Nashua superintendent snafu shows complexity of education licensing
May 12—Nashua's second attempt in two years to hire a superintendent revealed the complexity of the way teaching licenses differ between states.
The candidate chosen by Nashua's school board, Stephen Linkous, is certified as a "district leader" in Kansas. But the credential does not translate to a New Hampshire superintendent certification, and the Nashua School Board announced Tuesday that Linkous will not be leading the Gate City schools after all.
Nashua has been without a permanent superintendent since early 2021. A search last year ended after one of the two finalists dropped out of contention, and now a second year of searching has ended without a permanent school chief.
"All 50 states have their own licensing rules when it comes to educators, and they vary state to state," said Stephen Appleby, director of the Division of Educator Support and Higher Education in the New Hampshire Department of Education.
Years ago, New England states were part of a compact that allowed educators to move their certifications from state to state, but that compact ended in 2006 and has not been renewed. The transferability of teaching licenses varies from state to state — something the Nashua School Board said Tuesday its search consultants did not grasp.
State law does give school boards a little flexibility with superintendents, he said, with the law requiring only that a board provide "superintendent services," which does not necessarily mean a district must have a leader who holds a superintendent certification.
Appleby said the interim leader of the Merrimack school district does not hold a superintendent certification, for example.
The Nashua board was aware of that rule, said Dan Donovan, chief operating officer of the Nashua school district, but decided they wanted a fully-certified candidate for the contract offered to Linkous.
Donovan said he was surprised that the search firm Nashua hired presented candidates who could not be automatically certified in New Hampshire, particularly because the firm's contract specifies they will put forward "qualified" candidates.
Donovan said Linkous would have had to take several courses to become a certified superintendent in New Hampshire, while Kansas lets administrators substitute years of experience for book-learning.
The Nashua board has begun searching for another interim superintendent. The current interim, Garth McKinney, announced his plans to take a job in a Massachusetts school district. Anthony A. Parker, the assistant superintendent for secondary education, is the only remaining Nashua employee with a New Hampshire superintendent certification.
