EXETER - After amassing what he said was three years’ worth of anecdotal evidence of internal problems at Exeter High School - problems he claims school administrators ignored - former employee Jeff Hillier last month went public with his concerns.

Hillier, a former teacher and administrator with more than 30 years of experience, said Principal Gary Heald in 2001 asked him to survey teachers who appeared to be unhappy with Heald.

Hillier interviewed 30-40 teachers in all disciplines, and said he chronicled low morale, instances of intimidation, fear for jobs and a consistent lack of input into decisions involving curriculum .

Heald and SAU 16 Superintendent Arthur "Skip" Hanson denied there were widespread problems. They acknowledged there were some disgruntled teachers, particularly English and social studies teachers in the Annex, who were not happy with being held accountable for state and federal standards.

That stance was subsequently disputed in a letter to the editor signed by 23 Annex teachers, who said the accountability issue was "a scapegoat for the real issues we face." They then reiterated the points made by Hillier.

Several teachers or administrators contacted by the News-Letter said later that they couldn’t understand why colleagues were unhappy, and said that they enjoyed a supportive relationship with Heald and his assistant principals.

Jeff Hillier

"I wouldn’t be able to do what I do without the support of the administration. I’m included in the decision-making process. They show me a lot of respect," said Karen Pelletier, director of the EHS alternative-education program.

Meanwhile, members of the Exeter Region Cooperative School board, who initially said they were unaware of problems at the school, subsequently said they did know of the situation in general terms, but could not act unless they were presented with specific instances.

They further said that the teachers should turn to their union for help. Joseph O’Donnell, president of the Exeter Education Association, said he had heard of problems, but, like the board, had not been given specifics.

The situation at the high school is placed in the context of a search for a new principal to replace Heald, who is retiring at the end of the year.

The search was reopened in December, after the search committee failed to come up with more than three semifinalists - two of whom are current assistant principals. One of them, James Daley, is the administrator at the Annex.

Today, resumes are due for the second round. As of last week, only two applications had been received.