Participants
Everyone heard or named as taking part on the recording. There are no minutes to check spellings against; names follow the project's 2015-2023 roster and attribution report, with the transcribed form kept where it differs. Students named in reports and recognitions, and a member's family health detail, are not reproduced.
| Name | Role | Participation |
|---|
| Frank Sprague | Chair, re-elected this meeting | Calls the meeting to order (0:00:17), runs every item, and hands the chair vote to the vice chair "since I'm the candidate" (0:14:19). Nominates Rebecca Zullo for vice chair (0:15:01). Raises the ConVal school-funding lawsuit, "a cost of maybe about $563 or something to join in the suit" (2:28:42). |
| Rebecca Zullo | Vice chair, elected this meeting | Answers the roll (0:03:10); runs the chair vote (0:14:25). Updates the board on the incoming superintendent (0:29:27). Asks about food service menu planning (1:19:34) and supports keeping some student survey questions (2:04:25). Attributed across two diarizer clusters (attribution report, medium for one). |
| Jason Benware | Board member; nominated for vice chair | Moves the agenda (0:03:54), the March 6 minutes (0:06:03), Sprague as chair (0:13:52), the Byrne donation (0:24:26), the teacher nomination (0:29:00) and the bus resolution, which he reads aloud (1:48:38, 1:48:47). Questions a lunch-debt figure (0:34:09), the i-Ready data (0:57:22) and a special education line (2:14:07). |
| Carolyn Towle | Board member; sworn in for a new three-year term | Sworn in (0:01:49); answers the roll as "Tall here" (0:03:18). Seconds Benware's vice chair nomination (0:14:44) and the teacher nomination (0:30:25). Raises seventh-grade scores (0:59:55) and reminds staff that budget reports become "public record" (2:17:32); lists School Boards Association trainings (2:31:06). |
| Rob Lovett Jr. | Board member; sworn in after election to a three-year term | Seconds Sprague's chair nomination ("Frank and Rob second?", 0:14:02), the bus resolution (1:50:20) and adjournment (2:35:15). Asks whether food service pay is competitive (1:26:36) and objects to dropping the student survey: "they seem to be the ones most directly impacted by the school" (2:01:23). |
| Heather Whitney | Board member; sworn in after her election (transcribed "Whitney Lamont") | Takes the oath (0:01:14); seconds the Byrne donation (0:24:34); asks about lunch debt and the provider relationship (0:36:49), i-Ready medians (0:43:56) and survey questions on classroom disruption; moves adjournment (2:35:12). Will attend the SAU 6 board meeting the next week (2:26:50). |
| Michael Petrin | Board member | Answers the roll (0:03:14). Nominates Benware for vice chair, transcribed "Alicia nominated Jason" (0:14:41); this is his only attributed row and the attribution is a hypothesis. |
| Mary Woodman | School district clerk and recording secretary | Administers the oaths (0:00:59), takes the roll (0:02:49), reads the March 12 results (1:35:35), and stops the meeting to get the nomination's mover and seconder for the minutes (0:30:12). Reports that voters "did not know we were voting on a school budget" (1:39:01). |
| Cory LeClair | Assistant Superintendent; acting superintendent | Superintendent's report (0:10:20); presents the donations and the unanticipated-funds hearing (0:22:45), a special education teacher nomination (0:28:23), lunch debt (0:31:13), the survey (1:51:11) and the audit status (2:06:47). Tells the board on the officer vote "you have the option to do public or not" (0:15:32); see flag 3. |
| Michael O'Neill | Business Administrator | Explains RSA 198:20-b (0:26:40 to 0:27:35), the bus lease (1:45:23) and the budget-versus-actual reports (2:10:54); named the authorized signer on the bus lease (1:49:54). |
| Prescott Herzog | Student representative, Stevens High School | Student report (0:06:30), introducing himself to new members as "one of the two school board representatives from Stephens High School". |
| Bryn (surname not on the record; spelling unverified) | Curriculum specialist, pre-K to grade 5 | Presents mid-year i-Ready results (0:40:25). |
| Sean Wadsworth | Stevens High School bowling coach | Introduces the state champion bowling team (0:16:40) and describes fundraising for jackets and rings (0:20:08). Team members' names are not reproduced. |
| Deb Belanger (spelling as transcribed) | Food service director for Claremont, Abbey Group | Explains a la carte rules (1:13:01) and that a la carte income "doesn't go back to Abby Group. It goes right back to the district." (1:17:01). |
| Unidentified | Abbey Group regional manager (name heard as Jasa or Jace) | Answers on staffing (1:23:55, 1:26:51) and lunch debt, which he attributes to "your gap families" (1:28:49). The CSV labels some Abbey Group rows as not separable between the two representatives. |
Order of business (reconstructed)
No agenda was located. The chair refers to "an agenda in front of us tonight. Fairly ambitious one." (0:03:22); this list is reconstructed from his transitions. Votes were by voice unless stated; no dissent is audible on the transcript except in the contested vice chair vote.
