Thomas Payzant

Thomas William Payzant (November 29, 1940 – July 23, 2021) was an American educator who served as superintendent of San Diego Unified School District and Boston Public Schools and was Assistant Secretary of Education for Elementary and Secondary Education.

Early life Payzant was born on November 29, 1940, in Boston. He grew up in Quincy, Massachusetts. The couple met when a student mixer Payzant was a student at Mount Hermon School and Watson attended the nearby Northfield School.

In 1993, Payzant was nominated for the position of Assistant Secretary of Education for Elementary and Secondary Education in the United States Department of Education. His nomination came under fire from conservatives due to his decision to end a tutoring program run by the Boy Scouts of America on school grounds during school hours because he felt that the organization’s ban on homosexual leaders violated the San Diego Unified School District’s non-discrimination policy. The United States Senate confirmed Payzant by a 72-27 vote.

On August 3, 1995, the Boston school committee voted 5 to 2 to name Payzant superintendent of schools. During his 11 years in Boston, student achievement improved, with Boston schools matching or bettering statewide gains in student test scores. In 2006, Boston Public Schools won the Broad Prize for Urban Education.