Concord School Board Candidate Schultz Says Leadership Is Key

CONCORD, NH — Voters who live in the western part of the city will have a new Concord Board of Education member after next week's election, no matter which of the two candidates wins. Nancy Kane, a retired educator who served a year in the seat to fill out a remaining term, chose not to run again. One of those two candidates, Max Schultz, works at the state fire marshal's office and was prompted to run in the wake of the Primo "Howie" Leung teacher-student rape case arrest – and the ensuing chaos that has engulfed the district's board since.

But he doesn't want to be seen as a single-issue candidate; it's actually, "multiple issues," raised by the public due to a lack of confidence in the administration and the board, to the case itself, which he called "horrible," to the credentialing issues, too.

The board, Schultz said, would soon be facing other important issues, including what to do with the Rundlett Middle School project, as well as the district's charter, which requires the election of a new commission in November 2021.

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"I definitely don't want to be considered a single-issue person," he said. "But I do want to make sure that we get the right person in there, right now, to help the board feel confident that they can find a way through this crisis … so they can focus on important issues."

The District B seat is one of two seats that represents the residents of Wards 5, 6, and 7 – neighbors from Liberty Street to Penacook Street, Little Pond Road, and District 5 Road, west to the Hopkinton border, south to the Bow border, and east and north along the Merrimack River to Loudon Road.

Right now, Schultz added, there are a number of educators on the board, and those members were doing a "good job." However, there aren't many members who have experience dealing with management during emergencies, working with the media, or someone who can lead during a crisis.

Schultz said he could add that experience to the board.

"It seems like they're having a really hard working through that," he said. "That's step one. You've got to put the fire out before you know where you're going next. To get the public's trust back is so important."

Schultz also worried about the expansive reporting changes being made in the wake of the Leung case which seemed to be overburdening both the district and police. He said the district and board are attempting to make positive changes. But those changes needed to be discussed with the public, first responders, attorneys, and others, and not just instituted.

Another issue with the board and district is communication.

Schultz said the district was nice enough to send emails out to the community that included flyers from different events in the city. But information about the professional development of educators and other things pertinent to parents and their children's education appeared to be amiss.

When looking at the Rundlett project, Schultz said there is a lot more discussion that needs to happen before a decision is made, especially since part of the building, the west wing, isn't that old. More people, not less, needed to know what is going on in the district, so they could contribute and be involved, he added.

Schultz learned the importance of working with others while creating legislation at the Statehouse with legislators, union members, and builders, as an example. If people affected by public policy aren't in the loop, understanding what might happen with the stakeholders was an unknown. It also was a way to get buy-in from everyone who was involved in public policy, he noted – and that process is no different with schools, parents, their children, and the community.

"Any of the things that we're doing, they've got to reach a wider net of people, to get input from everyone affected by the decisions," he said. "Otherwise, you just fail. I think I can add (this) value."

Schultz said part of the public's stress was the inability of the board to take action. He admitted it was going to take time. Having done investigations himself, that often take an extended of period of time to resolve, this was understandable. At the same time, the public was very upset. The revelation that there were members of the administration that were not credentialed, too, only acerbated the fury with the public.

"You and I both know," he said, "that if a teacher were found to be not certified, they wouldn't hire them or they would terminate them. But it gives the impression to the public now, whether it is right or wrong, that it doesn’t matter up here, at our level. That is what the impression is … and the impression is reality."

Schultz wasn't sure if he would run. He was thinking about it. But after hearing some of the kids testifying about Leung at one of the meetings, he knew he act to act. The public needed to trust the school board again.

"I was just blown away," he said. "I go, 'I have to do something.' I go, 'I don't know if anyone else is doing anything … but I have got to do something.'"

Schultz would like to see the district go through both performance and financial audits, by outside firms, every three years, at the least, and possibly have that built into a new charter, requiring the audits. This process would ensure best practices, whether employees were certified and trained, and whether they were handling internal complaints properly. He also called for more transparency by the board and district when it comes to investigations of employees while making sure investigators were properly trained.

"I really hope I get elected," said Schultz. "I want to find out every damn detail and help fix it. I like to fix stuff. There are a lot of nice people and I want to help them."

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