Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra
Chair
Gwen Agna
At-Large
50 Finn Street
Northampton, MA 01060
(413)478-9590
gagna@northampton-k12.us
Aline Davis
At-Large
adavis@northampton-k12.us
Holly Ghazey
Ward 1
(413) 297-5364
hghazey@northampton-k12.us
Karen Foster Cannon
Ward 2
kfostercannon@northampton-k12.us
Emily Serafy-Cox
Ward 3
21 Orchard Street
Northampton, MA 01060
(413) 341-0576
eserafy-cox@northampton-k12.us
Michael Stein
Ward 4
14 Columbus Ave.
Northampton, MA 01060
(508) 494-7889
mstein@northampton-k12.us
Ann Hennessey
Ward 5
ahennessey@northampton-k12.us
Margaret Miller
Ward 6
857 Westhampton Road
Florence, MA 01062
(413) 387-9373
marmiller@northampton-k12.us
Kerry LaBounty
Ward 7
klabounty@northampton-k12.us
The Northampton School Committee meets at 6:30 p.m. on the second Thursday of each month in the Mark E. Warner Community Room at JFK Middle School, 100 Bridge Road, Florence, or by videoconference. Subcommittees meet at other times as needed. The full meeting schedule, along with agendas and approved minutes can be found under the School Committee Calendar section of this website.
During the budget season (February & March), there are typically two meetings per month (second and fourth Thursdays). Agendas are prepared by the Superintendent, Chair (the Mayor), and Vice Chair and are published on the Friday preceding the meeting on the City of Northampton Public Meeting Calendar, as well as on the District website under School Committee Agendas. On occasion, the Committee may call a special meeting to conduct business which cannot be delayed until the next meeting. It is the intent of the Committee to complete all business by 11:00 p.m.
The Committee may go into Executive Session (closed doors) upon a majority vote of the members present for consideration of certain matters specified by the Open Meeting Law examples of which include personnel issues, negotiations for contract and collective bargaining, legal advice, and litigation.
The public is welcome to attend all meetings and are welcome to speak during Public Comment at full Committee meetings. There is no public comment during subcommittee meetings. Discussion by the public is limited to three (3) minutes per person/per issue at the discretion of the Chair. Citizens will be asked to write and state their name and address for the record. The Chair will use this information to determine whether to set a general time limit on the public portion of the meeting and grant each person who wishes to comment an equal share of the time; or to offer the persons present an opportunity to choose a spokesperson for their cause (this procedure will normally apply when many people are present for the same purpose); or to schedule a special public hearing for a later date when all citizens will be invited to express their opinions.
Citizens joining the meeting by videoconference are also welcome to participate in Public Comment. The Chair will recognize speakers alternating between in-person attendees and those participating by videoconference.
Additional information can be found in our policies section.
The typical order of business is as follows: Roll Call; Public Comment; Announcements; Recommended Actions including approval of minutes; Reports and Recommendations, including reports from subcommittees, the Superintendent, and Business Manager; New Business; and Adjournment.
SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING INFORMATION
The acceptance of a code of ethics implies the understanding of the basic organization of school committees under the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. As an elected public official, a school committee member is expected to adhere to those state laws that apply to school committees since school committees are agencies of the state.
This code of ethics outlines three areas of a school committee’s member’s responsibility: (1) community responsibility; (2) responsibility to school administration; (3) relationship to fellow committee members.
1. A school committee member in his/her relations with the community should:
2. A school committee member in his/her relations with the school administration should:
3. A school committee member in his/her relations with fellow committee members should: