The search for a replacement for former superintendent Tommy Chang has turned into a mystery. There has been no public process to speak of, and that is beginning to make some people nervous. It isn’t clear whether there are a lot of contenders or a few, or whether the pool of applicants will be strong or weak.
What’s clear is this: Our public schools — our longstanding, insoluble municipal crisis — stand at a major crossroads. An ambitious plan to renovate (and close) schools is in the works. A recent Globe study of the city’s valedictorians highlighted the weak college preparation of an alarming number of city high schools. The battle over exam school admissions continues to simmer, and a push to replace the appointed School Committee with an elected one — rebranded as an issue of “equity” — has begun to churn.