NORTHAMPTON — Northampton High School is on the hunt for a new principal to replace incumbent William Wehrli, who announced his intention to retire at the end of the current school year.

Wehrli was hired as principal in December 2022 to fill a gap left by the departure of the previous principal, Lori Vaillancourt, who resigned amid controversy after disclosed internal emails showed her referring to students as “asshats.”

Prior to becoming Northampton’s principal, Wehrli had served as principal at Pioneer Valley Regional School in Northfield and assistant principal at Amherst Regional High School. He also spent six years as an associate director for accreditation and school improvement at the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC).

In an interview with the Gazette, Wehrli said he was stepping down because he wished to retire from working within school districts, but expressed interest in doing similar work from his NEASC days, where he provided training and support for school districts.

“My hope is to do work as a coach for school leaders,” he said. “Knowing what your goals are, what does effective progress look like and how you design professional learning or school improvement, those things are really interesting to me. And often school leaders, as is my experience, are so busy with the day-to-day work they don’t always have time to think longer term.”

Wehrli said he accepted the position in Northampton in late 2022 because he understood the school’s urgency for a new principal following Vaillancourt’s departure, but that he had always been unsure of how long he would want to remain in the role.

“The Pioneer Valley is my community, and they were in pretty critical need of help,” said Wehrli, who lives in Amherst. “So even though I didn’t know how long I’d be there, it felt like it was the right thing to do.”

Wehrli informed school administrators in February of his intention to retire, which he said was an ideal time to begin to search for a new candidate.

In an email sent out to NHS staff on Wednesday, Superintendent Portia Bonner said that the principal position had been posted and the job opening would run for two weeks. She also said she was forming a committee to assist with finding a new principal.

“This committee will comprise 10-15 members who are representative of the NHS community, including parents, school council members, teachers and other members of each collective bargaining unit that makes up the workforce at NHS,” Bonner said. “I have already heard from several staff members who are interested in serving on the selection committee.”

Wehrli will officially step down as principal on June 30, giving the district four months to find a replacement.

Alexander MacDougall can be reached at amacdougall@gazettenet.com.