CHICOPEE, Mass. — The hiring of Chicopee's next superintendent of schools took longer than some expected and during multiple rounds of voting the debate around the finalists became heated at times.

In the end, Chicopee Mayor John Vieau believes the city’s interim superintendent Alvin Morton, whom he’s supported and Windham, Connecticut public schools executive director Marcus Ware, are both qualified.

“It’s about moving forward and are we moving in the right direction now?” said Vieau. “That’s really where the deliberation is. Are you satisfied with the acting superintendent or do you want change?”

Among areas of concern, Vieau said the new superintendent will need to address discipline issues in the schools immediately.

He said the school district is considering putting the cellphone pouches the city’s high schools use in more schools to reduce distractions for students.

“We want our kids to be engaged in classroom activities and participating,” he said. “And if there is disruption and there is a lack of being able to discipline when there should be discipline or disruptions constantly in the classroom, how do you address that? And I think that it’s a struggle right now.”

Vieau said another big goal for the next superintendent will be to create a school system dedicated to better serving the city by educating future leaders who want to succeed in the hometown.

“I don’t just want to retain our workforce talent,” he said. “I also want to retain our residence talent. So those kids that go off to college, off to trade school with those natural abilities, choose Chicopee to be their home because they had such a great experience in our school district and growing up here.”