Filing Period For Concord School Board Candidates Begins Sept. 9

CONCORD, NH — Three Concord School District board of education seats will be up for grabs in November.

Signups for the District A, B, and C seats will begin at 8 a.m. on Sept. 9 at the Concord School District office at 38 Liberty St. Filing will end at 5 p.m. on Sept. 19. The filing fee is $5. District A covers Wards 1, 2, 3, and 4; District B is Wards 5, 6, and 7; with Wards 8, 9, and 10 represented by District C.

David Parker, who represents District B, said he was undecided about whether he would run again.

At post time, incumbents Jim Richards, the president of the board, who represents District A, and Virginia Cannon in District C, had not confirmed their intentions for 2022.

In the past, board members have called the job rewarding but thankless due to the many hours of meetings and grabbling with all of the many issues facing a modern public school district, including violence and bullying issues, teacher-student rape and other incidents, and the changing demographics of the city its district’s student body, which is still 80 percent white.

Members of the board have approved the building of a new middle school, estimated to cost as much $175 million, even though there is no consensus in the community that a new school is needed or should be built. A proposal has been floated to purchase land on Clinton Street across from land the district already owns for a new school. Some in the community feel the school should be built on its current footprint. Others believe the school, a third of which is around three decades old, should be renovated, while some have suggested the district build a second smaller middle school on the east side of the city, where most of the growth in new families is located.

Unlike voters in all but a handful of communities in New Hampshire and the nation, SAU 8 parents are not allowed to vote on large projects, and the city’s politicos have hampered every effort to loosen the autonomy of the district and allow democracy to flourish in the city. The Concord School District has been autonomous, without oversight from the voters or another political body, since the late 1960s.

The district also announced its intention to hire a diversity, equity, and inclusion director, at nearly six figures, after increasing spending by more than $1 million for new administrators at the elementary school level and a Title IX director a few years ago. At the same time, city residents are dealing with the highest property taxes in history.

Concord School District voters will also be voting on five charter commission amendments, including proposals to allow school board members to set stipend amounts for their time, changing the charter amendment approval process to include a 3/5ths majority as well as school board members' approval, and changing the process for clerk and treasurer from elected to appointed positions.

Candidates elected on Nov. 8 will begin their terms on Jan. 1, 2023, and serve for three years. The term for each ends on Dec. 31.

Questions about running can be directed to Patrick Taylor, the school district clerk, at ptaylor@sau8.org.

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