CHARLESTOWN — Brendan Minnihan, who announced in early April that he plans to resign as superintendent of the Newport School District at the end of the school year, has been hired as interim superintendent for the Fall Mountain Regional School District for the 2022-23 school year.
According to news release from SAU 60, Minnihan was the school board’s unanimous choice among three finalists interviewed. Minnihan began his administrative career in 2006 as assistant superintendent for the Fall Mountain District, the release said.
In his April 5 resignation letter in Newport, Minnihan, who will depart on July 5, said the “current climate in the district” prevented him from fulfilling the expectations of the position. He went on to say some “individuals in the district” did not understand the clearly defined roles of a school board and a superintendent.
He did not mention any board members by name, but Board member Bert Spaulding has been pushing the administration to come up with a plan to address the poor academic performance — as measured by state tests in math and reading — of Richard Elementary School.
Minnihan will serve while the five-town Fall Mountain district, based in Langdon, N.H., searches for a permanent superintendent to replace Lori Landry, who announced her retirement in February at the end of the school year after eight years in the position.