January 12, 2006 | Read Time: 2 minutes
Ahost of scandals have plagued St. Paul’s School, the elite boarding school in Concord, N.H. In an article for Vanity Fair, Alex Shoumatoff (Class of ’64) returns to his alma mater to examine how the allegations have affected the “idyllic campus” and its students, teachers, administration, and alumni.
Mr. Shoumatoff writes that discontent had been long simmering, but incidents reached a head in August 2003 when The Wall Street Journal reported that then-rector Craig Anderson was being paid $524,000 a year in salary, bonuses, pension, and perks that included having his daughters’ tuition at the University of Chicago put on the school’s tab.
That was followed by an investigation by the New Hampshire attorney general’s office, as well as an audit by the Internal Revenue Service on financial impropriety that is not yet concluded.
Since then the school has been rocked by other scandals, including allegations of sexual abuse and molestation by teachers and hazing violations by girls at the school.
The article chronicles the “stonewalling” that some parents and alumni received from the administration when they tried to get to the bottom of the allegations, leading them to form ad hoc committees and investigate the charges themselves.
Mr. Shoumatoff cites a fellow alumnus: “A school administration used to be able to handle [such] news. But now there are blogs and cell phones that spread rumors, and the school has to react. The ability to keep information private is gone, and that is really hard for the administration of a school.”
He notes that St. Paul’s has recruited an executive-search company in Princeton, N.J., to find a permanent replacement for Bill Matthews, interim rector since Mr. Anderson agreed to step down last year. According to Vanity Fair, “In October the firm circulated an admirably frank 12-page job announcement.” The specifications include “leading the school with absolute integrity, humility, and transparency” and “making a concerted effort to rebuild bridges with disaffected alumni.”