Items in the order taken up, with dispositions as heard on the recording.
| Taken up | Item | Disposition |
|---|
| 0:00:17 | Call to order, Pledge | Opened at 0:00:17. |
| 0:00:41 | Swearing in of new members | The clerk administers the oath to Heather Whitney (0:01:14) and then to Carolyn Towle and Rob Lovett Jr. together (0:01:49). |
| 0:02:49 | Roll call | Taken by the clerk; all seven present. |
| 0:03:22 | Agenda | A teacher nomination added after donations (0:03:30); Benware moves "the agenda with additions" (0:03:54); second given as "I'll second Carolyn" (0:03:58); approved. |
| 0:04:04 | Minutes of March 6, 2019 | Typographical corrections (0:04:15); Benware moves approval "with the correction" (0:06:03); seconded by an unidentified member (0:06:09); approved. |
| 0:06:21 | Student representative's report | Report; no action. |
| 0:10:16 | Superintendent's report | Report; no action. |
| 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." (0:13:30). No one spoke. |
| 0:13:42 | Election of board officers | Chair: Benware nominates Sprague (0:13:52), Lovett seconds (0:14:02); no other nominations; the vice chair calls the voice vote (0:14:25); elected. Vice chair: Benware nominated (0:14:41), Towle seconds (0:14:44); Zullo nominated by the chair (0:15:01), seconded by an unidentified member (0:15:08). Show of hands (0:15:40, 0:15:48); the chair announces "Know it's for three. Rebecca." (0:15:53), apparently four to three for Zullo. Who raised which hand is not on the recording. |
| 0:16:06 | Celebration of the Stevens bowling team | Recognition; no action. |
| 0:22:38 | Acceptance of donations; unanticipated revenue | $3,000 from the Jack and Dorothy Byrne Foundation for the spirit team: Benware moves (0:24:26), Whitney seconds (0:24:34), approved (0:24:41). A public hearing is set for April 3 on the Couch Family Foundation's $23,160 and the $141,000 public school infrastructure funds (0:24:49 to 0:28:07); no vote was needed to set it (0:27:52). |
| 0:28:15 | Nomination (added) | A special education teacher for Maple Avenue School with "12 years of experience" (0:28:46); name garbled in the transcript. Benware moves (0:29:00); Towle seconds, as confirmed when the clerk asks (0:30:12 to 0:30:26); approved. |
| 0:29:12 | Superintendent search | Update; no action. |
| 0:30:47 | School lunch update | Report; no action. |
| 0:37:55 | Mid-year i-Ready presentation | Presentation; no action. |
| 1:11:16 | Food service (Abbey Group) | Questions to the provider; no action recorded on the renewal. |
| 1:34:45 | Budget discussion: response to the vote | The clerk reads the March 12 results; no action. |
| 1:45:08 | Board resolution: school bus lease | Benware moves to authorize the business administrator to sign "And also to exercise the resolution itself" and reads the resolution (1:48:38 to 1:49:54); Lovett seconds (1:50:20); approved (1:50:51). |
| 1:51:11 | Culture survey questions | Questions chosen by consensus; student survey items to be partly restored (2:06:25). No formal vote. |
| 2:06:38 | Financial audit update | Report; no action. See flag 1. |
| 2:10:31 | Budget versus actual expenditure and revenue | Report; no action. See flag 5. |
| 2:20:11 | Future agenda items | Retreat April 13 or 14; topics listed (2:21:35); a police memorandum of understanding; the ConVal lawsuit for the next agenda (2:30:56). |
| 2:35:07 | Adjournment | Whitney moves (2:35:12); Lovett seconds (2:35:15); approved. |
Discussion timeline
Times are taken from the dialogue transcript (Dialogue/10294 SchoolBoard032019.mp4.CSV) and link into the recording.
