Concord School District Shakes Up School Administration

CONCORD, NH — A few schools in the Concord School District will see changes in their administrative staff due to new hires, while parents were offered the chance to meet another round of potential high school assistant principals.

Board of education members approved of 18 Concord Administrator Association nominees to lead the district’s schools Monday. Noticeably missing from the list was Paulette Fitzgerald, the current Rundlett Middle School principal. No other candidate was listed for the position and the district posted a listing for the open position on Tuesday. Fitzgerald was hired by the district in 2018.

Along with a new ad for an assistant principal at Concord High School, an elementary assistant principal for student services job was listed in late March for the Christa McAuliffe Elementary School.

On Tuesday, members of the CHS community were informed there would be three new candidates to meet on Thursday for an assistant principal position at the school.

Graeme Crowther, a CHS math teacher and curriculum facilitator, Rebecca DelBarone, the principal of the Providence Career and Technical Academy in Providence, Rhode Island, and Paul Famulari, a curriculum coordinator at Kingswood Regional High School in Wolfeboro, made the cut after the district re-listed the job on March 17 for 10 days.

Both Crowther and Famulari hold principal credentials with the New Hampshire Department of Education.

In an email, the school said, “upon completion of visits from our assistant principal candidates about a month ago, a unanimous decision on a finalist could not be made. As a result, the position was reposted.”

Michele Speckman, one of the two prior candidates, was rehired for another year in her current position as director of special education at the high school Monday.

Susan Gualtieri, an assistant principal in Epping, who lives in Concord and has many years of education experience, including in Derry and Londonderry, was the other candidate for the position who was interviewed in March.

The hiring committee reconvened, met with new candidates, and the three finalists were chosen.

Parents, families, and community members can meet with the candidates in the Main Office Conference Room during the following times:

• DelBarone from 9 to 9:45 a.m.
• Famulari from 9:45 to 10:30 a.m.
• Crowther from 10:30 to 11:15 a.m.

The candidates will also tour the school and meet with staffers and students.

Timothy Herbert will take over for Michael Reardon at CHS, who is leaving at the end of the year, returning to retirement. Kaileen Chilauskas and James Corkum will be staying on as assistant principals. Anne Fowler, who was hired to replace Steve Rothenberg, will be the CRTC principal next year.

Kim Ezen and Shawn White will be assistant principals at RMS next year.

Laura Landry, Michele Vance, Susan Lauze, Kristen Gallo, and Kathleen Scarpati will be principals for the elementary schools while Anthony Blinn, Siza Mtimbiri, Katrina Mackey, and Erin Cayer will be assistant principals and address student services at the schools.

Fitzgerald did return an email seeking comment about her future plans. Gualtieri also did not return an email seeking comment.

At Monday’s meeting, Tom Croteau, who was appointed to fill-in the remainder of one of the District A seats, representing Wards 1, 2, 3, and 4, asked if there was flexibility in moving staff around after the board approved the slate.

Kathleen Murphy, the district’s superintendent, said, when necessary, officials had to use the resources available and make shifts if needed. However, she said she would be using the flexibility “very carefully.”

The board unanimously approved the slate of hires.

Murphy did not return requests for comment by email about the changes.

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