By Jessica Ommen

On Tuesday, February 3rd, the Holliston School Committee voted to appoint Dr. James “Kimo” Carter as the district’s next Superintendent. The committee voted 5-2 in favor of Dr. Carter, with a re-vote resulting in a 7-0 vote to show unanimous support for the incoming Superintendent. 

Pending successful contract negotiations, Dr. Carter will be joining Holliston on July 1, 2026, leaving his role as Assistant Superintendent of Teaching & Learning at Weston Public Schools, which he has held since 2018.

While the School Committee ultimately voted unanimously in support of Dr. Carter, deliberation included support for finalist Dr. Jennifer Parson, current Superintendent of Plainville schools. Tracy Floekher and Joe Paru highlighted Dr. Parson’s experience as a standing Superintendent, including her experience overseeing districtwide budgets. They also acknowledged that her experience with the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MBSA) would be an asset as the Holliston School District undergoes the initial stages of the program. 

School Committee member Hillary Bresnahan acknowledged those strengths but spoke in favor of Dr. Carter stating, “He has done work on contract negotiations with the union, he has supported the budget process and he’s in a district with a central office, district size and a K-12 district that is a little more similar to Holliston… he could easily hit the ground running.”

Frank Ogura, agreed that it was a difficult decision but ultimately supported Dr. Carter stating “Where I landed was the emotional intelligence piece, talking about leading from the middle.” 

After a short deliberation, the School Committee ultimately voted in favor of Dr. Kimo Carter.

His appointment is the culmination of months-long search process that involved community surveys, public forums, candidate meet-and-greets and a series of publicly held interviews. 

A key part of the hiring process was the development of a Candidate Profile by Hazard Young Attea Associates (HYA), a national search firm that was hired by the School Committee to assist in the Superintendent Search. Using data from community feedback, HYA identified “relationship-building” as the number one priority for the district. 

According to members of the School Committee, Dr. Carter demonstrated a keen understanding of relationship building and effective communication practices. At his interview on January 30th, he said, “I think many people when they talk about communication they mean that they are not being listened to, and that is the start of any communication is good listening skills. Making sure that the person knows that you understand their point of view goes a long way.”

He advocated for an “overall district satisfaction survey” that would be sent annually to teachers, students, and families. He spoke about being very transparent about survey data, “You know, sometimes you get ugly data coming from surveys, but being very matter of fact. Okay, here’s some place that we might need to grow.” 

During a brief recess at the February 3rd meeting, Dr. Carter accepted the School Committee’s offer to enter contract negotiations. “He is thrilled, and he wanted us to express his sincere appreciation to everyone. He’s very excited!’” School Committee Chair Sarah Fitzgerald announced as the meeting resumed.  

Prior to Weston, Dr. Carter was the Principal of Watertown Middle School for 13 years and has held various teaching positions in the classroom. He is a seasoned educator with expansive experience from classroom teaching to school and districtwide leadership. 

Dr. Carter holds an Ed.D. in Educational Administration from Boston College, and Ed.M. in Educational Leadership from Harvard University, a M.A.T. in History and Education from Boston College, a B.A. from Wesleyan University, and a Massachusetts Professional Superintendent Certification. 

The Holliston School Committee announced they will be arranging community meet and greets with Dr. Carter once his contract is finalized and as his start date approaches. The Holliston community is excited to welcome Dr. Carter to Holliston Public Schools.