Four Finalists for Superintendent in Spotlight Next Week

February 3, 2023

There are four finalists for the position of Bedford superintendent of schools, and they’ll all be in the local spotlight at public forums and interviews Monday and Tuesday.

The screening committee for the superintendent search on Friday afternoon announced the names of the candidates: 

  • Dr. Portia Bonner, a former superintendent in New Bedford and East Haven, CT, currently an interim superintendent in Bozrah, a small district in eastern Connecticut. Bonner began her career teaching high school biology.
  • Cliff Chuang, senior associate commissioner for educational options with the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Chuang began his career in 1996 as a math and science teacher in Boston.
  • Dr. Matthew Janger, principal of Arlington High School since 2013. Janger came to Arlington from Mount Desert Island High School in Bar Harbor, Maine, after serving as an elementary school teacher and principal in Michigan.
  • Dr. June Saba-Maguire, assistant superintendent, program development, expansion, engagement, and partnerships in the Brockton Public Schools. Saba-Maguire has worked in the district since 1994 when she began teaching elementary school.

Bonner and Chuang will be in the spotlight Monday at a community forum in the Bedford High School library from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., and interviews with the School Committee in the BHS large-group instruction room.

On Tuesday the other two candidates will be featured in the community forum from 4:30 to 6:30 in the large-group instruction room, and the School Committee interviews in the Select Board meeting room, Town Hall, 5:30 to 9 p.m.

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The search was launched following the announcement in late October by School Superintendent Philip Conrad that he will retire at the end of June.

According to the announcement, the four emerged from 25 original applications. Thirteen of those were invited for screening committee interviews. The finalists were unanimously recommended to the School Committee, which now is handling the search.

School Committee Chair Brad Morrison, who also served as the chair of the screening committee, thanked the members for their “extraordinary service to the Bedford community.”

“The members worked tirelessly over many nights through the process of orientation, reviewing of 25 candidate application packages, preparing for interviews, meeting with and interviewing candidates, and deliberating respectfully and thoughtfully to reach consensus on a final recommendation,” Morrison wrote.

“Their unbridled focus on seeking the right choices for Bedford has led to these four outstanding candidates for School Committee consideration. The Bedford community should be especially grateful.”

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