Lisa Witte of Peterborough will spend one more year as Monadnock Regional School District superintendent before retiring.

Witte has announced that she intends to leave at the end of the 2023-2024 school year to focus on her health and spend time with her family.

“I’m immensely grateful for the opportunities I’ve had to serve in the public education realm, especially here in the Monadnock region,” Witte stated in the announcement of her departure. “Lately, I’ve given significant thought to the legacy I want to leave for my daughter and what our future as a family will look like. That outlook has been at the forefront of my decision-making process as I make this difficult choice, and I’m very much looking forward to supporting the district’s growth in the time I have left as its superintendent, as well as supporting the search for – and transition to – my successor.”

Witte has been Monadnock’s superintendent since 2015. She started her teaching career in 1995 and previously served as athletic director of Marshwood High School in South Berwick, Maine, assistant principal at Biddeford High School and Pembroke Academy and director of federal projects for the Manchester School District.

Her last position before Monadnock was as director of curriculum, instruction, and assessment for the Hillsboro-Deering School District.

In 2022, Witte named the New Hampshire School Administrators Association’s Superintendent of the Year. Kearsarge Regional School District Superintendent Winifried Feneberg, who received the award in 2021, nominated her, calling her “a fierce advocate in public education” and “a leader among leaders.”

The announcement of Witte’s impending departure noted her work in earning community approval for a capital project that will see improvements made at the four Monadnock elementary schools that will remain at the conclusion of the district’s renovation and consolidation project.

At the state level, she has testified before the Legislature in her role as an executive board member for the state school administrators association, including on the proposed voucher bill before vouchers were added to the state budget. She said her concerns were that districts would lose funding for students who leave, but still have to provide the same level of services, and public funds being used in schools that could reject children with disabilities.

Monadnock also joined the lawsuit filed by the ConVal School District in 2019 against the state and Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut, alleging the state does not provide adequate funding for all students, as required in the state constitution. She credited the support of her school board for being able to “be that voice.”

“The board is incredibly proud of Lisa and the positive change she has brought to the district. Her personal and professional accomplishments have been an inspiration to us all and she has developed a talented, trusted leadership team that will no doubt continue to serve our students well,” School Board Chair Scott Peters stated. “We wish Lisa well in her retirement, and are grateful for her continued service to manage the transition.”

Witte has lived in Peterborough since 2017, and is a member of Peterborough Fire and Rescue.

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