Secret contracts, undelivered checks, and defective tax information were cited among the reasons Claremont fired former business administrator Mary Henry.
Henry agreed to leave her post in October amid accusations of wrongdoing, but the reasons for her termination were not made public until this week. The Claremont School District continues to dig out of a $5 million financial hole that may have begun — but certainly deepened — on her watch.
Henry did not respond to a request for comment.
According to the termination letter interim Superintendent Kerry Kennedy sent to Henry in October, Henry oversaw a reign of chaos as business administrator. She failed to reconcile bank statements, did not reconcile health insurance payments for retired teachers, did not cooperate with auditors, and caused a major tax-rate error that shorted the district of funds.
Among the listed failures is Henry’s troubling practice of failing to send checks to vendors. According to Kennedy’s letter, Henry would properly enter vendor payments into the accounting system so they appeared paid, but she kept the checks in a drawer in her office rather than sending them out and paying them.
“As a result, SAU has been unable to confidently determine which invoices have been paid and where debts are still outstanding. There is not a legitimate business reason for issuing checks, recording that a payment has been made in the system, and then not delivering those checks,” Kennedy wrote.
Other violations cited in the letter include:
• Henry entered SAU 6 into a health care membership with HealthTrust in June 2024 without board approval.
• Without board knowledge or approval, Henry signed a “settlement agreement” with SchoolCare for a reported violation of the district’s membership agreement.
• In November 2024, Henry sent the New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration inaccurate data, resulting in a lower-than-needed tax rate, meaning the district did not raise enough money to cover expenses.
• Repeated failure to reconcile bank statements.
• Failure to follow IRS guidelines to properly account for employee reimbursement expenses.
• Failure to properly handle grant funds, resulting in Unity School District grant money paying expenses that Claremont’s grants should have covered.
• Failure to have audits completed on time, endangering federal grant funding.
“[E]ach of the above findings also provide a further independent basis for termination ‘for immorality, incompetence, insubordination, or failure on the part of the administrator to conform to the laws of the state of New Hampshire, the rules and regulations of the state Board of Education, or the SAU and of the local school boards within the SAU,’” Kennedy wrote.
Kennedy’s letter states that Henry skipped a scheduled meeting to discuss the problems and then refused to return her district-issued laptop after she was placed on unpaid leave in October. The laptop contained district records and financial data, as well as potentially privileged communications.
Henry was placed on paid leave Aug. 21, soon after the deficit was revealed to the board and the public. But Kennedy’s letter reveals Henry was given notice Aug. 29 that the district planned to terminate her.
Henry exercised her right to challenge the firing and continued receiving her paycheck for several weeks. Kennedy placed Henry on unpaid leave on Oct. 8, with another termination notice. Henry again signaled she would contest the grounds for her dismissal and refused to cooperate with the district’s investigation, according to Kennedy’s letter. She entered into a termination agreement during the first week of November.
Henry’s supervisor in Claremont, former Superintendent Chris Pratt, agreed to leave in September after he was also placed on leave. Pratt received $40,000 in severance. Henry received far less when she agreed to leave, about $5,000 for unused paid time off.
The district’s current financial comptroller, Matt Angell, told the school board last week he believes he can eliminate the district’s deficit by the end of the school year. Previously, Angell estimated the district would end the school year with a $1.9 million deficit.
“I do see a path forward to wiping out the deficit,” Angell said.
Angell plans to share details on his new estimate in the coming week.
