Newfound School Board accepts Philbrick’s resignation

BRISTOL — The Newfound Area School Board on Tuesday accepted the resignation of embattled high school guidance counselor Shelly Philbrick in a one-minute public meeting that followed a one-hour nonpublic session.

The board sealed the minutes of the nonpublic session for 50 years before unanimously accepting Philbrick’s resignation, which was effective on Tuesday. New Hampton board member Christine Davol did not attend the special meeting that had been called to deal with the single issue.

Philbrick has been under fire for her testimony in support of convicted pedophile Kristie Torbick, a former colleague in the Newfound Area School District who was working as a guidance counselor in the Exeter School District when Torbick had sex with a 14-year-old freshman at the school. After Torbick pleaded guilty to four counts of felonious sexual assault, Philbrick was among those who argued for leniency at Torbick's sentencing, saying, “to incarcerate Mrs. Torbick as part of any plea bargain would be a sad injustice to her own three children, one of which is only 3 years of age.”

Philbrick was not alone in suffering from the fallout of a perceived lack of judgment. Several colleagues at Plymouth State University were censured or their contracts were not renewed as a result of their testimony on behalf of Torbick; and in Bedford, not only were those who testified vilified – Superintendent Chip McGee ended up resigning for having approved of his staff’s request to support Torbick.

Newfound’s superintendent, Stacy Buckley, said she was not been aware that Philbrick intended to speak at the sentencing hearing, and Buckley said she would not have approved.

“I was not notified that she would be testifying, nor did I grant approval for her to testify. Ms. Philbrick acted on her own, not as a representative or with authorization of the school district,” Buckley said in a letter to parents.

Alexandria Police Chief Donald Sullivan has scheduled a public forum for tonight at the Alexandria Town Hall to discuss the incident, saying it is aimed at reassuring people that “there are true professionals out there who will treat victims with respect and support them.”

Joining him in sponsoring the forum, scheduled for 6 p.m., is Voices Against Violence, a crisis services agency in Plymouth, with additional support from the New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence.