Bow High School Coach Suspended, Targeted By Anonymous Mailer

CONCORD, NH — A Concord Board of Education member and long-time educator, who has been working for a number of years coaching in Bow, has been suspended after an investigation into possible violation of coach-to-player "emotional boundaries." Barbara Higgins of Concord, who has been leading the Bow High School Girls' Cross-Country team for six years, was suspended this month, according to Dean S. T. Cascadden, the superintendent of SAU 67, the Bow and Dunbarton school districts. Specifics about the incident are not known due to student confidentiality and education regulations but the suspension was finalized in a note to parents on Oct. 16 about a week before the team's last meet.

Team members and Higgins, who is an award-winning coach, were asked to have no contact with each other both during the investigation and after the suspension, Cascadden stated. The district is also consulting with the New Hampshire Department of Education about "some policy concerns around communication methods, transportation, and memorialization" raised during what Cascadden called an informative inquiry that revealed "many positive aspects of the team and the coach that were shared in this process."

At the same time as the investigation was going on, some members of the media, school board, and Darlene Gildersleeve of the Protect Concord Students Now and Donna Palley, the then-acting superintendent for the Concord School District, received an anonymous mailer from "Concerned Bow Parents" attacking Higgins for some of her coaching methods while she attempted to assist a student dealing with the death of a family member. The letter challenged Higgins' role of serving as an elected member of the Concord school board that is now in the midst of upheaval due to the Primo "Howie" Leung teacher-student rape case.

"We cannot in our wildest dreams imagine her being impartial given her previous public responses to anyone questioning her methods," the letter stated. "She should certainly not be judging others from a position of power – elected or not."

Higgins, who was first elected to the board in 2011, said, while being a very transparent and public person, she couldn't speak about the investigation and what it entailed. She said, however, that she was "disheartened" by the suspension decision. Higgins added that she cooperated fully with the Bow School District's investigation and was looking forward to resolving the concerns brought forward.

"While I understand the need for the school district to follow through on all concerns raised by parents, students, or the greater school community, I have done nothing wrong," she said in an email. "I’m not going to apologize for offering emotional support to the athletes I coach as well as others in the greater Concord community. I have always done this throughout my 30-year career in education. This experience has been disappointing but this is what happens when you work as hard as I have, to go above and beyond for students and athletes."

Higgins denounced the anonymous letter and said she had consulted an attorney in an effort to find out the origination of the letter and whether or not it constitutes libel.

The letter also prompted some parents and community members to start a private support group for Higgins on Facebook. The group includes parents of former athletes who were coached by Higgins, including girls on the Bow cross-country team.

Rebecca Duclos McHugh, a parent in Concord, who is involved with the group, said they supported Higgins in the face of the scurrilous allegations in the mailer.

"Barb, as a public figure in Concord, is a tremendous advocate for kids," she said. "She is amazing in her coaching with the parks and rec. She is someone who says what is right, even if it isn't popular. I trust my children with her more than just about anyone."

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