John Shea named next superintendent of Somersworth, Rollinsford schools: 'Caring leader'

SOMERSWORTH — Beginning in July, John Shea will be the new superintendent of SAU 56, leading schools in Somersworth and Rollinsford.

The Somersworth School Board voted unanimously to approve hiring Shea and his contract at its Tuesday meeting. He will replace one-year interim Superintendent Lou Goscinski.

"Somersworth is a special community," said Shea. "I keep learning this, seeing this, hearing this — most every day. Gritty, resilient, proud, inclusive, accomplished. Hilltoppers. And a very strong sense of community — same goes for Rollinsford. So many good things happening and coming together. Social services, economic development, the downtown, new housing in the works. We will meet the challenges. I feel very fortunate that I get to be a small part of all this."

"On behalf of the Somersworth School Board, I'm excited to announce we have approved John Shea's contract as the new superintendent beginning July 1st, 2024," said board chair Maggie Larson in a statement. "Mr. Shea brings over 25 years of exceptional leadership experience at both the secondary and elementary levels. He has earned an exemplary reputation as a visionary educator skilled at bringing communities together around a shared purpose. Throughout his career, Mr. Shea has demonstrated an innate ability to build trust, form powerful partnerships, and create collaborative environments focused on continuous improvement and student success."

Larson said what particularly impressed the search committee was Shea's clear passion for students and families, his strong expertise across all aspects of district leadership, and his proven track record of innovative yet carefully implemented initiatives.

"His communications with us reflected a caring and experienced leader of unquestioned integrity," she said.

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The district is still looking to hire an assistant superintendent and a special education director.

"We are tremendously excited to have several very good candidates in the pool right now for these other two key central office openings," said Shea. "A lot of good people have stepped up, and pitched-in in countless ways, to keep us moving forward this school year, despite the various challenges, but I do believe we're now setting ourselves up for some powerfully good progress — ongoing progress — in the coming school years."

Shea said he feels there is strong leadership in each of the district schools.

"We have caring, dedicated, and talented teachers, paraeducators, and staff," he said. "We're getting our central office leadership team in order — thanks largely to the great team keeping us moving forward this year. And, quite honestly, we have one of the more productive, courageous, and hard-working school boards I've ever come across in close to 30 or so years in the field."

Shea said all school districts in the state and in the country are getting hit hard, financially, budget-wise. and he said Somersworth is no different.

"The toll of inflation the past few years, the loss of (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief) funds, funds that have made a huge difference the past few years, coming when schools everywhere are just beginning to recover from the impact the pandemic had on learning — and on social and emotional well-being add up," he said. "There is upward pressures on salaries to fill openings where there are staffing shortages — with no money to cover them. And, here in New Hampshire, of course, there is a limited and messy state funding system that we've been bickering about and trying to fix for decades."

Larson said the board thanks the search committee, staff, students, families, and community members who participated in the hiring process that led to Shea, who formerly served as principal of Somersworth High School.

"We are confident that in Mr. Shea we have found an exceptional leader who will advance our district in exciting ways," she said. "Please join me in enthusiastically welcoming him back to our community."

Shea stepped down as Somersworth High School principal in 2019 after one year for health reasons.

Prior to coming to Somersworth, Shea served at Spaulding High School in Rochester and Berwick Academy in Maine. Most recently, he served as the interim head of school of Cambridge Academy Ethiopia in Addis Ababa. He wrote about his experience in a series of columns published by Foster's Daily Democrat in 2023.

Shea's contract: Salary and terms

His three-year contract runs through June 30, 2027, at which time the board could choose to renew it.

Shea's salary for the first year will be $148,500. In subsequent years his salary could be increased by a percentage not to exceed 4%, based on a performance evaluation. His contract includes benefits such as insurance, holiday pay, sick leave, bereavement pay and 20 vacation days per calendar year.

Each party to the contract is expected to notify the other by November 2026 if they do not intend to continue the contract past June 2027.

In the contract, Shea agrees to give 90 days notice if he wishes to end his employment with the district.

This article originally appeared on Fosters Daily Democrat: John Shea next superintendent of Somersworth, Rollinsford schools