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Three months after a $5 million financial crisis crippled the school district, Claremont’s business administrator, Mary Henry, is finally gone.

Henry signed a termination agreement this week to leave her post, bringing her tumultuous tenure in Claremont to an end. The agreement, finalized Tuesday, replaces Henry’s employment contract that originally ran until 2027. That contract meant Henry could only be terminated for cause.

Unlike former Superintendent Chris Pratt, who took a $40,000 check when he left in September, Henry is jumping without a parachute. She is getting at least $5,400 in accrued vacation time, but no assurances against possible legal action.

Both Claremont and Henry stipulate that they deny any wrongdoing as part of the agreement. However, Claremont makes it clear that Henry is fair game for any future prosecution or lawsuit.

“Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, the Employer does not release or waive any intentional misconduct claims arising out of or related to Employee’s employment relationship with Employer, including, without limitation, any criminal conduct or intentional acts or omissions by the Employee, theft, embezzlement, fraud, or any violation of RSA 638 or other applicable law. The Employer further does not release or waive any claims that the Employer could not reasonably have known of as of the date of this Agreement or if the factual bases for such claim(s) were intentionally concealed or not disclosed by the Employee,” the agreement states.

RSA 638 is New Hampshire’s criminal forgery and fraud statute.

Claremont put Henry and Pratt on paid leave in August, shortly after learning that a cash-flow crisis threatened to keep schools from opening this year. While Pratt took a deal for his departure, Henry refused to go and was placed on unpaid disciplinary leave last month. At the time, the board cited unspecified concerns about her performance and new information that came to light during the ongoing emergency review.

Henry did not respond to NHJournal’s request for comment.

Henry told NHJournal last month that she planned to fight for her job. A public hearing was scheduled for Nov. 13, at which she looked forward to presenting her case to a public audience.

“I’m planning a public statement,” Henry told NHJournal. “I’m in a hard position with the board.”

Now that hearing will never happen.

NHJournal reported last month on allegations of fraud and tax improprieties against Henry and her husband, Jerry Henry, in 2018. According to court records, former brewery business partner Trevor Bonnette made the accusations during a contentious bankruptcy proceeding.

“Those allegations are not true; all of the receipts were turned in,” Henry said.

The Henrys deny any wrongdoing in business dealings, and the business eventually withdrew its bankruptcy petition. They described the situation as a bad breakup between partners.

Henry’s problematic finances would have surfaced in February 2024, when freelance reporter Sean McCarthy interviewed Pratt and Henry inside SAU 6 offices about the court filings. But no story was ever published.

In an audio recording of that interview obtained by NHJournal, Pratt said he would make sure McCarthy’s story never saw the light of day.

“I’m very protective of the people I work with,” Pratt said. “I’ll do everything I can to make sure the story doesn’t run. I will talk to the paper and get other people involved.”

McCarthy’s story was never published by the Eagle Times, Claremont’s now-defunct newspaper. McCarthy later approached a reporter with the Valley News based in Lebanon, but the story was never pursued.

Claremont was forced to lay off 19 teachers and 20 non-teaching staff, cut programs such as sports, and close Bluff Elementary School as part of emergency efforts to keep the district open this year. The district’s new comptroller, Matthew Angell, and independent accountant Michael Campo both pin the $5 million deficit on errors made starting in 2023, soon after Henry took over the finances.

The district is currently lobbying Concord for a $3 million revolving loan fund, which would advance money to the district based on anticipated state aid for short-term loans. Meanwhile, lawmakers are considering measures to allow the state Board of Education to take over troubled districts like Claremont when local elected boards fail to provide proper oversight.

Mary Henry has plenty to say for herself and about the job she did as the Claremont School District’s Business Manager. But she wants to say it to the Claremont School Board at its Nov. 13 public hearing.

“I’m planning a public statement,” Henry told NHJournal on Friday. “I’m in a hard position with the board.”

