Acting Concord School Superintendent Not Credentialed With NH DOE

CONCORD, NH — Concord's new acting school superintendent, who has been an assistant superintendent for more than eight years in the SAU 8 district, does not have the proper state certification for either role, according to the New Hampshire Department of Education. School Board President Jennifer Patterson appointed Assistant Superintendent Donna Palley to the role of acting superintendent Friday, after placing School Superintendent Terri Forsten and Tom Sica, the principal at Concord High School, on paid administrative leave.

The decision came in the wake of the board holding private meetings to analyze a lengthy investigation into teacher-student rape allegations against Primo "Howie" Leung, a special education teacher and advisor, who was allowed to teach at the high school even though he was accused of inappropriate behavior numerous times dating back to 2011. He was arrested on rape charges in Massachusetts in April.

Several board of education members said they also had no prior knowledge to Patterson's announcement to the community Friday that Forsten and Sica had been placed on leave or Palley's interim superintendent appointment.

Palley's Background And Certification Requirements

Palley, according to her LinkedIn account, has been working for the school district for 34 years. She has been an assistant school superintendent since July 2011. Before that, she was the district's special education coordinator from September 1985, to June 2011.

Palley, however, is not currently certified to be a school superintendent or an assistant superintendent even if she has been employed as one in the district for more than eight years, according to the NH DOE website.

When asked Saturday about why she was not certified to be a superintendent or assistant superintendent, Palley said she was "in a program for certification which is almost complete," but due to Rosh Hashanah, would not be able to speak about specifics until Wednesday.

A call and email were made to Patterson about Palley's lack of certification. She stated in an email Saturday, "I got your message and will let you know as soon as I can if I have any information on this."

In June 2017, Palley was issued an experienced educator certificate as well as special education administrator, elementary education K-8, general special education, and specific learning disabilities endorsements by the state of New Hampshire through the NH DOE's Bureau of Credentialing. The bureau handles all educator credentialing for public school teachers and administrators (private school educators are not required but often are certified with the state).

Palley's certificate and endorsements will need to be renewed by July of next year. She has a Bachelor's degree in education and policy from Hampshire College from 1978, and a master degree in education from Harvard University, according to LinkedIn.

The state of New Hampshire has both laws and education rules involving educator credentials.

To be an assistant superintendent, an educator must have completed at least three years of experience as an educational administrator in a K-12 setting and be enrolled and accepted in a state board of education approved school administration program at the post-master's certificate of advanced graduate study (CAGS) or doctoral level professional development, according to the state's education rules.

Palley has at least done the latter; the former, however, is unknown.

A candidate employed as an assistant superintendent must also meet the requirements of a school superintendent within three years of an assistant superintendent endorsement. During this period, the school superintendent can remain employed as an assistant superintendent.

According to the timeline of Palley's employment, the three years requirement would have expired in July 2014.

Palley neither has the assistant superintendent endorsement or certificate nor the superintendent endorsement or certificate and appears to have been working as SAU 8's assistant superintendent for more than five years without being certified, according to the state's online credential search.

The requirements to be a superintendent include the three years of experience in the K-12 setting, the state board program application and acceptance leading to CAGS, skills and equivalent experiences, and obtaining the necessary forms of the bureau of credentialing. The extensive professional development includes the completion six measurable goals concerning management skills involving organization, finance, and operations, policy work, student and parent relations, and educational environments, as well as many other competencies. These competencies, which often lead to a doctorate degree, can take many years to complete.

State law requires school districts to have a credential school superintendent leading its schools. A school district that does not have a properly credentialed superintendent could lose its license with the state to educate children.

Some Board Members Stunned By Decision

Only two school board members would speak on the record about the Friday announcement and decision to suspend Forsten and Sica and elevate Palley.

Chuck Crush, who represents District C, on the eastern part of the city, and Barbara Higgins, from District B, the West End and South End seat, said they were both shocked by the announcement. Crush said he found out about the decision about five minutes before the robocall and email were sent out.

"I had no knowledge that the robocall was occurring," he said flatly.

Higgins concurred that she, too, was stunned to find out about the Palley decision a few minutes before receiving the robocall.

"We're typically asked not to speak to the media but parents and students need to know that we're working really hard to make sure the right things happen," Higgins said. "The frustration, I feel, for the citizens of Concord, is that oftentimes, communication from the board is vague or misleading. And people rightfully get upset, and I think that is what is happening here."

Crush agreed.

"As far as information shared about Donna Palley, this is not a criticism nor an endorsement of Donna, I had no knowledge of it until last night," he said Saturday.

Liza Poinier, another District B school board member, refused to comment on anything connected to the staff changes or the investigation.

