Participants
Everyone the recording shows taking part, as named in the project's dialogue file. No minutes exist online to check spellings against, so non-members' names are as the transcription heard them and are marked where unverified. Students honored at the meeting are not listed by name. Members are listed first.
| Name | Role | Participation |
|---|
| Frank Sprague | Chair; re-elected chair | Chaired; corrected the March 6 minutes; nominated Zullo for vice chair; welcomed the bowling team; questioned lunch debt causes and asked the food service company for periodic surveys; asked for the special education numbers to be explained; set the retreat dates; raised joining the ConVal school funding lawsuit. |
| Rebecca Zullo | Vice chair; re-elected vice chair | Ran the vote on the chair; gave the superintendent search update; asked the food service company about running out of menu items; proposed a question on whether staff feel supported by administrators; supported keeping the student survey. Identification medium to medium-high (two voice clusters). |
| Jason Benware | Board member | Nominated Sprague; was nominated for vice chair; moved the agenda, the minutes, the Byrne gift and the teacher nomination; questioned lunch debt arithmetic, i-Ready figures and the special education contracted-services line; thanked voters; read the bus lease resolution aloud. |
| Carolyn Towle | Board member; re-elected | Sworn in; asked for a year-over-year lunch debt comparison; raised seventh-grade i-Ready scores and lost food service revenue; urged better publicity of the school vote; cautioned that public expenditure reports need explanation; promoted NHSBA trainings. |
| Rob Lovett Jr. | Board member; re-elected | Sworn in; seconded Sprague's nomination and the bus lease resolution; asked about test-taking, repeat trips through the lunch line, and food service pay; proposed promoting the vote at the retreat; objected to dropping the student survey. |
| Heather Whitney | Board member, newly elected | Sworn in (transcribed Whitney Lamont); seconded the Byrne gift; asked about i-Ready statistics and tiers and about food service relations; proposed survey questions on retention and classroom disruption; moved adjournment. |
| Michael Petrin | Board member | Answered the roll; one row nominating Benware for vice chair is attributed to him as a hypothesis in the dialogue file. |
| Prescott Herzog | Student representative, Stevens High School | Gave the student report on events across the district. |
| Cory LeClair | Acting superintendent, SAU 6 | Superintendent's report; added the teacher nomination; presented the gifts and hearing schedule; lunch debt update; introduced i-Ready and the Abbey Group; spoke on the budget vote, climate survey and audit catch-up; listed future agenda items. |
| Michael O'Neill | Business administrator, SAU 6 | Explained RSA 198:20-b; presented the bus lease resolution; answered on revenue and the special education expenditure lines; named as authorized signer. Surname spelling unverified. |
| Mary Woodman | Clerk; school district clerk | Administered the oaths; called the roll; read the March 12 election results, including her own; described low turnout and lack of publicity from her day at the polls. |
| Bryn (surname not on record) | Curriculum specialist, PreK to grade 5 | Presented mid-year i-Ready reading and math results. Spelling of the first name unverified. |
| Deb Belanger | Food service director for Claremont, Abbey Group | Explained a la carte rules, menu forecasting and food quality. |
| Unidentified | Regional manager, Abbey Group | Explained point-of-sale controls, staffing difficulties, gap families and debt practices elsewhere. Name heard variously; not established. |
| Sean Wadsworth | Stevens High School bowling coach | Introduced the state champion team and assistant coach, described the season, and said donations for jackets and rings would come to the board. |
| Unidentified | Oath responses, group ayes and fragments | 97 of 1,142 rows. |
Order of business (reconstructed)
No agenda for this meeting is posted in any district share, so this list is reconstructed from the chair's transitions on the recording. An agenda existed: the chair calls it "Fairly ambitious" and the board amends it. Hover over (or Tab to) a clipped entry for the full text.