Topics in chronological order.
| Time | Topic | What was said | Flags |
|---|
| 0:00:41 | Oaths and roll | "First item on the agenda is swearing in of Newport members." [new board members] (0:00:41). The clerk reads each oath line for the members to repeat, and collects the signed oaths "so I can send it down" (0:02:35). Roll: "Rebecca.", "Rob Lovett, junior.", "Michael, here. Heather. Whitney here. Carolyn." and "Frank Sprague here." (0:03:08 to 0:03:19). | |
| 0:04:04 | March 6 minutes | The chair and Benware point out name and typing errors, including a misspelled name in the food service section (0:04:15 to 0:05:45); approved "with the correction" (0:06:03). | MEDIUM |
| 0:06:30 | Student report | Music festival and Youth and Government trips; the technical center hosted "New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio" for a roundtable on the opioid epidemic (0:08:00); elementary and middle school events. | |
| 0:10:20 | Superintendent's report | Sports awards that night; a visiting candidate; "We've only had one official snow day this year, and so we should still be getting out June 14th" (0:11:44); author visits. | |
| 0:13:42 | Officer elections | Sprague re-elected chair on a voice vote run by Zullo (0:14:25). For vice chair the board asks how to vote; the clerk suggests "Like ballots." (0:15:30) and the acting superintendent says "I think you have the option to do public or not." (0:15:32); Zullo: "Really don't mind either way. Okay. If it's public." (0:15:36). Hands are raised for Benware, who asks "We vote for ourselves." (0:15:42), and then for Zullo (0:15:48). | OBSERVATION |
| 0:16:06 | Bowling team | Stevens won the state bowling championship; runner-up "2008 and 2012" and 2016 (0:17:25). Donations for jackets and rings must run through the school, not an outside bank account: "we were told we can't do it that way. So we have to do it through the school" (0:20:50). | |
| 0:22:38 | Donations and unanticipated funds | The chair moves to "Open up a public hearing"; the acting superintendent: "No, you don't have to open up a public hearing this evening. We need to schedule a public hearing for a future meeting." (0:22:45). Byrne Foundation $3,000 for the spirit team, accepted (0:23:11 to 0:24:41). The Couch Family Foundation "awarded us $23,160 over the course of two years" for building-trades students to build preschool playground structures, "which requires a public hearing because it's over the threshold amount" (0:24:49, 0:25:38); also "the 141,000 for safety and security upgrades" (0:25:38). O'Neill on RSA 198:20-b: the hearing is "to get the public's input in case there is what I would call a quote unquote, strings attached" (0:27:17). Hearing set for April 3 (0:28:07). | POSITIVE |
| 0:28:23 | Teacher nomination | A vacant special education position at Maple Avenue School filled "until now" by a nominee with "12 years of experience" (0:28:46); the board votes on the acting superintendent's nomination (0:29:00). The clerk then asks for the mover and seconder: "Excuse me a minute. I did not get anybody's nomination or to accept the nomination." (0:30:12). | |
| 0:29:27 | Incoming superintendent | "I've been in contact with Mike a little bit and he is progressing" (0:29:27); "he's coming, as far as I know" (0:29:52). | |
| 0:31:13 | Lunch debt | "As of March 12th, we had 431 negative accounts totaling 21,974" (0:31:13): "269 paid accounts totaling $16,499.62" and "117 benefit eligible accounts totaling $4,924.14" (0:31:54), plus withdrawn-student and staff accounts (0:32:27). Benware questions one school's figure suggesting "one person with 1300 debt" (0:34:31); the totals include Unity (0:36:26). | |
| 0:40:25 | i-Ready mid-year results | "41% of our students across the district have reached their goal already" as of January (0:42:46); reading tier three fell and tier one rose from 32% to "almost at 50%" (0:45:44). Seventh grade lags: "we need to see what's going on there for their interventions" (0:47:21); Towle: "they're both low scores" (0:59:55). Benware doubts a report showing no students above grade level: "I think that's incorrect" (0:57:46). | |
| 1:11:20 | Abbey Group | A student with no money gets a "Fully reimbursable meal." but no other items (1:14:30, 1:14:32). A la carte "made 14,540% food cost. It brought in 8700 back to the district" (garbled; 1:17:01). Staffing is hard across the valley: "We're just not finding them." (1:27:29). The regional manager puts the debt on "your gap families" (1:28:49); the acting superintendent: "our lunch service providers cannot deny a child a meal if they go through the line and say, I'm hungry." (1:30:26). | |
| 1:34:50 | Election results | The clerk reads the March 12 results (1:35:35): moderator Tracy Pope, treasurer Jane Hunter and clerk Mary Woodman unopposed; "Brian Rapp had 212. Carolyn Tall had 402. Rob Lovett Junior had 361. Michelle Pierce had 173." and "Heather Whitney was unopposed and she had 544 votes" (1:36:08). The two-way radio article "had 313 yes votes and 339 no votes. So that was defeated." (1:36:48); total voting "only 674" (1:37:25). The clerk reports voters saying "there was no information out around at the end of the week or on Monday" (1:39:01). The acting superintendent: "this was the first year, to my knowledge, that the proposed budget was higher than the default budget" (1:40:24); contracts go out around April 15 with the budget's reductions (1:44:07). | |
