Nashua's School Leader Heading Back To Work In Massachusetts

NASHUA, NH — Nashua's school superintendent will be leaving his position at the end of the school year and heading back to work in Massachusetts, where he was raised and started his education career.

Jahmal Mosley, who was originally hired in the Gate City in 2017, has accepted the school superintendent position in South Hadley, Massachusetts. He became one of three nominees for the job in November 2020 and was hired later, after interviews and community meetings.

The Nashua Board of Education and SAU 46 congratulated Mosley on his new job.

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"The Nashua Board of Education thanks Dr. Mosley for his leadership and the educational services he provided to the Nashua School District since 2017," the board said in a joint statement. "Dr. Mosley and the board of education look forward to working collaboratively through the conclusion of the 2021 school year in the transition of Dr. Mosley to his new position and the Nashua School District’s transition to finding an interim and/or permanent superintendent replacement so as to best support the students, their families and the staff of the Nashua School District."

A search committee for a new superintendent was formed, late last month, according to the New Hampshire Union Leader.

Mosley had informed the board in early November he would be looking for another job, citing several conflicts with the board and community. He noted in a letter he was a finalist for another school district job during the summer. Mosley's contract was due to be renewed in June 2020.

"As much as I want to see this district move forward and our strategic plan take hold, it is no longer feasible or tenable for me to manage a district as well as manage a school board that has been unable to work as a cohesive unit for many years now," he said. "Our fundamental differences on governance, race relations, and re-opening of schools during a pandemic have proven insurmountable."

The board chose not to comment on his letter at the time it was issued. Heather Raymond, the president of the board, said neither she nor any of the other members could comment about his letter due to privacy laws governing personnel matters.

Mosley's tenure in Nashua was not without issues especially last year, during the coronavirus pandemic and remote learning.

At the end of the 2019-2020 school year, when districts across the state were on lockdown, there were technology issues at the district and other problems. During an interview at the time, Mosley said he was more focused on children eating than education and the district did not have the funding or infrastructure for remote learning. State officials stepped in to help. While some may perceive Nashua, which is the state's second-largest city, as a city with an abundance of poverty, its poverty rate is lower and its median income higher than Concord, according to Census data, which has not had funding problems during the pandemic. Nashua also has a higher tax base and lower per thousand assessment than many other New Hampshire communities — meaning base property taxes are lower.

However, when the 2020-2021 school year began, Mosley was emphatic students needed to be taught remotely — when most districts in New Hampshire were either in hybrid or full-time education models. A parent group formed to protest the action, and the lack of communication and transparency, noting there were limited active cases in the city and connected to school settings at the time. But Mosley would not budge.

One school board member likened the parent group to "privileged white upper-middle-class" women complaining — comments that were deemed hateful and racist, especially since members of the group come from all walks of life. The parent group, Nashua Parent Voice, now has more than 1,000 members and is continuing to push for some in-person learning options since students are falling through the cracks.

Amy Medling, a member of the group, said while disappointing, parents will continue to work toward what is best for students.

"We are disappointed by Dr. Mosley's decision to walk away from the Nashua School District," she said. "But we will continue to work with the school district, board of ed, the city and greater Nashua community to ensure all students are getting access to the best possible learning environments for their individual needs — remote and in-person."

Others, like former board member Doris Hohensee, were critical of how Mosley set up task forces — with a single board member and himself, in almost a divide and conquer strategy.

"Mosley set up a task force with one board member to devise the district’s 5-year Plan a few years ago," she said. "That was a significant undertaking and the board's responsibility. A few of us objected, but the board went along with the superintendent. This year, Mosley set up a task force without any board members to determine when to re-open schools. He also controlled the survey sent to parents which did not include the option for full-time in-person instruction this year."

The board recently created a committee to oversee reopening with three board members and an administrator over Mosley's objections.

"Apparently, that was a breaking point for Mosley," Hohensee said.

Two years ago, some community members called on Mosley to apologize after it was revealed the district agreed to a $60,000 defamation settlement against a former board member, according to the Union Leader. Mosley filed a no-trespass order in 2018 against the board member to keep him from entering administrative offices, the report stated.

Bullying issues were also raised in the school community during Mosley's tenure, with him promising to perform an investigation.

Mosley, according to press accounts, grew up in Brockton and was a special education teacher in Cambridge in the last 1990s. He later worked in administration in Massachusetts communities including Worcester, Newton, Somerset, and Sharon. He was also a principal in Brattleboro, Vermont, in the early-to-mid-2000s.

Members of the South Hadley School Committee, according to MassLive.com, defended Mosley's tenure in Nashua with one member claiming Nashua had "a group of people" that promoted a "culture of toxicity" after his decision to keep classes remote even though the city had limited coronavirus cases. Another said Nashua's school board was divided and Mosley's work to unify the board had been unsuccessful, not due to leadership but intentional obstruction from the board and community.

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