After Tuesday evening’s School Board meeting, I have been thinking about many of the issues discussed. I have been contacted by many concerned citizens in the city. Citizens are very concerned with the direction this district is heading and those that are at the helm.
I raised some of these concerns at Tuesday’s meeting and have also done so in the past. Back when Superintendent Tucker was under investigation, I felt that things were being swept under the table and that things have been done that were inappropriate; I voiced these concerns. We have a Chair that talks the talk but does not walk the walk. The Chair is to appoint a board member or members with board consensus to committees – this has been the standard practice for all the years I have been on the Board (6 years) and well before that also talking with past Board members.
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Let’s break this down so all can see it since none of you stood for what was right at the Board meeting. With the WHS Principal, we did not know about policy CFA and no Board member was part of the creation process. Then with the Elm St Principal committee, the Chair asked for volunteers. We had a Board discussion and then came to a consensus on who should be on that committee. The same process was also done for the PSS and LHS Principal committees.
For the Diversity Task Force, which is a Superintendent committee, this was discussed under the “Chair Report”. Anderson asked for volunteers, and Heather wanted to be on it, we had a Board discussion and then ended up with a consensus; the same process as the Principal committees. So 4 out of 5 committees had the same process EXCEPT for this last one of the LMS Principal committee (our 6th committee). There was NO final Board discussion or consensus around it. That was very HYPOCRITICAL of all you say we aren’t consistent.
Policy BBAB is very clear stating that committees must have consensus with all of the Board members on them and NOT simply Board level committees. The Superintendent is not in charge of the Board – the Chair is. What went down Tuesday night was a very clear disregard for policy and past practice. I’m really not sure what Chair Anderson’s motive is, but it goes against everything a School Board stands for and her submissive behavior is hurting the Board!!!
The Chair at Tuesday night’s meeting was arrogant and dismissive of the past practices, demonstrating a lack of honesty transparency, and disrespect to the board and its policies. I feel like the trust and integrity of what she said she wanted to bring back to this Board was just lip service. I have no faith or trust in her position as Chair to be honest, fair, and transparent to Board members or the citizens of Laconia.
I now question the search committees. Many of these committee members are newer staff members. Why is this the case? Why are not more seasoned/tenured staff members being asked to sit on these committees? If I am mistaken on this issue, please supply me with the list of each staff member on these committees and their date of hire. I am also concerned that we have a consultant – not even a staff member on one or two of these committees. How and why are these people on these committees? I don’t believe that is the role of a consultant and this was not what was portrayed to the Board when these consultants were hired, something I did not agree with.
I have heard through the community that the three administration positions have already been pre-determined as being Mr. Tucker’s choices. They are as follows:
- Chris Ennis for LMS Principal
- Aaron Jones for LMS A. Principal
- Aaron Hayward for District Curriculum Director.
The fact that community members are concerned with the idea that this may be the case and that the committees are just formalities really concerns me and the citizens of Laconia; it should concern every other Board member. We as a Board speak of honesty, transparency, and fair processes and I believe this may not be the case. When Mr. Tucker asked that we extend the LHS interim principal for one more year, I called Mr. Tucker and Mr. Hayward out that this is the plan so that Mr. Hayward could complete his School Board seat and then become the next Principal of the High school.
We had a great process and experience in choosing our new Principal for LHS and Mr. Hayward was a candidate but was not chosen for several reasons. I again voice my concerns that Mr. Hayward is in the running for an administrator position. Is this Mr. Tucker’s way of paying him back for helping cover up issues from his investigation? Is this the quid-pro-quo that I mentioned in a Letter to the Editor of the Laconia Daily Sun a few months back?
I also am concerned that grants are not in place and that many of you approved a budget without necessary corrections being done (without solid answers on grant expiration dates). Corrections and information should have been given before the budget was approved.
We have a student population that cannot read, write, do math or science. The school district is 70% DEFICIENT in all areas (this is the average) – some areas are much worse! We are Administrative top heavy. Superintendent Tucker says we are improving – how can anyone say that with a 70% DEFICIENT in reading, math, and science be a good school district? How is a top-heavy Administrative District helping our children? We need more hands-on staff not more hands-off staff!
Let’s not forget the ALL STAFF training Mr. Tucker did just before CRT teachings were banned in the schools. I have attached the slide shows for a reminder. He believes that telling kids to lie to their parents is good. He believes in sexualizing our children with Gender Bread figures. Don’t forget the issues with bullying in the district. There are many complaints as I hear from parents all the time – the children are the ones suffering. Parents get nowhere and either give up with no idea where to go or pull their children from the District as the District isn’t listening.
Now let’s talk about the timeline for the Department of labor appeal. On the invoice dated 2/14/23, on January 5, 2023, the law firm McLane Middleton reviewed the decision from the Dept. of Labor. We had our Board meeting on January 10, 2023. We had twenty days to file an appeal with the courts – Mr. Tucker and the Chair should have informed the Board at that meeting of what was going on as ULTIMATELY, THE BOARD HAS AUTHORITY – not Superintendent Tucker. How come he or the Chair did not do this? And how come we were never informed of the Department of Labor hearing, to begin with? Why was that not told to us? At that point and time, we were no longer involved and we as the Board should have known what was happening.
All these issues on their own are easy to ignore, push aside, overlook, or chalk up to a mistake. Now look at all of these events in toto, issues that have happened over the last two or so years: This district is a mess. We are losing good staff.
I ask you to think of what the common denominator is – it is Superintendent Tucker. We as a Board need to be taking a very close look at all of these events and issues as a whole. Can we really trust Superintendent Tucker to do what is right for the District? Have we seen an improvement in the efficiency of our children’s education? I say no.
As a Board, we should be at the helm of this District and we are not. We are being deceived and manipulated by Superintendent Tucker and allowing him to do what he wants and by his agenda. This agenda is not what is best for our community, our district, or the children.
I love this community. I love this State and the people who live here. I believe in God, Country, and Family. I believe in honesty, integrity, and calling a spade a spade. I have voiced all of these concerns and many others over the last couple of years. We need to hold a higher standard for those that are overseeing children’s education.
If I am wrong on the issue with the chosen three administrators, then great, but I don’t believe I am. Now that it has been called out – will one or all of the chosen candidates be changed to prove me wrong Will one or two be changed to prove me wrong, maybe?
The words of citizens of Laconia are saying they are not happy. They see what is happening behind the scenes and they know what happened at the Middle School when Superintendent Tucker quickly ended the meeting because he did not like being called out. This is a fact I have heard from citizens in the same depiction of the event. My biggest concern is that Mr. Hayward will get a position in this District. This will be the reward for helping Superintendent Tucker out of his self-made difficulties. Mr. Hayward is not a good choice for any position we may have in our District. He is rude, disrespectful, and degrading to women – see past Coard meetings for verification.
You may not agree with me on any one of these concerns or all that is fine. These concerns need to be looked at – they need to be considered. Our #1 job is giving our city’s children the best education possible and we are not and that starts at the top – not at the bottom.
Dawn Johnson
Laconia School Board, Ward 4
