NORTHAMPTON — The School Committee is looking for a new member after the abrupt resignation of one of its members on Monday.
Karen Foster-Cannon, who represents Ward 2 on the committee and had previously served on the City Council, announced she was stepping down from the position, her resignation effective Monday.
“I believe strongly in the value of public service, and as a proud Northampton Public School parent, it has been an honor to serve the community as a member of the School Committee,” Foster-Cannon wrote in a letter addressed to City Clerk Pamela Powers and dated Dec. 10. “I am in awe of the dedication and skill of many of the public servants that I have had the privilege to work alongside, and I am humbled by the trust our community has placed in me.”
Foster-Cannon cited personal reasons behind the move to resign, although did not go into explicit details in the letter out of a stated concern for privacy for her and her family.
“Personal circumstances that I could not have foreseen when elected, and that arose shortly after I took office, have taken an extraordinary amount of my attention,” Foster-Cannon wrote. “While I continued serving with the expectation that this would be temporary, it has become clear that my circumstances have changed for the foreseeable future.”
Prior to serving on the School Committee, Foster-Cannon had been vice chair of the City Council, before leaving in 2023 to join the school committee. During her time on the committee, Foster-Cannon often sided with Superintendent Portia Bonner and Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra during what proved to be a contentious budget season, leading to several job cuts in the school district.
With the resignation, the vacancy for Ward 2 will need to be filled by a replacement, who will hold the position until the next city election in November.
Application forms are available on the city’s website and need to be submitted by Monday, Jan. 13, at 5:30 p.m. to be considered.
Following the application period, the council and school committee will hold a joint meeting on Jan. 13 at 6 p.m. in JFK Middle School’s Community Room to screen applicants.
Each candidate will have three minutes to give an introductory statement, followed by 10 minutes of questions per candidate by both bodies. The winning candidate must receive a majority of the votes cast. Until a candidate receives a majority, which is 10 votes if 18 members are present, the candidate with the lowest number of votes will be eliminated after each roll call vote.
Alexander MacDougall can be reached at amacdougall@gazettenet.com.
