NORTHAMPTON — Superintendent Portia Bonner plans to leave the position at the end of the 2025-2026 school year, at the end of her third year with Northampton Public Schools.
Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra announced Bonner’s planned departure during the City Council’s June 18 meeting, asking for an appropriation of $25,000 to fund efforts to search for a new superintendent. The order was approved unanimously by the council.
“At the next regular School Committee meeting, there will be a discussion about next steps for a superintendent search,” Sciarra said. “There needs to be funding for that search.”
The School Committee’s next regular meeting is in August.
Bonner took over the superintendent position in 2023, replacing interim superintendent Jannell Pearson-Campbell and becoming the first full-time superintendent since the departure of John Provost in 2022. She beat out three other candidates for the position, partially owing to her more than three decades of experience working in public education. Prior to taking the role in Northampton, Bonner served as interim superintendent for the school district in the town Bozrah, Connecticut.
Bonner’s tenure has not been without controversy, as the issue of school spending vaulted to the forefront of city politics during her time as superintendent after several staff cuts were made as part of the mayor’s fiscal year 2025 budget. In June 2024, the Northampton Association of School Employees union issued a vote of no confidence in Bonner, although the School Committee responded by reaffirming its support for her.
In a guest column in the Gazette that same month, Bonner described the vote of no confidence as “designed to divide the district and the community,” noting that she had not heard about the vote until contacted by a Gazette reporter.
“It seems that if I am not demanding the budget package sought by the union, then I have not met their standard of advocacy,” Bonner said. “Carrying out the curriculum and policy of the School Committee is part of my job.”
Upon being named to the superintendent position, Bonner signed a three-year contract with the city that is set to expire at the end of June 2026, when Bonner is expected to leave the district. The contract included a possibility of extension for an additional term of one year by mutual agreement.
Bonner confirmed to the Gazette her departure from the district on June 30, 2026, but offered no further comment regarding her decision.
Alexander MacDougall can be reached at amacdougall@gazettenet.com.
