Claremont schools welcomed students back on Thursday, but not Superintendent Chris Pratt.
Pratt was placed on non-disciplinary, paid administrative leave by the school board during a nonpublic vote earlier this week. News of Pratt’s leave was not made public until Thursday, two days after the board’s decision.
Also on Thursday, confirmation came that the district is seeking a $4 million loan to keep schools open for the full academic year.
Those are the latest developments in Claremont’s self-inflicted school budget crisis. On Aug. 14, the school board announced a multimillion-dollar gap in the budget that could force schools to close.
Business Administrator Mary Henry is already on paid administrative leave amid questions about how the deficit deepened during her tenure. Frank Sprague, the board’s vice chair and former chair, resigned Wednesday, calling Henry and Pratt the “architects of the disaster.”
Human Resources Director Patrick O’Hearne will serve as interim superintendent, while outside school finance expert Matthew Angell will serve as comptroller to set the books in order.
“Patrick and Interim Business Administrator Matt Angell will continue to work closely with the board, auditors, members of the administration, the district’s attorneys, the Commissioner of Education and her team, representatives from the Governor’s Office, and the larger school community as we navigate through this difficult time,” Thursday’s statement read.
News of the changes is not going down well with Claremont residents. Spencer Batchelder said on Facebook that Henry and Pratt should not receive paid leave.
“Phew, glad we ruined 19 new teachers’ and 20 other staff’s lives while administrators sit at home collecting a paycheck. I know the reality, it’s just such BS. Anyone with any honor would resign,” Batchelder wrote.
The board has been scrambling to keep schools open since the deficit was discovered. Claremont’s elected board cut 19 new teachers, fired 20 non-teaching employees, and eliminated funding for school sports, but did not remove any administrators in response to the financial emergency.
O’Hearne’s appointment as interim superintendent is also drawing public criticism. He does not hold a state certification for the superintendent position. In fact, Claremont is the first school district he has worked in as human resources director, a role he began 17 months ago, according to his LinkedIn profile.
“Unless a large number of citizens come forward and demand answers, the only thing that is going to change is our property tax,” Kimberly Davis Fellows wrote on Facebook. “Personally, I want to hear from the people responsible for the continuous unqualified hires. Enough is enough!!”
The deficit largely stems from millions of dollars spent in anticipation of federal grant funding that never materialized due to procedural failures by the district. Claremont’s board and administration had been warned for years that poor financial records management and the lack of key policies put it at risk of losing federal funds.
Henry started her job in 2023, the budget year that outside accountant Michael Campo identified as the likely beginning of the deficit. Pratt started in 2024, and his first budget was for the 2025-26 school year. Sprague said Pratt and his team wildly overspent taxpayer money with that $40 million budget, while withholding key information from the board.
“Their 2025 budget, it was like teenagers with Dad’s credit card,” Sprague said.
Until this May, Sprague said, the board was receiving positive financial reports from the administration.
Republicans in the New Hampshire House have criticized Claremont’s leaders over the mismanagement, pointing to the city’s struggling public schools as an example of why Education Freedom Accounts and school choice are needed.
“As the overpaid and underperforming administrators of the Claremont School District pat themselves on the back for securing a loan, one is left to wonder how much the students and taxpayers are going to suffer when these same administrators inevitably continue to drop the ball in balancing their budget and the bank comes calling,” said Deputy House Majority Leader Joe Sweeney (R-Salem).
“Claremont made their intentions crystal clear when they decided to cut teachers, student services, activities, and sports, but left the administrators responsible for this boondoggle to collect their bloated paychecks.”
The district is close to finalizing a $4 million loan with Claremont Savings Bank to keep students in school this year. Claremont School Board member Candace Crawford is a former Claremont Savings Bank executive and one of the bank’s current corporators.
The loan is reportedly a grant anticipation loan, with the district planning repayment using state adequacy education grants. The school board has yet to hold a public hearing or vote on the loan, as is normally required.
In a bright spot for students, there is a public effort to fund sports through private donations. The Claremont City Council plans to vote Tuesday on a proposal to advance school tax payments to the district to help keep schools open. The council is also considering a plan to waive certain fees this year, such as payments for a school resource officer and sports field maintenance costs, which are usually billed to the district’s athletic department.
