HUDSON – For the past eight years, no matter what extracurricular activities Alvirne High students were involved in, they could count on at least one common denominator: every one of them would see principal Steve Beals show up to watch, and sometimes even get involved.

“He’s always there. He’s been there every single day, even during the pandemic,” said Jennifer Nangle, the mother of a 2020 Alvirne graduate and a rising sophomore, referring to Beals’s office.

“I was very, very upset when I heard about this,” Kendall Nangle, the rising sophomore, added. “He’s such a great guy. He does so much for everybody.”

Jillian Nangle, who played sports and was in music while at Alvirne, said it wasn’t uncommon to see Beals on the sidelines at games or stopping in to watch band practice.

“Whatever you were involved in, you’d see him,” Jillian Nangle added, referring to school-related activities.

Accolades for the 52-year-old Beals, himself an Alvirne High graduate – Class of 1985 – who was named principal in 2012, flowed easily throughout the gathering of roughly 50 people, a mix of students, graduates, parents and citizenry who turned out toting homemade signs and posters for about an hour ahead of Monday evening’s School Board meeting.

Their message was clear: Members of the Alvirne High community will, in their collective opinion, be far better off if Beals remains in the principal’s office.

But for now, at least, when Hudson schools open – currently scheduled to happen Sept. 8 – Beals will be the head director of The Wilbur H. Palmer Career and Technical Education Center, or CTE, named for the late former Alvirne educator who developed what was then the school’s Vocational-Technical program.

Parents and students are not only opposed to Beals’s reassignment, they also criticize Superintendent Lawrence Russell for what they call a “lack of transparency” in the notification process.

Nangle, the co-host with parent Wendy Hennessy of the pre-meeting gathering, said the fact that Russell sent the first email only to the staff left parents and their kids wondering why they were left out of the process.

But Russell said Wednesday that he notified the staff first because he wanted to give them a heads-up that he would be posting the opening for the interim principal position the next morning.

Russell didn’t elaborate on details behind the decision to reassign Beals and bring in an interim principal for the year, calling the process “complicated.

“My intent,” he added, “is to use the best resources” in the most appropriate way. “I try to do that in every situation I deal with.”

Still, the news, to many in town, “was so unexpected … given how involved he was in everything as principal,” Nangle said, referring to Beals.

She said she doesn’t doubt Beals is quite familiar with the major reconstruction project the CTE is undergoing, as Russell had indicated, “but we don’t want to lose him as principal.”

“The kids lost so much over the past (school) year, and now this,” Hennessy added, referring to the pandemic forcing school closures and depriving students, especially the seniors, of many end-of-year activities, including a traditional graduation.

On Monday, about a third of the gathering went inside the Community Center for the School Board meeting. The remainder watched it on a large TV screen set up by Hudson Community Television (HCTV), the local access channel.

Although the Beals matter wasn’t on the agenda, numerous people spoke on the topic during two public comment periods, which board president Darcy Orellana allowed until things got rather heated in the second session.

Indications are that Beals would prefer to remain as principal, but while he appreciates the parents’ and students’ support, he opted not to comment further.

“My true focus is on my work here at Alvirne … as we prepare for reopening,” he said, adding that he prefers to leave it at that.

While parents and students seemed pleased they had the opportunity to take a public stand on Beals’ behalf, they aren’t getting their hopes up that Russell will reconsider his decision, Nangle said.

Russell responded early the next morning to the deluge of emails he received once word of the reassignment got around.

“There is a lot of chatter about an email I sent last night to staff about changes … so I am sharing the information with the Alvirne community,” Russell began.

He said that about a month after former CTE director Don Jalbert retired in June, the district “received very good news about the CTE program.” He referred to the legislation, signed about two weeks ago by Gov. Chris Sununu, that fully funds the $25 million project by offsetting the funding shortfall the district had faced.

Had that shortfall not been addressed by the legislature, it would have caused an 8-month construction delay. “The state really came through for us,” Russell wrote.

He also said the district is expecting a significant jump, from 88 last year to 132 this year, in students from outside districts enrolling at the CTE.

“With all these conditions in place,” Russell wrote, he said he is assigning Beals as “principal on special assignment” to oversee the completion of the CTE construction, its opening, its daily operations and to coordinate the “new influx of students from other districts” into the CTE.

“This is what makes the most sense for the Alvirne community. The students will still have access to Mr. Beals, just like any other staff member,” Russell wrote.

He added that without knowing what the future holds, “or even what the next few months will be like … we will figure it out next year at another time.”

Dean Shalhoup may be reached at 594-1256 or dshalhoup@nashuatelegraph.com.

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