| Taken up | Item | Agenda text / disposition |
|---|
| 0:00:41 | Swearing in of new members | Whitney; then Towle and Lovett, by the clerk. |
| 0:02:49 | Roll call | All seven. |
| 0:03:22 | Agenda | Teacher nomination added after donations. Benware moved; Towle seconded; carried. |
| 0:04:04 | Minutes of March 6, 2019 | Name corrections; Benware moved; seconded; carried. |
| 0:06:21 | Student representative report | Prescott Herzog. |
| 0:10:16 | Superintendent's report | Acting Superintendent LeClair. |
| 0:13:30 | Citizens' comments | None; closed. |
| 0:13:42 | Election of board officers | Chair: Sprague, nominated by Benware, seconded by Lovett, voice vote. Vice chair: Benware and Zullo nominated; public show of hands; Zullo elected, tally heard as for three. |
| 0:16:06 | Celebration of the SHS bowling team | State champions introduced by the coach. |
| 0:22:38 | Acceptance of donations; unanticipated revenue | $3,000 Byrne Foundation gift to the spirit team accepted (Benware, Whitney). Public hearing on the Couch Family Foundation grant and Public School Infrastructure Fund money set for April 3. |
| 0:28:15 | Nominations | Special education teacher, Maple Avenue; Benware moved, Towle seconded; carried. |
| 0:29:12 | Superintendent search process | Zullo: the candidate is coming; SAU 6 to discuss the contract March 28. |
| 0:30:47 | School lunch update | Debt as of March 12. |
| 0:37:55 | Mid-year i-Ready presentation | Curriculum specialist. |
| 1:11:16 | Food service | Abbey Group managers; contract renewal ahead. |
| 1:34:45 | Budget discussions: response to the vote | Election results read; reductions to be finalized before contracts go out. |
| 1:45:08 | Board resolution: school bus lease | Resolution read aloud; O'Neill named signer; Benware moved, Lovett seconded; carried. |
| 1:51:11 | Climate survey questions | Up to five added questions agreed; student survey to be kept in some form. |
| 2:06:38 | Financial audit update | FY2016 to FY2018 status. |
| 2:10:31 | Budget versus actual | Revenue and expenditure reports; special education lines. |
| 2:20:11 | Future agenda items; other business | Retreat April 13 or 14; police MOU; April 3 hearing; SAU 6 March 28; ConVal lawsuit; NHSBA trainings. |
| 2:35:07 | Adjournment | Whitney moved; Lovett seconded; carried. |
Discussion timeline
Chronological, from the dialogue CSV. Times are the start of the cited exchange, taken from the CSV's own second count. Hover over (or Tab to) a clipped cell for the full entry.
| Time | Topic | What was said | Flags |
|---|
| 0:00:41 | Oaths of office | "First item on the agenda is swearing in of Newport members." [new board members]. The clerk administered the oath to Whitney, then jointly to Towle and Lovett. | |
| 0:04:15 | March 6 minutes | Sprague: "it says the name Zullo is low. Should be Zullo." Benware noted spelling fixes; approved with corrections. | |
| 0:06:30 | Student representative | "My name is Prescott Herzog. I'm one of the two school board representatives from Stephens High School." The "youth risk Behavior survey was given today to all students during a 60 minute advisory period." The technical center "hosted a visit from New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio." | |
| 0:10:20 | Superintendent's report | Sports awards; Senator Hassan's visit to the technical center; an early release day; "our last day of school is still projected to be June 14th."; a literacy grant bringing authors to the schools. | |
| 0:13:30 | Citizens' comments | "We have a lot of citizens here, but I think they're here for another reason. So close citizens. Comments." | |
| 0:13:52 | Chair | Benware: "keep Frank as our chair. He's done a great job". Zullo ran the vote: "so all in favor of Frank remaining as acting chair, say I opposed." | |
| 0:14:41 | Vice chair: how to vote | "Alicia nominated Jason. Where?" [Benware], seconded by Towle; Sprague: "Well, I'd like to nominate Rebecca Zullo for chair. Vice chair." On method, the clerk: "Like ballots." LeClair: "I think you have the option to do public or not." Zullo: "Really don't mind either way." Sprague: "Not all those in favor of Jason. Raise your hands." Result: "Know it's for three. Rebecca." [Zullo elected, four to three as heard]. | OBSERVATION |
