Hanover
Bass, 64, said he had been angling to leave his post for more than a year now, and is looking forward to spending time with his family.
“The many names and faces I have met along the way will remain with me for many years to come,” he said, reading from a prepared statement at Tuesday’s SAU 70 board meeting. “My time here has been richly rewarding. Together we have taken advantage of many significant growth opportunities for staff and students alike. We have operated as a team, and that has made all the difference.”
His announcement came a few months after the resignation of Matthew Laramie, the former Bernice A. Ray School principal accused by district administrators of charging questionable expenses to a school-issued credit card.
Bass referenced the affair in his remarks.
“The issues that have come to light over the past few months involving the Ray School have been some of the most difficult of my career,” he said. “And, while I feel certain that we are now on a clear path to improvement and healing, the associated effort necessary to get there has been more than significant. The resulting time away from my wife and family has been far greater than I had hoped for and indeed greater than I am comfortable managing.”
Bass said he was committed to staying through the 2016-17 school year, though he also has discussed the possibility of leaving earlier if the School Board finds a replacement.
There also has been a shakeup on the school board.
Mimi Lichtenstein no longer is chairwoman of the Hanover School Board, having ceded the position to Kelly McConnell.
Lichtenstein, who is now vice chairwoman, said the switch was routine and had been expected earlier in the year, but events at the Ray School had delayed it.
In the SAU office, John Aubin, the assistant superintendent for business, is leaving to take a similar job in the South Burlington School District.
School Board members announced at Tuesday’s meeting that Jamie Teague, a business administrator in the Fall Mountain Regional School District in Charlestown, would replace him.
Board members unanimously voted to appoint Teague beginning July 1 at a salary of $112,500, according to meeting minutes from May 24.
Bass came to Dresden in 2011 from southern New Hampshire, where he served as superintendent for the towns of Windham and Pelham, which then were under a single SAU.
A Connecticut native, he attended the University of New Hampshire and Middlebury College and worked since 1977 in education, beginning as a high school English teacher in Manchester, where he still lives.
Bass’ estimated annual salary is about $153,000, according to this year’s contract with the SAU.
Carey Callaghan, chairman of the SAU 70 School Board, had high praise for Bass’ work, calling him a “visionary-type leader” in an interview on Thursday.
“If you’ve spent any time with Frank, you’ll know he’s brimming with energy and enthusiasm,” Callaghan said, “and I think that’s pretty infectious, and he’s brought that to students and administration — even at the board level, I think that’s been tremendous.”
Bass, meanwhile, said he was thinking of returning to his roots as an English teacher.
“Whether you’re a principal or assistant superintendent or superintendent, you never forget being a teacher,” he said.
He said he might teach literature classes as an adjunct at a college, or branch out into educational instruction. He also might do consulting.
In any event, Bass said, he was looking to set aside the commitments of a full-time administrative job.
“The job never leaves you,” he said. “It’s always in your head. I’m driving home from work and thinking about what needs to be done — what happened in a committee meeting or something that needs to be resolved. …You can’t treat this as a 9-to-5 commitment; it’s just always there.”
The search process will begin “as soon as practicable,” Callaghan said at Tuesday’s meeting.
“We will reach out and engage Hanover and Norwich members, staff, community members to think about what are the right qualities and skills, qualifications that make sense in the next superintendent,” he added in the Thursday interview.
Callaghan said administrators will launch a national search with a June 2017 deadline.
“It’s a great district, and it’s a great opportunity for someone who wants to take a high-achieving district to an even higher level,” he said.
Rob Wolfe can be reached at rwolfe@vnews.com or 603-727-3242.