Former Rundlett Assistant Principal Not Credentialed For 12 Years

CONCORD, NH — A former Concord School District assistant principal was in a major position of responsibility at Rundlett Middle School for more than a decade but was not properly credentialed with the state of New Hampshire, according to an audit and official documents. Heather Barker was the assistant principal at RMS for 12 years and 12 days, beginning in the 2007-2008 school year until July 12 this year, when she resigned from the position. According to the New Hampshire Department of Education, Barker became credentialed as a principal on the same day she resigned from SAU 8.

Grant Bosse, the department's director of communications, confirmed that Barker was not credentialed to be an assistant principal or principal before July 12.

"According to our records, Heather Barker first gained Principal certification this past July," he said. "Prior to that she did not hold either Principal or Assistant Principal certification."

Donna Palley, who is providing superintendent services for the Concord School District in the wake of School Superintendent Terri Forsten being placed on administrative leave, stated in a response to a 91-A public records request that Barker "resigned her employment" in Concord. A request for a copy of her resignation letter was rejected, with Palley citing the internal personnel practices provision where the disclosure might constitute invasion of privacy in the state's right-to-know law.

Before July 12, Barker held active experienced educator, special education administrator, elementary educator, and general special education educator credentials that expire in July 2021.

Not unlike Palley's three-year grace period to fulfill her credentialed status that she failed to perform after being named assistant superintendent, associate principals and principals are on the critical shortage list and have alternative avenues to credentialing in New Hampshire, according to the education department. Associate principals must have at least three years of experience, three references, and have either completed a state board approved master's program in school administration/leadership or enrolled in a program and finished all the education requirements in three years. This means that if Barker had not earned all her credits, she had until 2009 to finish her requirements and file with the state but didn't.

No one from the education department would comment on the frequency of incidents in the state concerning lax credentialed educators. But Stephen Appleby, administrator of the Bureau of Credentialing at the department, stated earlier this month that school districts with employees in positions of authority who are unchecked for years and years is "varying degrees of rare" in the state. That responsibility of checking credentials is on the shoulders of the district's superintendent.

"The Department of Education provides credentials for educators in New Hampshire," Bosse said. "It is the responsibility of school superintendents to ensure that their employees have the proper credentials for the positions they hold."

At the time of her hiring, as well as most of her reappointments to the assistant principal position at Rundlett, Chris Rath, the long-time school superintendent for SAU 8 who has since retired, was in charge and responsible for ensuring Barker was certified. Forsten also had, for a few years, the responsibility of checking to ensure Barker was credentialed.

The Concord Board of Education was caught completely off guard by the credentialing issues inside of the district. Monday, board President Jennifer Patterson, informed the community at the board's monthly meeting she was notified about Palley's non-certification Sept. 10 but thought it was being taken care of. Board members did not know that the district's business administrator, Jack Dunn, had been working in his position for more than seven years without his certification. Barker is now the third major employee within the district who was not credentialed for many years. The district is, however, in the process of a complete audit of all employees to ensure they are all credentialed.

Patterson was unavailable for comment Tuesday about Barker's certification, referring comments to Tom Croteau, a District A board member since 2012, in an away email.

Croteau, a long-time educator in the state, for more than three decades, including 19 years teaching in Concord and stints as assistant principal and principal, said all of the information coming out about the issue was shocking. When he was an educator, he always took the credentialing process seriously.

"It does surprise me," he said. "I don't know what's happened with this in our district … (the information) never trickled down to me."

Barker's timeline At Rundlett

Barker, according to school documents, worked for the district for around 25 years, all at Rundlett Middle School.

She was first hired as a special education teacher for the 1994-1995 school year at $28,994, and was promoted to special education coordinator for the 1996-1997 school year for $33,150. Barker was promoted to the director of special education for the district for the 2004-2005 school year at a salary of $65,425.

For the 2007-2008, she was promoted to assistant principal at a salary of $82,992. During Barker's last year with the district, the 2018-2019 school year, she was paid $111,070.

Barker appointed after child sexual assault case resignation

Barker was elevated to the position of assistant principal after Matthew McGonagle, the assistant principal at RMS for the 2005-2006 school year, resigned.

McGonalge was the subject of a lengthy sexual assault investigation involving a 14-year-old between 1999 and 2000, when he was a teacher at Gilford High School. He was 30 at the time and was accused of kissing, fondling, and assaulting the girl, inside of his vehicle, while on school grounds and in Laconia, while supposedly driving her home from school. The girl attempted to thwart his attacks and advances, and said McGonagle pursued her by writing letters and professing his love to her, according to court testimony published in the Laconia Daily Sun.

McGonagle pled guilty to one felonious sexual assault charge and two misdemeanor sexual assault charges in Belknap County Superior Court in July 2006 and was sentenced to two years in prison, according to press reports. His educator certifications were revoked by the NH DOE and he is currently on the New Hampshire Department of Safety's sex offender registry.

The accusations against McGonagle are eerily similar to ones made against Concord High School teacher Primo "Howie" Leung, who worked at Rundlett with McGonagle, and is accused of rape in Massachusetts and numerous inappropriate actions across many years which have led to the current upheaval at SAU 8.

During the time that McGonagle was a teacher at Gilford High School, Tom Sica, the principal of Concord High School, who is currently on paid administrative leave, was the assistant principal and later, principal in Gilford, according to a report on Patch.

Barker hired in Merrimack

This year, Barker was hired as the director of student services for the Merrimack School District, a position the district began searching to fill in April, according to a post on LinkedIn. Compensation information was not listed on the advertisement.

Barker did not return repeated requests for comment about why she was not certified during all of her years at Rundlett.

Dr. Mark McLaughin, the school superintendent for the Merrimack School District, also did not reply to an email requesting Barker's current salary at SAU 26.

In 2012, the dean of student services at the school earned $82,472, according to a post on Merrimack Patch.

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