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Date: 6/27/2022
NORTHAMPTON – During a special meeting on June 23, the Northampton School Committee discussed the process in which an interim superintendent will be chosen.
According to Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra, the goal is for the full School Committee to meet the potential candidates for the interim superintendent position on July 7 at 6:30 p.m. The committee officially finalized the posting for the job during a June 14 meeting.
The committee created the job posting to fill the role after current Superintendent John Provost became the unanimous choice to start as superintendent of the Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School District on July 1. Provost has served as the Northampton superintendent since 2014.
According to the job posting, whoever holds the interim position would do so for up to one year, however exact terms of employment and salary would be negotiated behind closed doors.
The committee will make their decision on an interim superintendent after Provost leaves on June 30, which means during the brief selection process, the district’s administrative office – including School Committee Clerk and Secretary Annie Thompson – will be available if people have questions before an interim is chosen.
The Northampton School Committee Ad Hoc Interim Superintendent Search Committee met on June 25 to discuss the rubric for screening potential interim candidates and conducted an executive session on June 30 to discuss the candidates who applied. According to Thompson, the applications closed on June 27.
The School Committee also briefly spoke about the permanent superintendent search process during their June 23 special meeting. At-large committee member Gwen Agna stated that she spoke with the Massachusetts Association of School Committees (MASC) to see their superintendent search process.
“I think if we want to explore [MASC], I don’t think there’s any mystery,” said Agna, regarding MASC’s process, adding that their reputation exceeds other organizations. “I think the only concern some members had was that it’s a Massachusetts organization and may be limited in its scope.”
Additionally, Ward 5 member Dina Levi said she spoke with three search firms and shared documents with the committee that outlined some of their processes, what they charge and what their contracts look like. One of these firms worked with the Amherst-Pelham Regional School District on their superintendent search, while another worked with Longmeadow. Levi also stated that she reached out to a few other firms, as well.
“One of [the firms] really centers inclusion and talks about being inclusive with the community,” said Levi. “Although, I think all three of them are probably fairly similar.”
Levi also argued that the committee should look into completing a national search for the position rather than just a statewide one. “I think it will be important for us to include the folks who are local and folks who are not local in the search,” said Levi. “I think it’s important for us to take the time to read through these proposals, and for people to share what they think.”
Ultimately, the committee decided that they will reach out to the Longmeadow and Amherst-Pelham Regional school committees to learn about their process and how it went. Ward 1 member Meg Robbins also suggested that they reach out to Cambridge since they also recently went through the process.
“I am absolutely excited about getting a diverse pool of applicants,” said Ward 3 member Emily Serafy-Cox, regarding the permanent superintendent search process. “I also want a firm that understands of particularities of Western Massachusetts.”