When Boston Public Schools Superintendent Tommy Chang announced Friday he is stepping down three years into his five-year contract with the city, the news was sudden, but the warning signs were there.
Chang has led the schools during a time of frequent clashes with teachers, parents and students over issues ranging from changing school start times to school budget cuts, frequently taking the flack for decisions made in City Hall.
His abrupt departure comes on the heels of a lawsuit filed by a coalition of rights groups against Chang for his apparent refusal to disclose how much information the department shares with federal immigration officials.
The immigration controversy underscores the complex political dynamics at work in the Boston superintendent’s job. The rights groups’ push for the information began when Boston Police officers stationed at East Boston High School in 2017 filed an incident reportalleging a student who was involved in a confrontation at the school was a gang member. The student, who insists he was not in a gang, was subsequently detained by ICE for nine months before being deported.