Concord School Superintendent Passes Away; Officials Say She Made ‘An Enduring Impact’ At SAU 8

CONCORD, NH — The superintendent of the Concord School District died Tuesday night, according to the SAU 8 school officials.

Kathleen Murphy passed away a week after requesting a medical leave to deal with a sudden illness. She had hoped to return to the job in December. The board approved her request for medical leave and quickly reassigned district personnel to cover for Murphy during her absence.

Murphy told the board she would be leaving at the end of the 2026 school year.

After her husband, Tom, died, she refused to leave the job, telling Patch earlier this year during the budget process that she loved the work. One point she was concerned about was the loss of learning during the coronavirus pandemic. While she was pleased with the recent improvement in assessment scores, she noted there was still more work to be done. In private conversations this year, Murphy expressed interest in writing a book about her educational work. She was also disappointed in the outcome of the middle school relocation process and had hoped to get the project back on track during the following year.

An RFP went out for a search committee last month, school officials said.

A joint statement to parents and the media was released on Wednesday morning by Tim Herbert, acting superintendent, and Pam Walsh, the SAU 8 school board president. They said Murphy died surrounded by her family. Herbert and Walsh offered thoughts and sympathies to her family.

“Kathleen served as superintendent of the Concord School District for five years, during which she made an enduring impact on our schools and community,” they said.

For more than four decades, Murphy was involved in education in the state of New Hampshire, advancing from a classroom educator in public schools to administrative jobs, including principal and superintendent positions.

She received her undergraduate degree from Plymouth State College, as it was then known. She attended Rivier College to pursue her master’s degree and later received an advanced graduate degree from UNH.

Murphy came to work in Concord when, frankly, few wanted to.

The district was searching for a new superintendent after the termination of Terri Forsten in 2019 in the wake of the Primo “Howie” Leung teacher-student rape incidents. Forsten led SAU 8 for nearly four years. Superintendent Franklyn Bass agreed to lead the school district temporarily due to the emergency firings of Forsten and former Concord High School principal Tom Sica. After interviewing 17 candidates and winnowing them down to five, two were offered the job. However, the district suspended its search for a new superintendent after the two finalists withdrew their nominations.

A couple of weeks later, Murphy, who had planned to retire after choosing not to exercise her successor clause with the Hampton School District, emerged as a one-year interim candidate after an ad hoc committee worked to find someone to lead SAU 8 as Bass prepared to exit. She was approved for the position by a single vote.

In Hampton, Murphy served for several years and addressed significant issues, including a complaint against a principal by an assistant principal, claims of racially motivated bullying incidents, and the multi-million-dollar renovation of a middle school in 2017, following voters’ rejection of the construction of a new building five years prior, all while facing changing town demographics. She was also named New Hampshire School Superintendent of the Year by the New Hampshire School Administrators Association in 2017.

Murphy received both praise and criticism from community members and school staff in Hampton regarding the principal complaint and the bullying incidents, as she attempted to find common ground and resolutions, which, ultimately, left no one happy. A third-party investigation cleared the principal, which led to the assistant principal resigning. A review of the bullying incidents led to an extensive report and changes to policies and procedures in town aimed at preventing future incidents within the school system. However, the district was unable to corroborate claims in one of the incidents. The second incident involved a comment by a young girl about another young girl’s hair. One of the students was enrolled in a private school in Massachusetts, reportedly at the town’s expense, according to reports.

While in Hampton, she was also named to the Military Interstate Children’s Compact Commission by Gov. Maggie Hassan in 2015. In later years, she led the organization and requested Gov. Chris Sununu to nominate Kyle Reppucci to the commission while he was superintendent of the Rochester School District.

Murphy also worked at the New Hampshire Department of Education as the director of the Division of Instruction (renamed the Division of Learner Support by former Commissioner Frank Edelblut). She was also superintendent of the Newmarket School District and was a finalist for superintendent jobs at the then-Pelham-Windham School District in 2007 and Nashua in 2009. Murphy also worked in Candia, Derry, and Nashua in various education roles.

District 2 Executive Councilor Karen Liot Hill, a Democrat, recently forwarded Murphy’s name to Gov. Kelly Ayotte, a Republican, as a possible successor to Edelblut. Ayotte, however, nominated Caitlyn Davis, who was approved for the position earlier this month.

The NH DOE issued a statement commending Murphy as “a dedicated and unwavering advocate for students” in the state.

“Her leadership and deep commitment to education left a lasting impact on every initiative she led, including her time as director of the Division of Instruction at the New Hampshire Department of Education,” the org said. “Her passionate pursuit of statewide educational improvement will be deeply missed. We extend our heartfelt condolences to her family, the Concord school community, and all those in the broader education community who are mourning this loss.”

The family will announce funeral information at a later date.

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