When education officials at both the state and local levels are asked about the Claremont funding fiasco — a $5 million funding hole due to missing money and mismanagement — the name most frequently invoked is Henry’s.

The business manager has maintained her silence since the Claremont deficit saga began. Now, questions are being raised about whether she or her fellow administrators pressured a local newspaper to keep silent as well. 

In February 2024, cybersecurity professional turned freelance writer Sean McCarthy submitted a story to the Eagle Times outlining allegations of fraud made against Mary Henry and her husband, Jerry, by a former business partner.

The story, which could have turned public attention to Henry’s actions a year before the crisis was uncovered, was never published. McCarthy believes the story was spiked.

McCarthy found court documents in which Trevor Bonnette, the Henrys’ former business partner in a brewery, accused the couple of improperly paying themselves and family members. Bonnette also alleged that the two were selling company assets and keeping the money, and — perhaps most relevant to the Claremont case — accused them of poor financial recordkeeping and failing to file tax documents.

Bonnette did not respond to a request for comment.

During a contentious February 2024 interview at the SAU 6 offices with Henry, Superintendent Chris Pratt, and other district leaders, McCarthy — who recorded the interview — explained he wanted Henry’s side of the story about the fraud claims. Henry told McCarthy she could not speak in detail about the business due to a settlement agreement. She also insisted that all debts had been paid and that the allegations against her and her husband were not true. She also warned McCarthy against publishing any stories about her business. 

Pratt can be heard on a tape of the interview defending Henry and telling McCarthy that he will make sure no article is ever published.

“I’m very protective of the people I work with,” Pratt said. “I’ll do everything I can to make sure the story doesn’t run. I will talk to the paper and get other people involved.”

Pratt could not be reached for comment.

Speaking to NHJournal on Friday, the Henrys once again denied the allegations, dismissing them as part of an ugly breakup between business partners. 

“Those allegations are not true; all of the receipts were turned in,” Henry said.

McCarthy told NHJournal there was an internal dispute at the Eagle Times over publishing his story. General Manager Rich Girard had concerns about potential legal exposure and wanted to “wait and see,” while editor Stephen Cheslik was ready to go to press.

However, the Eagle Times was going through a transition at the time, and a new editor, Katlyn Proctor, took over. Girard and Cheslik left soon after, and the story was never published.

Girard told NHJournal he did not recall Pratt or anyone else trying to keep the story from being published, but he was also on his way out of the paper and not that engaged in day-to-day management at the time in question.

Proctor said she was unaware of Pratt reaching out to the paper about the matter, but he did stop speaking to reporters and staff for a time. The paper did receive some complaints related to the story, Proctor acknowledged, but she would not tell NHJournal who lodged them.

Proctor said that complaints and pushback did not prevent the Eagle Times from publishing the story on her watch. However, she also declined to respond when asked why the story was eventually killed.

Contacted by NHJournal, Eagle Times owner Jay Lucas said it was the first he’d heard about the Henry fraud story controversy. Lucas suspended newspaper operations earlier this year after staffers, including Proctor, quit due to delayed paychecks and other issues.

Henry told NHJournal she had nothing to do with the story not running. She says she never contacted editors at the paper or asked anyone to reach out on her behalf. 

However, she added, she can’t speak for Pratt, who is on the record promising to get the story killed.

“I don’t know what Chris did or didn’t do,” Henry said.

Henry’s been on leave from her job since the multi-million dollar deficit that crippled the district was made public in August. She was originally put on paid leave and feels she was made the unofficial scapegoat for the financial disaster, along with Pratt. 

Two weeks ago, the board announced that Henry is now on unpaid leave for disciplinary reasons, citing unspecified concerns about her performance. Henry has a two-year contract with the district and can only be terminated for cause.

While Pratt accepted a $40,000 settlement and resigned from his job, Henry refuses to quit. Instead, she is holding on for a public hearing about her performance, at which she intends to document what she did — and did not — tell the Claremont School Board.

That hearing is currently set for Nov. 13.