Concord's Board Of Education Gets 4 New Faces To Serve

CONCORD, NH — Four new community voices were elected to Concord's Board of Education Tuesday to represent city parents and property taxpayers after tens of thousands of voters cast ballots in one of the highest turnouts ever for a school board election.

In the District A race, to represent voters in Wards 1, 2, 3, and 4, Kate West easily bested Roy Schweiker by a more than two-to-one margin. In the West End and South End district, District B, covering Wards 5, 6, and 7, Jonathan Weinberg beat Melissa Clark, who came in second, and Allie Maltais, who placed third. In the District C race, Brenda Hastings won with Kate Vaughn placing second 300-votes behind her and Timothy Fanelli trailing both women.

Pamela Walsh also won the remaining one-year of the at-large seat that was vacated by president and long-time board member Jennifer Patterson, who resigned at the end of August when she moved out of state. Walsh won nine of 10 wards, receiving around 2,100 more votes than Jane Presby, another candidate who was running for the seat.

Three other candidates who were representing district seats — Tom Croteau of District A, Liza Poinier of District B, and Chuck Crush of District C, all chose not to run again, meaning regardless of who was victorious on Tuesday, four new faces would be on the board. With the election of Dave Parker in District B and Gina Cannon in District C last year, two-thirds of the board's seat would have turned over in a year.

The state of the Concord school board has been tumultuous and turbulent in the wake of the Primo "Howie" Leung teacher-rape case which began after an incident in December 2018, where he is accused of cuddling and kissing a high school student in a car.

At the polls around the city, the actions of the district and the board after the Leung incident was revealed to the public months later were still on the minds of candidates as they showed their presence at the polls.

Clark, who was standing outside of the Ward 5 polling location at the Green Street Community Center with her husband, said it was a great experience but she wished that the COVID-19 pandemic had not dampened the more personal, one-on-one interaction that she enjoyed.

"I'm not a public speaker," she sais. "I'm better in-person … this is how I work; I love talking to people. I wish I had gotten out in the community a little more. There were plenty of people we weren't able to reach for many different reasons. It was hard. I wish there was some other outlet where I could reach voters."

Clark added, "I love this town and I wish I could have articulated that a little more" but the experience was "awesome."

Jennifer Frizzell, a long-time activist in the city, was holding a sign for Walsh at the Ward 5 polls. She called the behavior of the administration during the Leung situation unacceptable. The community really needed people with Walsh's skillset at this time, Frizzell added.

"In addition to the top of the ticket races," she said, "the school board is a consequential races. We have at-large seats and district seats. And Pam is stepping up to work on the challenges in the school system."

Over at Bektash Temple, where Ward 8 voters cast ballots, Jane Dodson and Lexie Reed, a former student of Brenda Hastings, a District C school board candidate who used to teach at Broken Ground Elementary School, were holding signs supporting her. Reed said she was a great educator.

"She was one of the best," she said. "One of the all-time greats."

Dodson said, "I think she is looking to improve transparency and, the big thing here is, she's newly retired." She will know how to balance the needs of the children, the teachers, and parents, too, she said, and has a real connection to everyone. Later, Hastings appeared at the polls and felt good about her chances.

At Broken Ground, Elizabeth Lahey, the spouse of another District C candidate, Kate Vaughn, said she was prompted to run due to many of the transparency issues the district had been faced with after the Leung situation broke.

"It's a very difficult time," she said. "I think the school district is in need of new people, new ideas, new direction, a broader, more forward-thinking visions."

After voting in Ward 5, Parker, who is also an educator, said it was great to see the enthusiasm of all the new candidates and believed all would bring something new and different to the board. The new faces, he said, brings new energy, too, and none are connected to the past.

"It's a lot of hard work," he said. "It's very detailed; it's very time consuming. It can be exciting … but it's a job. And it's demanding. We have to work hard at listening to the public and being transparent and this is a move in the right direction."

Ward 3 voters cast ballots at the Beaver Meadow Golf Course and Jim Richards, the interim president of the school board, who was holding a sign for his wife, Beth, a state representative, said the new faces on the board would be a good thing and he looked forward to working with whoever won.

Candidates Respond To 2020 Returns

Presby said she was "very appreciative" of the support she received and thanked everyone who cast a ballot for her in the at-large race.

"I also want to thank the many people who have helped me throughout this campaign," she said. "I feel very privileged to have had the support of so many wonderful people."

Walsh also thanked her voters.

"I am grateful to the people for giving me this opportunity, and looking forward to getting started," she said.

Weinberg thanked his friends and family for holding signs and standing out at the polls during the chilly temperatures Tuesday.

"This has been a journey," he said. "I want to give a shout-out to Allie Maltais, who was not only a fierce competitor, but a thoughtful and intelligent individual who became my friend on the campaign trail. I am beyond grateful for the relationships forged and the immense support and I look forward to working on behalf of District B on the Concord School Board."

Hastings thanked her supporters and said she was "overwhelmed by the support" of so many people willing to give during a time "where nothing is normal and every day is chaotic." She said the city was fortunate to have other candidates, like Fanelli and Vaughn, who were compassionate, intelligent, and committed.

"This experience has provided me numerous opportunities to grow," she said. "I have welcomed those opportunities, have sometimes struggled with them, and have changed as a person because of them. I end this campaign a better person because of these opportunities, and I thank you. I am very grateful for this victory."

But, Hastings added, there was work to do, too, to restore the integrity of the district.

"I look forward to bringing positive change to the community through our schools," she said.

Fanelli, who fell short, said there were "so many great candidates" that he was very encouraged for the future of the board.

“I am proud to have run, and greatly appreciate the support and encouragement of the many, many members of the community I’ve been able to engage with during the course of the campaign," he added.

More Members Respond, Too

Danielle Smith, another school board member, said she was looking forward to working with the new board members.

"The nature of our cyclical school board elections means that each year there is the potential for new candidates to emerge," she said. "This year just happens to be one in which there will be four completely new members to the Board. I am so excited to meet them on a more personal level, to hear their ideas for reshaping the district, and to work with them to accomplish even greater feats for our community."

Cannon agreed and said she looked forward to working with the new members.

"Varied points of view, representing the values of our community, makes our board stronger and more reflective of the diversity of Concord," she said.

Barbara Higgins, another board member, offered a lengthy blog post on Patch talking about the school board race.

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