NEWPORT — The list of resignations of Newport school officials continues to grow, as residents and educators try to restore civility and cooperation to the relationship between school officials and outspoken School Board member Bert Spaulding.

On Thursday, an emotional Newport School Board accepted the resignation of Patrice Glancey, director of special education and interim principal at Richards Elementary School, along with the resignations of two Newport Middle High School teachers, Carey Citak and Melissa Mitchler, the latter of whom serves as co-president of the Newport Teachers Association.

Glancey is the third top district administrator to resign since April, along with Superintendent Brendan Minnihan and Business Director Ed Emonds; all have cited Spaulding’s disparagement of the schools as their central reason for departing.

“When you use your power and position to belittle and harass administrators, and indirectly the staff, the students and the families of this community, you are not working for what’s best for kids,” Glancey said. “You are doing the opposite of what’s best for kids. And that no longer aligns with my values of who I am as a person and what I can do as a leader.”

Approximately 30 residents and educators filled the meeting room for the last board meeting of the district’s fiscal year. During the public forum portion of the meeting, residents lamented the loss of their district’s top administrators.

Residents also directed criticism at Spaulding, alleging that Spaulding’s ongoing denigration of Newport’s schools and the administration, and his conduct in board meetings — which has included the use of profanity and contentious arguments with board members — has eroded Spaulding’s working relationship with his colleagues and driven administrators to seek positions in other districts.

Resident John Lunn, director of Newport Community Television, told Spaulding that, while Spaulding often brings sharp insight and understanding of the school district’s issues, his approach to conveying those concerns is “tragically flawed.”

“It has cost us our administration and is costing us in amounts of emotional stress, money and just chaos,” Lunn told Spaulding. “If we want to find a way forward, you have always said that (people) have to change.”

Spaulding, who won an uncontested election to the School Board in 2021, has been critical of district and school administrators in public meetings this year over the district’s elementary school ranking on SchoolDigger.com, which puts Richards Elementary School at 211 out of 211 Granite State schools based on test score data from the state and federal departments of education.

School administrators acknowledge a need for improvement but said they cannot accept the divisive and interfering approach that Spaulding takes. This approach includes Spaulding’s frequent criticism about Richards Elementary’s underperformance and the failure of district and school administrators to improve the scores, and using public forums outside the school district, such as town Selectboard meetings, to vent his dissatisfaction with the schools and the board.

Administrators also allege that Spaulding oversteps his authority as a board member, by visiting administrative offices without the board’s consent and directing the administrators in how to perform their duties.

Minnihan, in his letter of resignation to the board in April, stated that the school board’s responsibility is to “provide oversight and direction through strategic planning,” though the superintendent, not the School Board, oversees the day-to-day operations.

“It takes everyone working together, within the expectations and boundaries of their roles, for our students to achieve the highest degree of success,” Minnihan wrote at the time. “(But) over the past month it has become clear to me that some individuals in the district do not understand, agree with or appreciate the clearly defined roles and responsibilities of a school board versus a superintendent.”

School Board Vice Chairwoman Rhonda Callum-King also announced her resignation on Thursday, after six full terms of service. Callum-King, the longest actively serving member, said she could no longer serve alongside Spaulding and tolerate his disrespect of employees and colleagues.

“I have thrown my head to the wall over and over to hire these people,” Callum-King said, prior to leaving the board table. “They come here because they love it. And then they are abused. We are abused. ... I’m sorry, but this is ill.”

Spaulding, as both a resident and a board member, has a long history of verbal clashes and conflicts with Callum-King and other board members, sometimes resulting in long shouting matches or exchanges of profanity. In 2021, Spaulding filed a suit in Sullivan County Superior Court to order a search of Callum-King’s computer for any emails that pertain to Spaulding. The court later dismissed Spaulding’s complaint, saying that individuals are not required to comply with New Hampshire right-to-know requests.

Spaulding told the community not to expect him to change his conduct, saying that “someone needs to have the guts and the courage” to call out “unacceptable” performances or outcomes.

“When the effort stops being to kill the messenger and when we actually want to get something done and how to do it, then that’s OK (with me),” Spaulding said. “But to listen to a teacher stand up here and say it’s not doable, or that teachers are overloaded is, to me, defeating right from the get-go.”

Newport administrators have previously shared their efforts with the board to improve learning outcomes at Richards Elementary, but also encouraged the board to learn more about the metrics behind assessment scores, as drawing conclusions from data without sufficient context can lead to misunderstanding.

Virginia “Biddy” Irwin, a retired educator and former Newport School Board member, noted that SchoolDigger.com states a disclaimer on its website that a one-time assessment is not a valid way to rate a district.

School districts, nationwide, as well in the Upper Valley, are facing similar challenges of administrator turnover and teacher shortages, due to a growing number of educators expressing fatigue and frustration.

Newport, Fall Mountain, Windsor and Springfield, Vt., are among the districts in New Hampshire and Vermont set to enter next school year with new superintendents.

Last month, Fall Mountain announced the hiring of Minnihan as its interim superintendent, replacing Lori Landry, who is retiring after 14 years in the district.

Newport recently hired former Claremont Assistant Superintendent Donna Magoon to succeed Minnihan.

Magoon, who left Claremont in 2021, said she is dedicated to working with the Newport community to move the district in a positive direction.

“I sit here and listen to the concerns, and I do take them in,” Magoon said. “I look forward to having more feedback from the community, the board and from parents to move the district forward.”

The district also recently hired Diane Mulholland, tax collector in Derry, N.H., to take over the role of finance director.

Patrick Adrian can be reached at pfadrian25@gmail.com.

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