| 0:16:40 | Bowling state champions | Coach Wadsworth introduced the team: "My JV assistant coach, Jim March, and I'm Sean Wadsworth." A team member "actually ended up with the highest average in the United States for high school bowling." On raising money for jackets and rings: "Do the account through Claremont Savings Bank and we were told we can't do it that way." so gifts go through the school. | |
| 0:22:45 | Gifts and a hearing date | LeClair: "No, you don't have to open up a public hearing this evening. We need to schedule a public hearing for a future meeting." The "Stevens High School Spirit team has received a donation in the amount of $3,000 from the Jack and Dorothy Byrne Foundation." Accepted, Benware and Whitney. The Couch Family Foundation "have awarded us $23,160 over the course of two years", and the infrastructure fund matches "the 141,000 for safety and security upgrades." | POSITIVE |
| 0:26:40 | RSA 198:20-b explained | O'Neill: "RSA 198 20 B is an RSA that basically it requires the approval of the voters in an election." The hearing lets the board add gifts to the appropriation "if it's over $5,000 and we're getting a huge amount of gifts", and flushes out any strings attached. "But we have said it at 5000." LeClair: "Public hearing on April 3rd for these unanticipated". | POSITIVE |
| 0:28:23 | Teacher nomination | LeClair nominated "Lisa Roll John" [name as transcribed] "as a special education teacher at Maple Avenue School." "She has 12 years of experience coming to us." Carried. The clerk later: "I did not get anybody's nomination or to accept the nomination." Benware moved, Towle seconded. | POSITIVE |
| 0:29:27 | Superintendent search | Zullo: the candidate is working on certification, and the "March 28th as a six meeting will be, discussing the contract, specifics." [SAU 6]. | |
| 0:31:13 | Lunch debt | LeClair: "As of March 12th, we had 431 negative accounts totaling 21,974." Benware, on one school's figures: "Are we saying there's one person in unpaid status with over 1300 in debt?" LeClair will check. Towle asked again for a year-over-year comparison. | |
| 0:40:25 | i-Ready mid-year results | Bryn: "we use this as our district assessment for math and reading" three times a year; "41% of our students across the district have reached their goal already." In reading "we had 32% of our students who were at risk tier three. And now it's only, it's gone down to 24%." Towle: "I'm concerned about grade seven". Benware on a report showing no students above grade level: "I don't believe that. I think that's incorrect." | |
| 1:11:20 | Food service company | LeClair: "So there was a lively discussion at the last meeting regarding food service and Mike's, quote, nuclear option." and "we are getting to the point where we need to renew our food service contract with them". Belanger: "the Alucard has nothing to do with the lunch debt." [a la carte]; income figures garbled: "It's your money. So last year, Alec Hart made 14,540% food cost. It brought in 8700 back to the district." Regional manager: "we have never run out of a reimbursable meal at any school in your district." | |
| 1:27:31 | Lost revenue; gap families | Towle: "the accounting process has showed to us that we've got an issue of lost revenue." Regional manager: "your biggest issue here is your gap families". LeClair: "our lunch service providers cannot deny a child a meal if they go through the line and say, I'm hungry." Elsewhere, "We have school districts that they cannot graduate until they go into the lunchroom, pay their debt". LeClair: Claremont and Manchester high schools "are in the 50 to 56% free and reduced lunch." | |
| 1:35:35 | March 12 election results | Woodman: "Tracy Pope, moderator. She had a total of 581 votes"; for two three-year seats "Brian Rapp had 212. Carolyn Tall had 402. Rob Lovett Junior had 361. Michelle Pierce had 173." "Heather Whitney was unopposed and she had 544 votes." The emergency radio article "had 313 yes votes and 339 no votes. So that was defeated." "And the total of voting was only 674, which was ten, 11%." | POSITIVE |
