Anonymous Comment Feature Removed

I've decided to turn off the Anonymous comments. It seems as if the community has vented and the comments then descended into blame, petty arguments, and mudslinging. If you would like to post anything, you are all welcome to do so, however, you need to register for a Google ID. It is a free and painless process. The link is here:

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Also, Fosters wrote an article regarding last nights meeting. The text is below.

Article published Apr 14, 2011
Failure to select Oyster River principal draws public fury

DURHAM — Students, teachers and parents have called the rejection of the nomination for a new high school principal "shocking" and are upset with the School Board's response to its decision.

As Durham police patrolled the parking lot and school hallways as a precaution, about 60 community members filled the meeting room, talking about why they were angry with the School Board.

Others who could not find a seat sat in the hallway watching the meeting on televisions.

"You screwed these kids the other night, " said resident John Collins during public comment. "You screwed them."

Echoing the response of other community members, parents and students who were present, Collins said he was unhappy the School Board had not chosen a permanent principal to replace Laura Rogers, who will be leaving at the end of the year.

Since mid-February, the 15 members of the high school principal search committee sifted through 44 applications, narrowing the field down to two final candidates, Justin Campbell and Robert Thompson.

Campbell is the director of academic studies at Milford High School and Thompson is currently the dean of students at Souhegan High School in Amherst.

At Monday's School Board meeting, both candidates responded to questions from school board members. The meeting then went into a nonpublic session where board members heard Superintendent Howard Colter nominate his preferred candidate, Campbell, to fill the open position.

He said he made his decision based on Campbell's teaching background, past administrative experience and that he was currently working on his doctorate at the University of New Hampshire.

"Both our candidates were outstanding," Colter said. "But you pick the person you think is the best fit, and I felt that Justin's teaching background, education and experiences as administrator gave him a bit."

However, board members voted 4-3 against the nomination, with members James Kach, Megan Turnbull, Ann Lane and Jocelyn O'Quinn voting in the majority.

Henry Brackett, Krista Butts, and Anne Wright supported Colter's nomination.

Julie Reece, who worked on the search committee, said the group was not given any formal criteria on how to select a candidate. Members met and discussed what would make a good principal and they came up with questions for interviews.

She said she was shocked when she learned neither candidate was chosen.

"They were in nonpublic for over an hour and when they came back, it was apparent things hadn't gone the way we had anticipated," she said.

The committee has not learned what, if any, steps it will need to take to continue a search for a new principal.

During Wednesday's meeting, board members went into a 10-minute nonpublic session to discuss what they wanted to make for a public statement. After returning to the meeting, members discussed at length how they wanted to word their public statement about Monday night's decision.

With a previously written statement by O'Quinn, members said they made their decision by considering the "pending state budget" and the superintendent's departure in 2012.

Members also said they did not receive enough time to consider the candidates during Monday's meeting because Colter had immediately announced his nomination during the nonpublic session.

Community members were allowed a second time to speak before the board.

Many claimed the board was trying to do "damage control" and were "throwing Colter under the bus" as an excuse for its decision. Others said they are disappointed the board was citing possible future budget constraints as a reason for not hiring a principal.

ORHS junior Riley Maynard, who signed the "We Need A Principal" sign that hung in the meeting room, said she was upset the board had not listened to the students who wanted Campbell to become principal.

"We knew who we wanted," she said. "The two guys were incredible, but once it got to the School Board, it got shut down. It was disappointing."

Maynard said she doesn't expect the candidates to come back before the board, but would like to know why there was no explanation for the rejected nomination.

"If we could have a permanent principal, why wouldn't we?" she asked.

Other students have said they want answers, not to hear the board blame Colter for not nominating a second candidate. Many students at the meeting said they are planning a walkout Thursday morning in response to not hearing answers from board members.

"I felt very proud of the students coming out here and speaking up," said state Rep. Jenna Roberts, D-Durham, after the meeting. "Clearly people want to get things off their chest."

School Board Student Representative Cody Jacobsen said after the meeting that he did not think the board was giving the community an answer that was sufficient.

"Frankly, I don't see any reason why they should wait until April 27," he said. "They aren't going to hear anything from Concord by then."

The School Board plans to discuss the impact of the decision at its April 27 meeting and to talk about what is the next step for the district to fill the position.