NORTHAMPTON — The Northampton School Committee is inviting the public to consider joining the Preliminary Superintendent Search Committee as the district seeks to hire a permanent superintendent to begin duties on July 1.
Although the School Committee makes the final decision in hiring its superintendent, members of the Northampton community are being asked to get involved and play a critical role in the process.
The search committee will screen applications and make decisions about who to invite for interviews and will then hold in-depth interviews and make recommendations for finalists to the full School Committee.
Outgoing School Committee co-chair and at-large member Gwen Agna did not run for reelection and will be out of the role with the new year but told Reminder Publishing this call to the public will bring representation of the many stakeholders in the city to the table to help with this search process, especially for such a pressing community issue.
“Right now, I think we are, as many districts are, concerned about budget and how we continue to be able to fund out schools to meet the needs of all our students,” said Agna. “It’s not something we see as a magic answer, but it is something that where we want to have someone who has experience in school districts and working with the limited budgets schools have.”
During the process, the committee members will be asked to sponsor listening sessions with stakeholder groups with logistical support provided. The city is calling on all members of the Northampton community of staff, faculty, students, caregivers and residents to join the Preliminary Superintendent Search Committee.
“I think it will be based on the previous search committee that we had which will have representation from teachers, administrators, community members, school committee, students for sure. And we also want paraprofessionals along with regular teachers involved so that it’s composed of everyone who has a stake in this process and who will be working with the superintendent,” said Agna.
The process for screening and interviewing candidates will be transparent and collaborative and participation will require a significant time commitment. It is expected the committee’s work will be conducted from January through March to start the new year.
Those interested in serving on the Preliminary Superintendent Search Committee are encouraged to email or send a letter to the district on why they are interested in serving, and what roles — faculty, staff, student, administrator, caregiver, resident — they hold in the community. This can be sent to School Committee Clerk Cassie Eckhof who can be reached via email at ceckhof@northampton-k12.us, or a letter can be mailed to Northampton Public Schools, 212 Main St., 2nd Floor, Northampton, MA.
“I think that everyone has a stake in this, there’s no question about it, because we all care about the schools. It is the highest paid position in the city, higher than even the mayor, so there’s a lot at stake not just in terms of finding the right leader but also finding one who can lead the whole school district and understand the responsibility,” added Agna. “There’s a lot at stake here and we look forward to having somebody who can lead our district into the future.”
