School board expected to name new superintendent Thursday

LACONIA — The Laconia School Board meets at 6 p.m. Thursday, where a new superintendent is expected to be named, after a five-months-long search involving a 14-member committee and a consulting firm.

Eight applications were submitted, which were narrowed down to a group of three, interviewed by the Laconia Superintendent Search Committee and school board. Finalists are Laconia Interim Assistant Superintendent Lisa Hinds; Stoughton Superintendent Joseph Baeta; and Goffstown Assistant Superintendent Wendy Kohler.

The school board met on Feb. 17, during a closed meeting for a discussion of the candidates, and to review background checks. In the days that followed, candidates toured the facilities of the district.

School board Chair Jennifer Anderson said Friday a decision had been made, but she could not say who was chosen before a letter of intent was reviewed by the district’s attorney.

The search committee had been meeting since September, and was assisted by the Bryan Group, a consulting firm hired by the New Hampshire School Board Association.

During this school year, Amy Hinds served as the interim superintendent, but did not apply for the position.

Lisa Hinds has been in multiple leadership roles in the Laconia School District since 2015, currently interim assistant superintendent. She was also once the mathematics department head, academic coordinator for teaching and learning, a classroom teacher, and the high school principal.

Baeta is the current superintendent of the Stoughton School District in Massachusetts, and has 34 years of experience in education including 17 years as a superintendent in three districts. He worked his way up from a teacher role to administration. Baeta has ties to New Hampshire, and owns a home in Center Barnstead. His daughter attends the University of New Hampshire.

Kohler, who also has classroom and administrative experience, has been the assistant superintendent of the Goffstown School District since 2022, and previously spent nine years as Goffstown Middle School principal, and four years as assistant principal of Londonderry Middle. Kohler grew up vacationing on Lake Winnipesaukee, and her family has a house in Laconia.

The Laconia School Board meets at 6 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 26, at the district office at 39 Harvard St. The meeting is open to the public.