New Concord School District Charter Commission Meets Tuesday

CONCORD, NH — Newly elected members of the 2021 Concord School District Charter Commission will meet for the first time on Tuesday.

The meeting, which is scheduled for 6 p.m. in the school board’s meeting room in the basement of 38 Liberty St. (the old Dewey Elementary School), is an organizational meeting, primarily focused on electing committee leadership. A chairperson, vice-chairperson, and clerk are expected to be chosen. During the course of the next few months, the commission will eye the current charter for SAU 8 and decide what, if any, changes to make.

Masks are required in the building, whether vaccinated for COVID-19 or not, according to the school district.

The commission includes at large members William Ardinger, an attorney with Rath Young and Pignatelli, Clint Cogswell, a former school administrator and school board member, and Elizabeth “Betty” Hoadley, a former educator and school board member. Tom Croteau, a former educator, administrator, and school board member, as well as Tracey Lesser, an educator, will be representing District A (Wards 1, 2, 3, and 4). Wilbur “Bill” Glahn, an attorney at McLane Middleton and former school board member, as well as Nancy Kane, another former school board member, a nurse, and cancer center director, will represent District B (Wards 5, 6, and 7). District C (Wards 8, 9, and 10) will be represented by Kate Vaughn, a former school board candidate and an attorney, and Eric Weiner, a former school board candidate and former PTO president.

Four of the members, in District A and District B, ran unopposed. Ardinger, Cogswell, and Hoadley all served on the 2011 Concord School District Charter Commission which forwarded only one reform to the voters in 2011, the creation of district, multi-ward school board members, which required a 60 percent super-majority to be approved.

During debates, written submissions, and past interviews, none of the members who ran in competitive races made a commitment to forward any significant reforms to the charter.

2021 Concord NH Patch Coverage

• Concord Election Turnout Lowest In 10 Years Despite Competition
• Past Members, Challengers Debate Concord School Charter: Videos
• More Concord School Candidates Jump In On Last Day Of Filing
• Navigating The Sordid Past Of Concord's School District Charter
• Herschlag: No to City Councilors on School District Commission
• Concord City Council, School Board, Charter Candidates Emerge
• Concord Mayor, City Council, School Election Signups Begin Friday
• Concord School Board, Charter Seat Signups Begin Sept. 3

2011 Concord NH Patch Coverage

• AG: Concord School Board Member Violated Elections Laws
• Rep. to File Complaint Against School Officials
• Concord Voters To Consider Ballot Questions on Election Day
• Voters Face School District Charter Ballot Questions
• Charter Proposal Hits a Snag
• School District Charter Commission Approves Recommendations

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