Superintendent Search Committee Recommends Forsten for Position

The search committee in charge of finding a new superintendent for the Concord School District has decided to recommend Terri Forsten, the current superintendent of Laconia, to the full board next week.

According to an email to parents, the district reported that Forsten would be interviewed by the full board on April 8, after a daylong visit with school district employees and the general public.

Forsten, who lives in Concord, started her career in the mid-1980s as a special education teacher at Rundlett Junior High School. She was a principal in Laconia for a decade and was named the assistant superintendent in 2005. Forsten was named the superintendent in Laconia 2013.

According to LinkedIn, she has an education degree from Keene State College and received her Masters in educational leadership and administration in 1990.

In a statement, Concord School Board President Clint Cogswell, who also served on the search committee, commended the committee, adding that, “Every person I asked to serve on the search immediately said yes, without knowing just how much time and energy would be spent. No one balked at what ultimately turned out to be a very time consuming process, and the discussions on the merits of the candidates were some of the most collegial and thought-provoking conversations I’ve had in my time on the school board.”

The committee also interviewed Robert Gadomski, the superintendent for SAU 44 (Northwood, Nottingham, and Stafford) and Sheldon Berman, a superintendent from Eugene, OR, who was interviewed via Skype.

School employees will have the opportunity to meet Forsten at the Abbot-Downing Elementary School from 3 to 4:15 p.m. on April 8. Community members can attend a forum with Forsen at 6 p.m. at the SAU Office on Liberty Street.

At 7 p.m., the full board will interview her and vote on her nomination.

Current school superintendent, Chris Rath, will be stepping down on June 30.