CONCORD, N.H. — The principal of an elite prep school dealing with a series of sexual abuse allegations acknowledged Friday it represented a “dark moment” but said the school will emerge from the crisis strong and healthy.
Phillips Exeter Academy Principal Lisa MacFarlane spoke to The Associated Press following revelations last month about former teacher Rick Schubart. Schubart was forced to resign in 2011 after admitting sexual misconduct dating to the 1970s and was barred from campus after more misconduct surfaced in 2015.
The school, which was founded in 1781 and is the alma mater of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, said earlier this month that a second teacher, Steve Lewis, recently was fired for having sexual encounters with a student decades ago. Exeter police said additional investigations are ongoing.
Schubart has not responded to several attempts to reach him for comment, and Lewis can’t be located.
MacFarlane said the Exeter community is “a really strong one” and the school is “not alone among schools in having a dark moment in a long history.”
“What we are focused on is being as thoughtful and committed as we can to understanding that moment, to making any changes we need to,” MacFarlane said. “We are not alone in that. I am confident that the Exeter of today and tomorrow will be strong, healthy and vibrant.”
Since the revelations became public, Exeter has hired two law firms to examine abuse allegations: one to investigate the cases involving Schubart and another to examine the school’s handling of misconduct allegations levelled at faculty members.
The abuse allegations also could have political ramifications because the husband of Democratic Gov. Maggie Hassan didn’t disclose them publicly when he was principal. Hassan, who’s running for U.S. Senate against incumbent Republican Kelly Ayotte, accepted money from Schubart and listed him as a supporter of her 2012 gubernatorial campaign even after he left the school, a fact Republicans seized on as evidence of poor judgment.