| 1:38:29 | Turnout and publicity | Woodman, from the polls: "Most of the people in the city did not know we were voting on a school budget." LeClair: "this was the first year, to my knowledge, that the proposed budget was higher than the default budget." Towle: "There is a banner. They bought a banner last year, so I think we can do a better job." Lovett proposed promoting the vote at the retreat. | OBSERVATION |
| 1:44:07 | After the vote | LeClair: "contracts typically go out around April 15th." so the reductions in the proposed budget must be finalized; the elementary alternative education program is on track. | |
| 1:45:23 | Bus lease resolution | O'Neill read last year's article: "shall the Claremont School District vote to authorize the school board to enter into a long term lease purchase agreement in the amount of $190,100 payable over a five year term". It passed: "School busses 620 in the affirmative, 307 and the negative." Two 2020 propane buses. Benware: "Make a motion to allow Mike to sign this piece of paper." and read the resolution aloud, "Be it resolved by the governing body of obliged as follows one." [obligee]. Carried. | POSITIVE |
| 1:51:14 | Climate survey | Antioch needs added questions by March 22; "they are requesting that schools skip surveying the students because the process is quite cumbersome." Members proposed questions on support from administrators, pay ("I feel as though my level of pay is sufficient"), retention and classroom disruption. Lovett: "I get that it's cumbersome, but they seem to be the ones most directly impacted by the school." The board asked that some student questions be kept. | POSITIVE |
| 2:06:47 | Audit catch-up | LeClair: "The Claremont Fiscal Year 16 draft report review has started"; "there's actually two audits that happen in Claremont because we get such a large sum of grant funding, federal grant funding." The FY2016 single audit is still to be done; for FY2017 "The field work has begun"; FY2018 work has started. "So the 18 audits, once those are complete before June 30th, then we will be up to date." O'Neill: "We found every single invoice". | MEDIUM |
| 2:13:44 | Special education lines | Benware: contracted services "Year to date. Says we've spent $588,837." with about $592,000 still encumbered: "Are we looking at having a shortfall of over $300,000 in our special education budget just for that one line?" O'Neill: "we've been unable to hire employees. So in some cases we're forced to hire contracted services." with $401,000 left in salary lines and encumbrances still to be cleaned up. Towle: "when these reports become public record, that's what we have to remember that the layperson might look at and how they might interpret". | OBSERVATION |
| 2:20:11 | Retreat; future items | Retreat April 13 or 14; Sprague: it "Is not an expense. It's a donation of our time." Topics: "Restructure of committees, code of conduct, Nasdaq." [NESDEC] and promoting the vote. LeClair: "a memorandum of understanding between the Claremont School District and the Claremont Police Department." SAU 6: "So that is March 28th, 6:30 p.m. here in this room. You will receive an agenda tomorrow." | OBSERVATION |
| 2:27:21 | ConVal school funding lawsuit | Sprague: NHSBA members were taken aback by the "convulse decision to, join in a lawsuit for adequate funding with the state." [ConVal]; joining might cost "a cost of maybe about $563 or something to join in the suit". Monadnock had voted to join. To be placed on the next agenda. | |
| 2:31:06 | NHSBA training | Towle listed school safety, new member and collective bargaining workshops; LeClair: "there's a right to know law introduction coming up soon as well." Registration costs come from a budgeted board development line. | POSITIVE |
| 2:35:07 | Adjournment | Benware: "I'd like Heather to make the last motion for the evening." Whitney moved; Lovett seconded. | |
Items flagged for review
Flags are a reviewer's aid generated by comparing the meeting against the law in force on March 20, 2019. Several provisions cited below have since been amended, and each flag cites the text as it then read. They are not findings of violation, and nothing here is legal advice. Where no verified rule applies, the flag says so and is recorded as an observation. Seven flags follow, ordered by severity.
