Six of seven school board members at the private Heritage Christian School in Rindge stepped down from their seats after a review by the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office Charitable Trust Unit. The seventh member, despite not stepping down, was voted out by a vote of the school membership during the school’s annual meeting Thursday.

The school, which is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit, was recently investigated by the CTU. The investigation identified several items in need of remedy, according to a letter issued to Heritage Christian School families, including lack of compliance with a state law governing nonprofits that requires at least five members of the board not be related by blood or marriage.

In the letter, the school indicated that three of its board members had reached term limits, including Chair Alicia Salo, Marcella Stevens and Yolanda Durey. However, during Thursday’s meeting, Salo clarified that only one board member, Durey, did not have a relation to any other board member.

Board members informed the membership in attendance that the board was looking into how to apply for a waiver for this requirement, given the closeness of the community that made up the membership of Heritage Christian School, which resulted in many of the members being either related by blood or marriage.

“We’re a small-town school,” Salo said.

Salo said the board members believed the board to be in compliance with federal guidelines on related board members, and were unaware they were out of compliance with stricter state regulations.

The board also cited interpersonal difficulties among the board over the past year, referring to “turmoil” and difficulty working together. According to a letter sent to membership prior to the spring meeting, the board voted, prior to a meeting with representatives of the CTU, to have all members step down in order to “start fresh.”

One board member, Isabel Geesey, did not step down, and her seat was not up for election. However, a last-minute change to the ballot added the question: “Should Isabel Geesey step down with the entire board to make a clean slate?” Votes taken both on Thursday evening, combined with further ballot voting on Friday, resulted in a total vote of 85 yes to 18 no to have Geesey step down.

Salo said the school had an unusually large candidate pool step forward to take the potential seats, with 10 people applying. However, of the 10 potential candidates, six had some relation to at least one other candidate. When asked what would happen if, following the election, the board was still not in compliance with the law about relations serving on the same board, Salo said it was unclear, but the school would continue to pursue a waiver on the issue.

Of the 10 candidates who ran for the six open seats, the top vote-getters were Bill Broughton, Lloyd Seppala, Marla Somero, Marcus Rautiola, Josiah Ketola and Robert Pickett. The seventh seat, left open by Geesey’s removal, will be appointed by the board.

The board met with representatives of the CTU on April 26. In addition to the issue of relations on the board, there were other items which were identified and the school was instructed to take steps to become compliant in the immediate future, according to the letter to parents. The board was directed to correct forms listing all pecuniary benefit transactions between the school and board members or their family members in excess of $500 since 2019, review the school’s conflict-of-interest policy and attend board training provided by the CTU.

]]>