Massachusetts Department of Transportation Secretary and CEO Stephanie Pollack is stepping down from her post next week, when she will head to Washington, D.C., to begin as deputy administrator of the Federal Highway Administration, Gov. Charlie Baker announced Thursday.
Pollack, who has helmed MassDOT since 2015, will be temporarily serving as the FHWA’s acting administrator under the Biden Administration until a permanent administrator is confirmed by the U.S. Senate, according to a press release from Baker’s office.
Her final day in her current role will be Jan. 26. She begins her federal position the following day.
With the change-up, Baker has tapped Registrar of Motor Vehicles Jamey Tesler to serve as acting secretary.
An intense showdown between City Hall and the School Committee over the past week cooled off substantially Monday night when the City Council voted unanimously to put off voting on a Charter Change adding an 11th member to the School Committee.
It is said that oil and vinegar don’t mix, and at no time in the last year has the mixing of City Hall and the School Department been so much like those two substances in that they have found it hard to blend efforts. That has been made worse by quick actions taken by the City Council and Mayor Carlo DeMaria to adjust the membership of the School Committee without much consultation of the Committee itself. Under the Charter, such a vote to make those Charter Changes only lies with the Council.