LITTLETON — The Littleton School Board met with its legal counsel during a 2-hour non-public session on Friday morning but declined to say if the matter involved the principal and vice-principal of Littleton High School/Daisy Bronson Middle School who, as of Friday afternoon, remain on paid administrative leave.
Four of the five board members, gathering at 8 a.m. at the SAU 84 administrative office for an emergency meeting of the board, met with their attorney, who attended remotely via Zoom.
The board immediately voted to enter a non-public session to discuss a personnel matter, which, involving a matter of reputation that could be adversely affected, is exempt under New Hampshire’s right-to-know law.
When they opened the meeting to the public shortly after 10 a.m., board members Matt St. John, the chairman, and Erica Antonucci, Greg Cook, and Travis Howard voted unanimously to seal the non-public meeting minutes indefinitely.
Principal Mark Fiorentino and Vice-Principal Vanessa Sandvil have been on paid leave for over a month.
In a Nov. 22 email to parents, SAU 84 Superintendent William Hart announced the leave status of the two administrators but did not state a reason.
During the board’s meeting on Dec. 19, local lawmakers pressed the board for more information, and some parents, before that meeting and afterward, did the same.
Because of legal restrictions, board members said they are limited on what they can say but did say they are working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.
Earlier in the month, St. John said an independent investigator is looking into the matter.
Fiorentino, a former LHS career and technical education center (CTC) instructor who served for several years as principal of Colebrook Academy before returning to SAU 84 to serve as vice-principal of Lakeway Elementary School, began as LHS/DBMS principal in July 2021.
At the same time, Sandvil, a former LHS science teacher, began as vice-principal.
As both remain on leave, Al Smith, director of the school’s CTC and a former LHS principal and vice-principal, is the interim principal.
On Dec. 20, in a follow-up email to parents and community members, the Littleton School Board said the process remains ongoing and they expect it will soon conclude.
As the school prepares to reopen on Tuesday following the holidays, it was unclear if Fiorentino and Sandvil will be back in their respective roles or if Smith will continue as interim principal of LHS/DBMS.
The board did not take public input during Friday’s meeting.
After the board adjourned, St. John said he is not yet prepared to talk about who will be principal and vice-principal on Tuesday morning.
“At this moment, Al Smith is the interim and right now there’s no change to that,” said St. John, who added that the status of Smith was as of that time Friday morning.
“We are preparing communication that will go out at some point to clarify where we are and what’s going on,” he said. “As soon as we are ready to send that, we will.”
He did not say if the board will be ready to send the communication before Tuesday.
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The Littleton School Committee has, yet again, frustrated the residents of Littleton with its lack of transparency.
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