One board member, who spoke on condition of anonymity, called the Leung report "difficult to read," but added that it was concise and complete, "in most areas, and left little room for speculation." The board member believed members would work tirelessly to ensure the public was made aware of what they know, within the confines of legal parameters.

"It is very frustrating, as a board member, who the public assumes is in the know, to be questioned about details that we have heard nothing about," they said. "Friday's alert to the public is a good example of this. It was a surprise."

Crush said the only way the district could heal and move forward with the community was to be transparent and accountable, and he was committed to working toward that goal.

"That is the way that we will start changing the culture of the Concord School District," he added.

Other board members did not return calls for comment about the announcement or investigation.

Other Board Communication Issues

Board members, for a number of years, have privately grumbled about being frustrated by the lack of communication between employees in the district and board members.

The subcommittee structure of Concord's board, where members have separate meetings about topics and issues, usually in groups of three, instead of having the full board involved in all pertinent issues the district faces, doesn't allow all of them to know exactly what is going on in the district.

As an example, Tom Croteau, a District A board member, representing Wards 1, 2, 3, and 4, as well as Patterson, who is an at-large board member, are the only two members serving on an executive committee subcommittee. This means they are privy to more knowledge about critical and serious issues in the district that other members might not know, since that is the subcommittee's charge. If Crush and Higgins found out about Forsten and Sica being placed on paid leave and Palley being elevated to acting superintendent by email or robocall and not a full board meeting, there is a good chance that these decisions were made exclusively by Croteau and Patterson alone.

"I don't feel board members have malice in their actions," the anonymous board member told Patch.

The subcommittee structure is almost like "a divide and conquer strategy" that seems to give a superintendent the opportunity to keep some members out of the loop on critical issues, they added.

Most school board structures in the state are smaller, not nine members like Concord's, but five or seven. While they may or may not have subcommittees pertaining to issues like curriculum, decisions about what to do in the wake of a teacher-student sexual assault case would not be made by a couple of members without the others knowing.

Patterson's announcement also caught the eye of Amanda Grady Sexton, the director of public affairs for the New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic & Sexual Violence.

The NHCASV assisted the district with training of employees about student safety at the beginning of the year. Some of the org's employees were incensed by Forsten's comments to educators at the beginning of the school year about the negative media coverage. Those comments, specifically, the belittling of articles and posts that she believed were being used to turn the community against the school system and her statements about refusing to engage with the media about the Leung case and other issues, infuriated many in the community. Forsten's comments led to a petition that garnered nearly 3,000 signatures to have her and Sica fired.

Forsten later apologized for the remarks but the damage already done.

Grady Sexton said community members "made it clear" to the board that there was more than enough evidence in the Leung case to "show student safety was seriously jeopardized by administrators" and immediate action was needed.

"It appears the findings of the board’s private investigation confirmed what so many community members already understood – that it’s long past time for accountability and change in leadership," Grady Sexton said. "It’s critical that everyone who had a part in endangering the safety of students is held accountable."

Gray Sexton, however, was also disturbed by recent comments that investigatory materials might not be released or be accessible to police.

"Unfortunately, the board has indicated it has no plans to share its report with the public or law enforcement," she said. "Without this transparency, the public cannot have confidence that the safety of children in our schools is being prioritized."

Neither Forsten nor Sica returned requests for comment about the announcement.

ALSO READ:

• Concord Superintendent Forsten, Principal Sica Placed On Leave
• Concord Board Of Education Considering Personnel 'Next Steps'
• Concord Board Of Education Members Eyeing Investigative Report
• Parents, Students Vent About Issues With Concord School District
• Concord School Board To Update Public About Investigation Tuesday
• Concord School Superintendent: Letter To Staff 'A Serious Error'
• Petition To Remove Officials From Concord Schools Cracks 2,000
• Concord School Board Holds Emergency Meeting Sunday With Counsel
• Online Petition Launched To Have Concord School Officials Removed
• Concord Superintendent Lashes Out At Media Coverage Of District
• Concord School Board To Revise 'Professional Expectations' Policy
• Concord High School Principal Takes A Leave Of Absence
• Labrie's Former Counsel Not Hired To Probe Teacher Rape Case
• Concord School Board Opens New Investigation Into Leung Rape Case
• How A Distinguished Concord Teacher Became A Student Rape Suspect
• Students Saw Concord Teacher Kiss, Hug Another Student: Docs
• Should The Concord School District Have Responded Faster To Case?
• NH Teacher Held Without Bail After Bay State Arraignment
• Concord Teacher Accused Of Raping Student In Newton, MA
• Distinguished Educators for 2012

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