Concord School Superintendent Kathleen Murphy, who had been out on medical leave, died Tuesday, the school district announced Wednesday morning.
“It is with profound sadness that we share that Superintendent Kathleen Murphy passed away last night, surrounded by her loving family,” Acting Superintendent Timothy Herbert said in an email message to the community on the first day of school.
Murphy, who led the school district for five years, went on medical leave earlier this month.
Her husband, Tom Murphy, passed away in February. They lived in Chester.
Herbert, the Concord High School principal, was chosen by the school board to serve as interim superintendent. He joined the district as an assistant principal at the high school in 2019 and has led the school since 2023. Herbert has a current superintendent certification and a doctorate in education. Before coming to Concord, he was an assistant principal at Pembroke Academy.
Kristen Gallo, who has been principal of Christa McAuliffe School for thirteen years, became the acting principal at Concord High, while the assistant principal at the McAuliffe school, Lindsay Nye, will lead that school.
Murphy had taken several weeks off for medical leave this summer and requested a longer medical leave of absence in August.