Wilfredo Laboy, an assistant superintendent in Brooklyn, N.Y., is not afraid of public scrutiny – he’s so comfortable with the press he was in Puerto Rico last week attending the wedding of a reporter who covers him. And he’s a man of faith who is a pastor as well as an educator.

He’ll have to draw on both of those qualities if he becomes the head of the Lawrence schools.

On a 6-1 vote last week, the Lawrence School Committee chose Laboy to be the next superintendent of the troubled district. Lawrence ranks near the bottom on MCAS scores, and its high school is the only one in the state that is not accredited. Lawrence has an annual dropout rate of about 17 percent – about twice the rate in 1994-95 and almost six times the state average.

The fact that over the last five years the superintendent’s job has been a revolving door hasn’t helped either.

In February, Superintendent Mae E. Gaskins was fired after spending more than $600,000 on private consultants. Gaskins shared an apartment with one of the consultants and hired her sister to do work for the schools.

In 1997, Gaskins’s predecessor, James Scully, also was fired, accused of misappropriating money. The state intervened at that point, and as part of an agreement with the city, the state Board of Education must approve the Lawrence School Committee’s choice of superintendent. The board will publicly interview Laboy tomorrow.

Laboy, 49, said he is not troubled by Lawrence’s checkered recent past, or the state’s special relationship with the district.

“What prompted me toward Massachusetts was the challenge that lay before me,” said Laboy, who started his professional life as a pastor in private religious schools. A father and grandfather, he is still active in religious and community programs for young people.

“Although it’s unfortunate how the relationship (with the state) developed, I think this is a good opportunity to galvanize the entire educational community and our state partners to do good work.”

State Education Commissioner David P. Driscoll said last week that he believes Laboy “could do an excellent job” but that he will reserve judgment until after Laboy’s public interview with the Board of Education.

Laboy said he understands he will be under careful scrutiny, given the history of his predecessors.

“It’s about public accountability – we have nothing to hide,” the native New Yorker said. “I think the media are advocates to make sure we do right by kids. I welcome the opportunity for public engagement.”

Laboy has been a teacher, principal, and administrator for 28 years, but committee members said they were particularly impressed by his background in bilingual education. About 80 percent of the roughly 12,000 students in Lawrence schools are Hispanic, and about 28 percent have a limited grasp of English, according to the state education department.

Brooklyn superintendent Frank DeStefano said he hired Laboy in part because he had been in charge of the bilingual program in another New York City district. As a pastor in Michigan before he began his career in the public schools, Laboy organized education and health programs for migrant Mexican-Americans.

DeStefano said that test scores are up across the board in Brooklyn and Hispanic students have made the most significant gains. He also noted that Laboy is well-known in his Brooklyn neighborhood for his antigang efforts.

“I’ve dedicated my life to working with a diverse population of students,” Laboy said.

Lawrence Mayor Patricia Dowling, who heads the school committee, said Laboy “has great urban experience.”

“Coming from Brooklyn he has experience with one of the most difficult school systems in the United States, and his work with bilingual education and alternative school programs was impressive,” Dowling said.

The one dissenter on the committee, Nancy Kennedy, said she liked Laboy but was hoping for someone with more financial expertise, according to several of her colleagues on the panel.

But for Lawrence parents weary of the recent scandals, character may be as important as financial acumen.

“You have to get someone with integrity – that’s the first thing,” said Anthony Chapet, who has three children in Lawrence schools.



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