Hanover
Laramie cited personal reasons at the time of his resignation, but a letter sent out Thursday by Superintendent Frank Bass informed parents and school staff that in January the district launched an investigation into expenses Laramie had charged to the professional development account, a fund used to cover specialized training and education for staff. The district hired an independent auditor to review the district’s findings.
“The findings of the administration and the independent auditors were that significant personal expenses, in excess of $30,000, were represented by Laramie to be professional development expenses and improperly charged by him against the district’s professional development account,” Bass wrote in the letter.
The district first became aware of Laramie’s alleged misuse of the account’s funds in late January, when “a couple of receipts” came in that “looked out of place to us,” Bass said in a telephone interview on Thursday.
“Then we began to start looking at other receipts and one thing led to another,” Bass said.
Generally, Bass said, a staff member will pay for professional training with his or her own money and then submit a receipt for reimbursement. Bass declined to say for which expenses Laramie sought reimbursement.
Laramie, who was hired as Ray principal in 2011, allegedly sought reimbursement through “suspicious” receipts over a period of three years, Bass said.
“It was a pattern of misuse and misrepresentation,” he added. “We understand mistakes happen from time to time … but this was a pattern.”
The school district will seek to recover the money through “all appropriate legal channels.” Recovering the money is the district’s main goal, Bass said.
“We are following legal processes and doing so in a way to recoup as much of the monies that we feel are owed to us,” he said.
Hanover Police Chief Charlie Dennis said on Thursday his department doesn’t have an open investigation into Laramie’s conduct, although it had been notified by the Hanover School District about the district’s investigation.
A message left for Laramie’s attorney, James Bianco, wasn’t returned by press time. Attempts to reach Laramie were unsuccessful.
The Hanover School Board will accept the auditor’s formal report at its April 20 meeting. Also at that meeting, the board hopes to appoint a new principal of the Ray School, which is currently being supervised by its former Assistant Principal, Sarah Curtis.
Laramie came to the Ray School following a stint as assistant principal of Kearsarge Regional High School. Prior to that, he worked at both Stevens and Lebanon high schools. In 2011, while at Kearsarge, he received the title of Assistant Principal of the Year for New Hampshire.
The professional development account at the start of the 2015-16 school year had about $20,000 in it, Bass said.
There will be minimal impact on training services despite the alleged misuse of funds because much of the money that would have been used from that account for professional development has already been expended for the year, Bass said.
Immediately following Laramie’s resignation, one parent told the Valley News he had initial concerns about Laramie’s abrupt resignation, but that those concerns were alleviated through Bass’ reassurances.
Bass sent a letter to parents and staff in February notifying them of Laramie’s resignation, and in that letter, he wished Laramie well and subsequently said Laramie left on good terms with students, teachers and community members.
On Thursday, Bass said he was constrained in what information he could divulge in February about the ongoing investigation into Laramie’s alleged misconduct. He said he wanted to make sure parents didn’t get the wrong impression about the type of alleged wrongdoing.
“A parent’s worst fear” is that something inappropriate has happened between a staff member and student, Bass noted.
In light of the situation, the district’s second goal is to review its policies and procedures to determine their adequacy.
“We want to make sure we have the right safeguards,” Bass said. “This is a huge blow to us. We feel really bad about all that has occurred.”
Jordan Cuddemi can be reached at jcuddemi@vnews.com or 603-727-3248.