BESE

When Governor-elect Maura Healey’s transition team announced in December the appointment of Lynn Schools Superintendent Patrick Tutwiler as the state’s new education secretary, the move signaled to some a break from trends that have dominated education policy for much of the last 30 years.

With the threat of a state intervention hanging over the city’s schools, local education activists suspect Education Commissioner Jeff Riley may seek to target a cohort of Boston schools for state takeover.