Diane Clary retiring as business administrator for Laconia schools

LACONIA — After nearly six years at Laconia School District, Diane Clary is retiring, but she’s not going anywhere anytime soon.

Clary has dedicated 50 days over the next year to assist new Business Administrator Dawn Cilley, coming from Concord School District, in getting acclimated. She said at critical times throughout the year, there are a lot of “moving parts,” such as having to close out the district’s financial books this summer, and navigating budget season. Cilley started the role June 29.

Clary has worn many hats throughout her career. Straight out of college, she became a teacher, and after Clary and her husband moved to New Hampshire, due to lack of job openings, she became a physical education teacher. While her kids made their way through school, Clary was the bookkeeper at Shaker Regional School District for 12 years, taking an opportunity to be present for her children's extracurriculars. Once her last child graduated, she became executive director of the New Hampshire Farm Bureau for eight years.

As she got closer to retirement, Clary came back to Laconia, thinking she would work down the street, and do payroll for a little while — nothing too stressful. A couple years later, the business administration position at Laconia School District opened up, and plans changed.

“My heart’s always been in education, making sure kids get what they need. There’s so many different needs with kids these days,” Clary said. “Even when I was a kid, there were lots of needs, and my public school education, in Massachusetts, was great. They kind of saw the kid and got them where they were, and that’s what we try to do here.”

Clary began working for Laconia schools in September 2020, shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic began. She had a hectic start, working with a hybrid learning model and scrambling to find tutors who could teach kids online.

After the COVID pandemic died down, the chaos did not.

“Everyday, you come in with a plan, and most days that plan never goes. Something happens, and you have to react quickly and figure out what you’re gonna do next,” Clary said.

As education funding in New Hampshire almost entirely relies on local property taxes, Clary said it was a challenge throughout her time at the Laconia School District to say "no."

“It’s hard, but I do try really hard to take care of all the needs. I don’t always have extra money for the wants. That’s a hard thing to do, because extra things for kids is a good thing, but sometimes you just can’t do it.”

Looking back at her time as business administrator, Clary said, “I’m proud of every day that we keep our kids in school, and we definitely try very hard, in Laconia, to help every kid at the level that they’re at.”

For the upcoming 2026-27 school year, the budget has gone up 4.43%, despite cuts. The district was forced to cut five teacher positions, and reduce the number of days for multiple positions. Clary said they have had to do this every year she's been with the district, just trying to get by.

“Then the class sizes get a little bigger. Kids aren’t getting the individual attention they may need,” said Clary. “I’ve had many sleepless nights thinking about that.”

Clary said she does a lot to educate others, whether educating city councilors about the district budget, or educating teachers about why they can’t afford certain programs or trips.

“Teachers, their focus is on the kids, which it should be all the time. But sometimes, I have to educate them on why we can’t do certain things. Like, here’s the bucket. If all the water is out of the bucket, we can’t go back to the bucket. Yeah, I’m doing that everyday.”

“We’re definitely paving the way for success for my replacement, and that’s all I really want. You work hard to make a difference, and you don’t want that difference to go away,” Clary said.

As Clary slowly transitions to retirement, her husband is, also. To celebrate, the couple plans to take an Alaskan cruise, in August, and also celebrate 40 years of marriage. Clary said this chapter closing is bittersweet, but she’s not truly going anywhere.

“I will always be busy, and there are actually seven more business administrator openings in New Hampshire right now which aren’t filled. So there’s potential there to be a consultant and help out those districts, mostly smaller districts that probably don’t need a full-time business administrator. But my focus will be here first, for the first year,” Clary said. “After that, maybe that’s what I’ll do, but maybe I won’t. Who knows?”

Clary said a recently retired teacher and friend of hers called during the first couple days of retirement, and said, “I’m still in my pajamas and having a nice cup of tea.”

“I don’t think that’s how I’ll go about life, because I like to be busy,” Clary said.

“I don’t drink tea, but maybe I’ll learn.”