dec. 2020 and the National Education Finance Academy Executive Director for three years.

For eighty years, from 2010 to 2018, Simon was an Assistant Professor in the Dept. of Educational Leadership at the University of Cincinnati. She also was the Subject Matter Expert at the Florida Virtual School from 2007 to 2011. Simon also taught math in a high school setting in two schools in Florida.

Simon enrolled at the University of Florida, earning her Bachelor of Design in Architectural Design in 2000. She received a Master of Education in 2007, a Ph.D. in Education Administration and Policy in 2010, and is expecting a Doctor of Philosophy in Design, Construction, and Urban Planning (Educational Facilities) in 2023, all from the University of Florida.

Dates of interviews and public forums

The following dates have been scheduled for the superintendent finalist candidates for their interviews and public forums: March 14 and 15

Candidates will spend a whole day in the district touring the schools and meeting with administrators and staff. The public is invited to attend the School Committee interviews and the public forums to meet the candidates at the Chenery Middle School auditorium. These meetings will be recorded but not live-streamed. Once all candidate interviews and public forums have been completed, the recordings will be made available along with a survey link for feedback on each candidate from the public at Belmont Public Schools Superintendent Search.

March 14

3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.: School Committee Interview with Dr. Jill Geiser
4:45 p.m. to 5:45 p.m.: School Committee Interview with Dr. Carlee Simon
6 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.: Public Forum with Dr. Jill Geiser
6:40 p.m. to 7:10 p.m.: Public Forum with Dr. Carlee Simon

March 15

4 p.m. to 5 p.m.: Interview with Dr. Kimo Carter
6 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.: Public Forum with Dr. Kimo Carter

All events will take place in the Chenery Auditorium

Plenty of Town Meeting Positions Waiting for Candidates

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With two weeks remaining for residents to throw their hats into the ring, a boatload of Town Meeting positions in several precincts remain waiting to be filled by candidates.

According to Belmont Town Clerk Ellen Cushman, as of the Jan. 27th deadline for incumbent Town Meeting members to announce their intentions to seek election to the 290-member legislative body, there remains several open seats in each of the town’s eight precincts. (see below)

While traditionally-active precincts such as 1, 6 and 8 appear likely to have enough candidates to have contested races – more than 12 candidates for the dozen seats up for election – others are in serious need of residents willing to run to represent their neighborhoods.

“Right now, we have deficits of three candidates in Precinct 3 and six in Precinct 7,” said Cushman on Friday, Jan. 30. Precinct 3 is west of Concord Avenue and east of Trapelo Road, around Town Field and along Pleasant Street and up Mill Street. Precinct 7 is the Grove Street Playground neighborhood east to the Cambridge town line between Washington and Belmont streets.

If there remains a deficit of candidates on the Town Election ballot on April 7, the remaining Town Meeting slots will be selected with “write-in” candidates.

Cushman hopes to remind residents of the importance of Town Meeting as it is the legislative body of Belmont that approves or rejects new bylaws and determines the annual town budget.

“I would remind residents in Precinct 7 that their precinct is where a citizen’s petition to limit the height of residential houses will be voted at Town Meeting needing a two-thirds vote,” said Cushman.

Next deadline is Feb. 17, at 5 p.m. for all nomination papers for town-wide offices and Town Meeting members.

PRECINCT 1: 10 candidates for re-election, 2 residents took out nomination papers, 12 three-year seats available.

PRECINCT 2: 9 candidates for re-election, 4 residents took out nomination papers, 12 three-year seats available.

PRECINCT 3: 7 candidates for re-election, 2 residents took out nomination papers; 12 three-year seats available.

PRECINCT 4: 10 candidates for re-election, 3 residents took out nomination papers; 12 three-year seats available.

PRECINCT 5: 11 candidates for re-election, 2 residents took out nomination papers; 12 three-year seats available AND 1 one-year seat available with 1 person taking papers out for that position.

PRECINCT 6: 10 candidates for re-election, 3 residents took out nomination papers; 12 three-year seats available AND 1 one-year AND 1 two-year seat available.

PRECINCT 7: 7 candidates for re-election, 3 residents took out nomination papers; 12 three-year seats available AND 4 two-year seats available.

PRECINCT 8: 10 candidates for re-election, 6 residents took out nomination papers; 12 three-year seats available AND 1 one-year seat available.