Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.
Date: 12/18/2023
SOUTHAMPTON — On Dec. 7, Superintendent Diana Bonneville informed the Hampshire Regional School District community that she will not seek to renew her employment contract with the district. Bonneville’s tenure at Hampshire Regional will end on June 30, 2024, when her current contract expires.
The five school committees in the district were scheduled to vote last week on the renewal of the superintendent’s contract. A consistent vote against renewing Bonneville’s contract was widely expected. Two weeks prior, she also communicated with committee chairs her intent to resign.
In the memo addressed to families, employees and school committee members, Bonneville stated she will continue to work for the good of the students. The superintendent also sought to address several criticisms leveled at her by staff, labor union officials and some parents. Primary among those complaints was a reorganization of the central office that did not include sufficient stakeholder input.
“My decisions have always been based on what is in the best interest of our students and School Committee policy decisions, despite the challenges this may have on staff,” Bonneville wrote. “However, reorganization and structuring decisions are student-driven and are not based on individual preferences, longevity or popularity.”
The central office restructuring was an element of the District Improvement Plan approved by all five school committees. The objections to the restructuring came from staff members, including three who left the district.
The general complaint was that Bonneville made changes without seeking sufficient input from those affected. She was also accused of creating an atmosphere of intimidation.
According to media reports, Stephanie Faas, formerly lead nurse in the district, wrote committee members to complain about treatment she received from Bonneville.
“In my 16 years of working as an RN, I have never been treated as disrespectfully as I have been by Dr. Bonneville,” Faas wrote to School Committee members in June. “Her complete disregard for the value of this role … is appalling.”
Members of both labor unions in the district voted “no confidence” in Bonneville earlier this year. Students of the LGBTQ+ community at the high school staged a demonstration against the hiring of Erica Faginski-Stark as assistant superintendent, a candidate Bonneville put forward. Reminder Publishing previously reported that Faginski-Stark withdrew from the Easthampton superintendent search after her postings on Prageru.com, a conservative website, were publicized, and Easthampton High School students discovered what was described as “transphobic rhetoric” on her Facebook account.
Bonneville was also criticized for the handling of excess and deficiences, a report to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education prepared by the business manager. According to a district employee who wished not to be identified, an “unqualified employee” improperly prepared the report. As a result, over $800,000 was returned to member towns, money that many community members thought should remain with the district.
Bonneville also has supporters.
Kim Rida, a Goshen resident and parent of a student, posted on the Facebook page of the Hampshire Regional Education Association, the labor union representing teachers and other employees in the district, that she may place her child elsewhere through a school choice option.
“I believe that the school committee will … work to find a solution to keep Dr. Bonneville in her position,” Rida wrote. “Upheaval in any business at the top level trickles downwards and effects everyone.”
Megan Shiels-Willard, wife of Don Willard, chair of the New Hingham School Committee representing Goshen and Chesterfield, posted a graphic supporting Bonneville’s performance. Her post on the Facebook page for the labor union suggested criticisms of the superintendent’s fiscal performance were not true. Shiels-Willard also discounted a claim the technology budget was frozen.
Now, with Bonneville’s departure all but guaranteed, the district assumes some risk. Sabrina McGill, a parent, worried the flux in leadership will make the district unattractive for those who would replace Bonneville.
“Are we really looking to become like Easthampton, where no one would take the position and they had to search for a new super for how long?” McGill wrote.
The Hampshire Regional district has employed three superintendents in the last five years.
School Committee members are aware of the risks. Jon Lumbra, chair of the Southampton School Committee, echoed McGill’s concerns. Lumbra also intimated that school officials are quickly turning their attention to finding Bonneville’s replacement. The district has about six months to fill the position.
“The past six to nine months there’s been a lot of publicity around Hampshire Regional School District, as a whole,” Lumbra said. “What kind of a response are we going to get to a job posting?”
Lumbra said the district will have to look at compensation levels for an incoming superintendent. He said Bonneville's current salary pays $156,500 per year. According to salaries.com, a website devoted to hiring and pay rates, the average superintendent yearly paycheck in the Bay State is $192,268. Only 10% of district leaders make $125,000 yearly or less.
Lumbra said of the average superintendent, “Those are people that have one district, one school committee, one budget. At Hampshire Regional, you have five school committees, five different budgets. Just think of all the after hour activities and meetings that you have to have with that heavy of a load.”
Lumbra asked the bigger question for Southampton. “Is that still the model we want?”
The Southampton Selectboard, of which Lumbra is a member, is beginning to weigh whether the town should remain in the Hampshire Regional district. Lumbra said the town joined the district in 1966, when the local population was 1,700 people. Now, Southampton is home to about 6,200 residents, larger than many towns with a local district. Southampton students make up 55% of the Hampshire Regional student body.
Lumbra said Southampton didn’t participate in many of the conversations around Bonneville’s performance, discussions that centered mostly on Williamsburg and the high school community. The difficulties with the superintendent, however, are prompting his town to also consider a departure from the district.
Lumbra asked, “Are we at a level where we can support our own K-12 program?”
A departure would involve a simple vote of Town Meeting — but the present task is to find a new superintendent for Hampshire Regional. If a suitable candidate isn’t hired before July 1, Lumbra said, the district has plenty of safety net. Several principals in the district are certified to work as superintendents. In August, the district also hired an assistant superintendent, Mary Jane Rickson, who could act as a transitional superintendent.