CLAREMONT — The School District has signed a contract with Timothy Broadrick as the next superintendent for the Claremont school system, the SAU announced Tuesday.
Broadrick will take over from interim Superintendent Kerry Kennedy as Claremont becomes a single district SAU. Unity, which voted to form its own SAU last year, will become SAU 109 on July 1.
“I see a lot of opportunity for rapid progress in Claremont,” Broadrick stated in a news release from the SAU. “I think together we can quickly implement sound management practices in the central office and put the focus back on student learning in the upcoming year. What happens between teachers and kids in the schools is what really matters.”
Before Kennedy, Chris Pratt served as superintendent from early 2024, following the firing of Mike Tempesta in January of that year, to late last summer when he was placed on administrative leave and later resigned in the face of the district’s financial crisis stemming from a $5 million deficit. Tempesta earned $143,000 a year. Pratt was paid $147,000.
Broadrick’s two-year contract begins July 1 and will pay him $182,500 in his first year, with a $5,000 increase to $187,500 the second year.
The SAU stated in a news release that Broadrick will “spend time in the district” each week until he begins his role officially.
The contract states that should Broadrick perform duties for SAU 6 before July 1, Claremont will pay his current employer, the Prospect Mountain Joint Board a rate of $750 per day, with a cap of $9,000.
Broadrick told the search committee he would not be moving to Claremont from his home in Eliot, Maine, a two-hour drive from Claremont, and his salary reflects negotiated expenses to stay in Claremont. The contract includes wording that the position is full time and year round with “extensive obligations on evenings and weekends.”
Since 2019, Broadrick has been the superintendent of schools for The Prospect Mountain Schools, serving Alton and Barnstead in central New Hampshire.
Previously, he was superintendent-director of Shawsheen Valley Regional Vocational Technical School in Billerica, Mass., from 2015-2019.
In his first 90 days in Claremont, Broadrick said he would spend a lot of time listening to people, and looking at a lot of data to try to paint an accurate picture of the status quo.
Then, in his first year, Broadrick told the search committee of the Claremont School Board that he would work with the board and community to write a “recovery plan” and in his second year he would “build and mentor the team that will implement that plan and guide the district into the future.”
He highlighted what he said were important guidelines to ensure fiscal health. These include conservative budgeting, purchasing rules, financial management policies and monthly expenditure reports at public meetings.
Broadrick told the committee when “his team” took over the Barnstead School District there was a financial crisis including embezzlement and an unqualified auditor. A forensic audit was conducted, he said. He kept residents informed throughout the process and the district was made “whole” for its losses.
During this time, Broadrick said the board adopted new fiscal policies, with many focused on purchasing and training staff in purchasing processes.
“While the financial crisis may be Claremont’s biggest problem right now, in my opinion it’s actually not the hardest thing to fix,” Broadrick said. “This requires clarity and consistency…”
Regarding test scores, where Claremont falls below state averages, Broadrick said there isn’t an overnight fix and should be at least a five-year project.
He does not see himself in the role of curriculum director and supports hiring a district-level director or assistant superintendent for curriculum, instruction, and assessment, whom he would supervise.
“Improving curriculum and instruction is one of the most frustrating projects in a public school district,” he told the search committee. “It takes years, and the reason it takes years is that in order to do it right you have to build a culture that uses data to inform instructional decisions.”
Improvements would rely on data collection as the starting point, followed by ensuring curriculum and lessons align with state standards that are tested and are uniformly taught, he said.
“The student experience should not depend on which teacher a child has or in which school he or she is enrolled,” Broadrick said.
Broadrick told the committee he sees himself as a “cheerleader” for the community and will look to rebuild trust by being visible at athletic events, meetings of local service organizations such as the Rotary and community events like farmers markets.
“I would expect to meet not just with members of the School Board, but with the mayor, members of the city council, business leaders, the school athletic boosters, PTA or PTO, special (education) parent groups and others,” Broadrick said.
Patrick O’Grady can be reached at pogclmt@gmail.com.
