By KURT M. MINICH
By Kurt M. Minich
After the Newport School Board meeting on Oct. 25, I had to reflect on what Superintendent Mr. Minnihan responded to after my three-minute public forum presentation with a one-minute rebuttal. The time constraint did not let the superintendent or myself bring our comments to a close, so I will proceed to do that now, hoping the superintendent will respond using this letter to the editor opportunity.
The two areas Mr. Minnihan spoke to that need closure are:
Mr. Minnihan believes the citizens are purposely keeping the school board in turmoil.
Mr. Minnihan says he knew nothing of the baggage that the business administrator brought with him from Claremont SAU 6 to Newport SAU 43.
Mr. Minnihan failed in his leadership role right out of the gate. He does not realize, “You can not move into the future until you understand the past.” Some NSB history follows:
NSB ousted our superintendent six years ago. A buyout cost our school budget $167,000 from a very strapped budget.
NSB, without any formal procedures hired their favorite in-house “sister” to be a superintendent, which lasted four years.
NSB helped that superintendent “destroy” the Newport Bus Terminal through nepotism.
NSB allowed that superintendent to hire staff that were not cleared by the New Hampshire State Police through a background check.
NSB allowed Towle School to fall into disrepair. It was a ploy so the NSB could close the school under the superintendent’s recommendation. The SAU was housed at the high school where they caused a disruptive environment. The NSB had to move it to the closed Towle School. Upon moving, it found plenty of money to renovate Towle School for the SAU, but never attempted renovations for the benefit of the students.
George Caccavaro had baggage, but was apparently hired without going through a security check. Two of the key NSB members not present at this very critical Oct. 25 meeting speaks mouthfuls without saying a thing. The one member that was present when Caccavaro was hired in February of 2019 indicated she had no knowledge of Caccavaro’s background. The two long-standing members that were not present were Linda Wadensten and Ann Spencer.
Mr. Minnihan, all of the preceding and much more are what keeps our school district in turmoil. Everything is the product of a dysfunctional NSB — disgusting to say the least.
Mr. Minnihan said that he did not know Mr. Caccavaro was under investigation until the police called him on Oct. 18. So, when the superintendent’s job went from Cindy Gallagher in July 2019 to Mr. Minnihan, no one told you that you had a business administrator who was being investigated for two counts of sexual assault due to his actions while he was employed by SAU 6? You want us to believe that SAU 6, the police and others in the Newport School District may have had knowledge of Caccavaro’s background, said nothing and no background investigation was performed? And no one practiced due diligence in informing you?
Our system of “if you see something suspicious, report it” is seriously flawed. Why does anyone want to report anything when they see our hierarchy spin it to fit their needs?
There are many possible scenarios for Caccavaro being hired by SAU 43, for the sake of our school district may the truth please come forward.
Kurt Minich is a Newport resident.
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