Middleboro Superintendent of Schools Lyons takes new job

MIDDLEBORO - Middleboro Superintendent of Schools Carolyn Lyons, who has been on a leave of absence from the post since August 2025, has a new job.

Lyons has been named as the executive director of the Bi-County Collaborative effective July 1.

Lyons took a leave from her Middleboro position for health-related reasons, Middleboro School Committee members have stated. Michael Perrone, the district’s director of business and finance, was named as interim superintendent on Aug. 18

Specific details about Lyons’s leave were not released, with then School Committee Chair Zeke Lewis thanking the community for “respecting Superintendent Lyons’s privacy.’’

Bi-County Collaborative programs address the needs of students with autism, communication, emotional, health, intellectual, neurological, physical impairments, and specific learning disabilities, according to a news release.

The collaborative consists of 20 member school districts in Bristol, Norfolk, and Worcester counties.

“I am honored and thrilled to become the next Executive Director of the Bi-County Collaborative,” Lyons said in a prepared statement Feb. 11. “Our students demonstrate growth and achievement every day. I look forward to working with our member districts to support their continued success.”

Lyons served as Middleboro superintendent since May 2023.

She previously served as the district's Director of Pupil Personnel Services from 2016 to 2022 and as Secondary Special Education TEAM Facilitator for grades 6-12 from 2012 to 2016.

Before beginning her education career, Lyons worked as an attorney handling special education litigation for numerous districts throughout the state. She has been a member of the Massachusetts Bar Association since 2007.

Her time as superintendent was not without controversy. At least two residents called for her resignation following a lawsuit filed against the district that made national and international headlines.

The issue centered around a Nichols Middle School student who wore a shirt with the words “There Are Only Two Genders.” He was asked to remove the shirt and, when he refused, he was taken home by his parents.

The family sued the district, saying the student had the right to wear clothing that expressed his viewpoint, while the district countered that the message was perceived to be harmful to other students.

Two lower courts supported the school’s right to ask that the shirt be removed. The case was appealed to the Supreme Court, which declined to take the case.

Lyons was a finalist for the superintendent job in Mansfield in early 2025 but another candidate was chosen. 

School Committee members defended Lyons against subsequent criticism leveled against her on socia media.

An update on the school superintendent position is scheduled to be discussed at the Feb. 12 School Committee meeting.

Story to be updated