Overview

• The School Committee appointed Murphy on Monday, with five members backing him, two members favoring finalist Magaly Sanchez in an earlier round, and Mayor E. Denise Simmons abstaining from the final vote.
• No votes went to finalist Lourenço Garcia, whose past lawsuit over a $750,000 crypto loss and decade-old domestic violence allegations reported by the Boston Globe intensified scrutiny of the vetting.
• Union leaders condemned the process as flawed and urged voters to hold the Committee accountable in November, even as some parents publicly praised Murphy’s leadership.
• Murphy has led the district as interim since July 2024 and previously served as chief operating officer, a nontraditional path that does not include classroom teaching experience.
• As interim, he closed Kennedy-Longfellow Elementary, expanded universal preschool, adjusted curriculum and teacher evaluations, and he now pledges a stronger classroom culture focused on students.