Lusi to seek permanent Providence post

Outgoing Portsmouth schools chief Susan Lusi says she would like to replace Providence Superintendent Tom Brady on a permanent basis. The Providence school board named Lusi as interim superintendent yesterday. Board Chair Cathy Crain says she believes Lusi is the right person to move the district forward after school closures and mass teacher dismissals earlier this year.

“We’ve had a rough year in Providence, everybody knows that,” Crain said, adding that she hopes Lusi’s management skills and leadership experience will help heal the relationships between school staff and administrators.

“She’s been a superintendent in Rhode Island, she has excellent experience with school budgets, and as you know we are facing a financial crisis,” Crain said of the decision to bring Lusi on as acting superintendent. “There were a number of factors that led us to our decision.”

The Providence School Board will conduct a national search for a permanent superintendent, and Lusi will certainly be among the contenders.

“I’m very committed to urban education and to returning to urban education,” said Lusi, who has been running the Portsmouth School District for the last six years. “I think that’s where our greatest challenges are as a nation and as a state.”