MEDIUM In March 2019 the district's fiscal 2016 single audit was still to be done and fiscal 2017 was in fieldwork
The acting superintendent reported that the fiscal 2016 draft report review had started, that the fiscal 2016 single audit "still needs to be complete", that fiscal 2017 fieldwork had begun and that some fiscal 2018 work was under way, with the goal of being "up to date" by June 30 (2:06:47 to 2:08:50). She said the district has a separate single audit "because we get such a large sum of grant funding, federal grant funding." Under the Uniform Guidance as codified in 2019, Subpart F applies to audits of fiscal years beginning on or after December 26, 2014 (2 CFR 200.110(b)), so it governs fiscal 2016 (July 2015 to June 2016); an entity that expends $750,000 or more in federal awards must have a single audit (200.501(a)), due "within the earlier of 30 calendar days after receipt of the auditor's report(s), or nine months after the end of the audit period" (200.512(a)(1)). For fiscal 2016 that was March 31, 2017; for fiscal 2017, March 31, 2018; for fiscal 2018, March 31, 2019. Even the June 30, 2019 "up to date" goal falls after the fiscal 2018 date. Graded MEDIUM, consistent with the February 20, 2019 page on the same facts, because the $750,000 threshold is inferred from the acting superintendent's remark rather than verified from federal data; later pages that grade the backlog HIGH rest on the auditor's own account of the deadline. In the district's favor, the catch-up was reported in open session with a schedule.
Sources: 2 CFR 200.110(b) (2019 edition); 2 CFR 200.501(a) (2019 edition); 2 CFR 200.512(a)(1) (2019 edition).
OBSERVATION The board was told it could elect its vice chair by ballot; it voted by public show of hands
When two members were nominated for vice chair, the clerk suggested ballots and the acting superintendent said "I think you have the option to do public or not." (0:15:14). In 2019 RSA 91-A:2, II read: "Except for town meetings, school district meetings, and elections, no vote while in open session may be taken by secret ballot." A board electing its own officers is neither a district meeting nor an election in the statute's sense, so the option described was not available. The board chose a public show of hands, so the outcome complied; the observation is about the advice given.
Sources: RSA 91-A:2, II (2019 codification; source note ends 2018, 244:1).
OBSERVATION The special education contracted-services line showed spending plus encumbrances far above its budget, explained as vacancies and stale purchase orders
Benware read $588,837 spent and about $592,000 still encumbered on the district-wide special education contracted-services line and asked whether it meant a shortfall of over $300,000 (2:13:54). The business administrator said unfilled positions were being covered by contracted services, leaving $401,000 unspent in salary lines, and that encumbrances were overstated because purchase orders were not closed when services ended; he promised a projection the next month. Towle cautioned that such reports become public and need explanation. No rule is engaged by the figures themselves; this records a material variance and a reporting-accuracy issue that the April 3 page shows continuing ("double recording").
Sources: Recording only; officials' own statements.
OBSERVATION Turnout of about 11% and complaints of no publicity led members to propose promoting the next vote
The clerk reported 674 voters and said many residents did not know the budget was on the ballot; members proposed banners and signs, and the retreat agenda added "promoting the school vote" (1:38:29 to 1:42:22). For context: RSA 659:44-a, in force since 2017, bars a "public employee" from electioneering in the performance of official duties, defining it as acting "specifically designed to influence the vote of a voter on any question or office"; elected board members are outside RSA 273-A:1, IX's definition of public employee. A neutral reminder of the date is different from advocacy for the budget, and district staff would need to stay on the right side of that line. Nothing improper happened at this meeting.
Sources: RSA 659:44-a (2019 codification; source ends 2016, 176:1, eff. Jan. 1, 2017); RSA 273-A:1, IX(a) (2019 codification).
