Portland School Board Chair Emily Figdor at a Press Conference at City Hall Earlier This Year.

Current Board of Public Education Chair Emily Figdor will not accept the nomination to chair the Board for a third term in the coming year according to a press release received this afternoon from the Board of Education.  Instead, Figdor said she will support at-large Board member Sarah Lentz for the position and District 1 member Abusana “Micky” Bondo for vice chair when the Board formerly votes for new leadership at the Inauguration ceremony today at 4:00PM, Monday, December 5th.

Figdor decided not to take on the role again because she “realized it would be too much for her and her famly to hold the demanding, time-consumng position” for a third consecutive term.  Instead, she’ll put her support behind Lentz and Bondo.  Figdor cited her family and full-time job as reasons for not accepting a third term.

“I never intended to chair the school board for a third year, but when Adam Burk lost his election in November, we had to scramble, as Adam was selected to become the chair:……I’ll support the new leadership team every step of the way as a very engaged Board member,” Figdor said.