Tension on the Board

By Dylan Marsh
EAGLE TIMES STAFF
NEWPORT-Another tumultuous school board meeting left faculty and residents pleading with members of the school board to work together.

An agenda item to remove the Board Chair and more staff resignations are symptomatic of a divisive Newport School Board. The three new resignations included Patrice Glancey, who served as SAU 43 Special Education Department Director of Education and Interim Principal for Richards School. Bert Spaulding Sr, a school board member who was elected to an uncontested seat in 2021, has been cited as one reason for many of the recent resignations. Also resigning will be NMHS educators Melissa Mitchler and Carey Citak. Mitchler is the co-president of the Newport Teachers Association.

An outpouring of support, well wishes, and tears came from a distraught community when speaking of the most recent resignations at the school board meeting. Recently, Superintendent Brendan Minnihan and Business Administrator Ed Emond also turned in their resignations as a result of what has been called harassment. It will mark five educators and administrators that have departed recently. In the past year, Spaulding has referenced low test scores and a need for better education for elementary students as his reasoning for his outspokedness.

“You say you want to improve test scores and you’re here to help the children but instead you use your time to bully the superintendent who has been doing great things. He had one more year here but you single handedly changed all that because he wouldn’t put something on the agenda. Now Patrice, not only did you bully a really good encyclopedia salesperson, you bullied a principal out of the district. Now we need a new principal, again,” said Newport resident Paula Johnson to Spaulding in reference to Glancey’s departure.

Spaulding has repeatedly cited the website SchoolDigger.com as the basis for his concern. The website puts Richards School at 211 out of 211 of New Hampshire Elementary Schools. Virginia Irwin, a Newport resident with many years of public service, including serving in the New Hampshire House of Representatives, referenced a disclaimer on the website that says “one time assessment is not a valid way to rate a district.” She also called on the board to get a better understanding of how the metrics that rate a school district work and for Spaulding to cease his, “bad behavior.”

“What kind of example is it for our students if they see us as a community constantly in disarray and argumentative or in lawsuits? Mr. Spaulding is quite familiar with suing the district or suing the town or suing somebody if he feels offended. You have to work as a board, and I know you want to. I don’t think there’s a desire of any of you not to be united. I beg you Bert, as a long time colleague, stop the bad behavior,” said Irwin.

Glancey gave a few words in reference to her upcoming resignation and the difficulty of leaving the school behind.

“You know I love this community and this wasn’t an easy decision for me. I asked this board to be on my team and members of this board they chose differently. When you use your position of power to harass administrators and indirectly staff, students and families you’re not working for what’s best for kids. That no longer aligns with my values and because of that you have my resignation,” she Glancey.

New hires have been found to replace some of the recent administrators who have decided to leave. Donna Magoon will replace Minnihan as the Interim Superintendent. Recently, she had worked as the assistant superintendent for the Claremont School District. Diane Mulholland will be replacing Ed Emonds as the Business Administrator.

Spaulding presented an action item on the agenda for the most recent meeting calling for the removal of Board Chair Jenna Darling. This is not the first attempt to remove a board member this year, as Spaulding was called on to resign by board member William Wilkinson. Spaulding referenced the Rules of Order in regards to who may speak at what time as to why he felt Darling should be removed from the board. Spaulding claims that Darling had not done her job at two separate meetings in which he felt as though he was interrupted. Once, in April 2021, during his first meeting which culminated in Spaulding leaving the meeting, and again in May when he claims that four people tried to, “overrun his words”.

“This chair issue began at the first school board meeting after my election to the board in April of 2021. I was recognized to speak by the chair Jenna Darling, as I spoke on ethics and its faults. Another person, not recognized by the chair, badgered her way in. After she was done, I asked to be recognized to continue, I was recognized by the chair. As I began to speak, the same person badgered her way in again and was not restricted by the chair. At that point I left the meeting. The chair person had not done her job,“ Spaulding said of his agenda item.

Ultimately a motion was not passed by Spaulding or anyone else on the board to take the removal to a vote. However, a School Board member did turn in her resignation during the meeting. Rhonda Callum-King, the longest serving member on the board, announced that she would no longer be serving as a direct result of Spaulding’s harassment and frustration with the district’s inability to retain teaching staff due to low wages.

“This is ridiculous, I’ve thrown my head into the wall to hire these people. We hired them low, we begged them to stay. They come here because they love it but they are abused. The narcissism is unbelievable and at this moment there’s probably a small smirk over there. He gets off on this. It’s not healthy and I’m done. Control the smirk Bert, you didn’t win, you have an issue. I’m sorry but this is ill. Before exiting. I have a life and a family and I’m through,” said Callum-King before departing the meeting.

Callum-King’s seat is now available to a community member and the newest member will be chosen by the board. The board will make their decision and the newly appointed will hold the seat until the upcoming election, at which time that person can choose if they want to run or not.