CONFLICT OF INTEREST? CLAREMONT VOTERS SHOULD ASK THE QUESTION

By Francis Gauthier

Claremont taxpayers are being asked to trust familiar names again in the upcoming School Board election. But one question deserves a clear answer before anyone casts a ballot.

Who will Brian Rapp really be working for?

Brian Rapp’s wife is a teacher at Maple Avenue School. That alone raises an obvious issue: when a School Board member’s immediate family member works inside the district, the potential for conflict of interest is real.

The School Board negotiates contracts.

The School Board sets budgets.

The School Board decides staffing levels and school policies.

Those decisions directly affect teachers.

Now ask the simple, common-sense question every taxpayer should ask:

Can a board member objectively make decisions about teacher contracts, staffing, or school funding when his own household income is tied to those very decisions?

Maybe he can. Maybe he can’t. But voters deserve transparency and straight answers before the election, not after.

Public service requires avoiding even the appearance of a conflict of interest. When public money and taxpayer trust are involved, the bar should be higher — not lower.

Claremont already watched a $5 million school budget crisis unfold. What the city needs now is independence, hard oversight, and board members who answer to the taxpayers first.

Anything less invites more of the same.

NH RSA 671:18: This state statute explicitly prohibits a school board member from being employed by the district and also establishes that a board member "shall not have any direct personal or pecuniary interest in a contract with the School District, nor shall a member or spouse of a member furnish directly any paid labor, equipment, or supplies to the School District." This directly addresses the conflict of a board member's spouse being a paid employee (teacher).