OBSERVATION No agenda, packet or minutes for this meeting are posted online
MAP.md section 95 records that neither district Drive share holds anything before July 2022 (checked 9/26/26), so this page rests on the recording alone. That is a limit of what the district posts online, not evidence that records were never made: the board approves its March 6 minutes here and these minutes on April 3. In 2019 RSA 91-A:2, II required minutes to be "open to public inspection not more than 5 business days after the meeting". The recording also records the acting superintendent confirming the SAU 6 meeting for "March 28th, 6:30 p.m. here in this room" (2:27:05), which supports the March 28 date for the recording filed as SAU6032519 (see the SAU 6 page). The limb of the project's missing-records rule applied is the online-availability observation.
Sources: RSA 91-A:2, II (2019 codification); Input/SupportingDocuments/MAP.md section 95.
POSITIVE Gifts handled under RSA 198:20-b as it then read, and a teacher elected on the superintendent's nomination
The acting superintendent separated the $3,000 gift, accepted in public session, from the two larger sums that needed a hearing, and the business administrator explained the statute's enabling vote, the $5,000 threshold and the purpose of the hearing (0:22:45, 0:26:40). That tracks RSA 198:20-b as in force in 2019: acceptance only where the district adopted the enabling article (¶I), a prior public hearing with 7 days' newspaper notice for $5,000 or more (¶III(a)), and acceptance of smaller sums "in public session of any regular school board meeting" (¶III(b)). The hearing was held on April 3. One discrepancy to note: the Couch Family Foundation award is stated here as $23,160 and read on April 3 as $21,150 from the minutes. The special education teacher was nominated by the acting superintendent and elected by board vote, as RSA 189:39 requires ("Superintendents shall nominate and school boards elect all teachers"), and the clerk made sure the mover and seconder were recorded (0:30:12).
Sources: RSA 198:20-b, I and III (2019 codification; source note ends 2005, 188:1); RSA 189:39 (source note ends 1971, 371:2; unchanged).
POSITIVE Election results read in full, a lease resolution read aloud before adoption, and members kept student voice in the climate survey
The clerk read every race and article with vote counts into the record (1:35:35); the bus lease resolution was read aloud in full and its authorized signer named before the vote (1:48:47); members declined to drop the student climate survey without discussion (2:01:23); the business administrator committed to monthly budget-versus-actual reports; and members were encouraged to attend NHSBA training, including a Right-to-Know session. None of this is required beyond statutory minimums.
Sources: Recording; practice beyond statutory minimums.
Appendix: source files
Official and public sources
- Cablecast show 10294, "SCHOOL BOARD meeting of 3-20-19": Claremont Community TV. Every timestamp on this page links into this recording.
- No Drive material: neither the Claremont nor the SAU 6 share holds a year folder older than 2022, and the Meeting Minutes share starts at 2023 (MAP.md, checked 9/26/26). No agenda, lunch debt report, i-Ready slides, lease resolution, survey packet, expenditure reports or minutes were located.
- Related pages: Claremont School Board, March 6, 2019; SAU 6 Board, March 28, 2019; Claremont School Board, April 3, 2019.
Project files
Working files this page was built from. The dialogue file is linked; the others are not published with the page.
Dialogue/10294 SchoolBoard032019.mp4.CSV (1,142 attributed rows; the basis of this page)Input/Videos/10294 SchoolBoard032019.mp4Input/Transcripts/10294 SchoolBoard032019.mp4.jsonScripts/attribution_reports_2015_2023/10294 SchoolBoard032019.mp4.mdInput/SupportingDocuments/MAP.md, section 95
Laws and rules cited on this page
- New Hampshire statutes, as in force on March 20, 2019. RSA 91-A:2, II (secret ballot; minutes; 2019 codification, source note ends 2018, 244:1). RSA 198:20-b, I and III (unanticipated funds; 2019 codification, later amended by 2023, 38:1). RSA 189:39 (teachers nominated and elected). RSA 659:44-a (electioneering by public employees) and RSA 273-A:1, IX (definition of public employee).
- Federal, 2019 annual CFR edition. 2 CFR 200.110(b); 2 CFR 200.501(a); 2 CFR 200.512(a)(1).