Superintendent search work paid $50,000 to firm, news to the public and some committee members

Julia Levine E. Denise Simmons, who leads the School Committee as mayor of Cambridge, attends to work Feb. 6, 2024.

An inexperienced firm hired without competition to find Cambridge superintendent candidates – allowed if costs stay below $10,000 – is getting a second payment beyond what has been shared publicly that brings the cost to nearly $50,000, according to a contract and other documents shared with Cambridge Day.

Documents uncovered by a residents’ public records request, posted in an online parents group and confirmed by the city of Cambridge to be authentic, detail that the firm, The Equity Process, was hired by the city under a contract for $40,000 dated Sept. 4 but in effect retroactively starting July 1.

A purchase order report dated Sept. 24 lists the $40,000 payment to