| 1:45:23 | Bus lease resolution | The 2018 warrant authorized "a long term lease purchase agreement in the amount of $190,100 payable over a five year term" for two buses (1:45:23), passing "620 in the affirmative, 307 and the negative" (1:46:14). The district bid two propane buses and now needs a resolution naming a signer (1:46:38). Lovett asks to name a position; O'Neill: "You got to put a person in there" (1:48:16). Benware reads the resolution in full (1:48:47 to 1:49:54); adopted (1:50:51). | |
| 1:51:11 | School climate survey | Antioch is "requesting that schools skip surveying the students because the process is quite cumbersome" (1:52:50); added questions on pay and on support for administrators. Lovett: "I should not be answering whether or not my student feels safe at school. I should be asking my child that." (2:02:36); some student items will be kept. | |
| 2:06:47 | Audit status | "up to eight different people from the auditing firm in our offices last week" (2:06:47). "there's actually two audits that happen in Claremont because we get such a large sum of grant funding, federal grant funding" (2:07:14); for fiscal 2016 "the regular audit is done" but "the single audit, still needs to be complete" (2:07:38); fiscal 2017 fieldwork has begun; fiscal 2018 work has started on student activity funds (2:08:25). "The goal is still to finish by the end of the school year and be up to date prior to June 30th." (2:08:50). | HIGH |
| 2:10:38 | Budget versus actual | A one-page general fund revenue report and a 24-page expenditure report (2:11:04); O'Neill wants to "do this, once a month for the rest of the year" (2:10:54). Benware asks whether special education contracted services ($588,837 spent, about $592,000 encumbered) mean "a shortfall of over $300,000" (2:13:54, 2:14:07); O'Neill: unfilled positions are covered by contracted services and offset in salary lines (2:14:27, 2:14:50). He will bring a projection next month (2:19:48). | POSITIVE |
| 2:20:11 | Future agenda; retreat | Retreat April 13 or 14; the retreat "Is not an expense. It's a donation of our time." (2:21:12). Topics: committees, code of conduct, NESDEC services and promoting the school vote (2:21:35). A memorandum of understanding with the Claremont Police Department after a training on student investigations with the school resource officer and the police chief (2:25:24, 2:25:52). | |
| 2:27:21 | ConVal lawsuit | The chair reports the School Boards Association "quite taken aback" by ConVal's decision to sue over adequate funding (2:27:21); joining might cost "about $563" (2:28:42); Monadnock has voted to join (2:29:30). Placed on the next agenda (2:30:56). | |
| 2:31:06 | Trainings and adjournment | School Boards Association sessions on school safety, new member orientation and collective bargaining; a Right-to-Know introduction conflicts with a board meeting (2:32:37). Whitney moves to adjourn (2:35:12). | |
Items flagged for review
These flags are a reviewer's aid, not findings of violation and not legal advice. Each one names the rule it rests on, as that rule read on March 20, 2019, or is labeled an observation where no verified rule applies. The RSA 91-A:2, II requirement that minutes name each motion's mover and seconder took effect January 1, 2019, and applies to this meeting.
HIGH The fiscal 2016 single audit was still unfinished, and "up to date prior to June 30th" misses the federal deadline for fiscal 2018
The acting superintendent told the board that "there's actually two audits that happen in Claremont because we get such a large sum of grant funding, federal grant funding", and that for fiscal 2016 "the regular audit is done" while "the single audit, still needs to be complete" (2:07:14, 2:07:38). Fiscal 2017 fieldwork had begun and fiscal 2018 work had only started (2:07:38, 2:08:25). The goal was "to finish by the end of the school year and be up to date prior to June 30th" (2:08:50). Under 2 CFR 200.512(a)(1) a single-audit reporting package is 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". For a fiscal year ending June 30 that is March 31 of the next year: March 31, 2017 for fiscal 2016, March 31, 2018 for fiscal 2017, and March 31, 2019 for fiscal 2018, eleven days after this meeting. On the stated plan, finishing fiscal 2018 by June 30, 2019 would itself be about three months late, so "up to date" is not the federal standard. The board heard the same backlog on February 20, 2019 (that page's flag 1). In mitigation, the auditors had committed a large team to the district and staff described the status openly.
Sources: 2 CFR 200.512(a)(1), 2019 annual edition (due the earlier of 30 days after the auditor's report or nine months after period end); 2 CFR 200.501(a), 2019 edition ($750,000 threshold)
MEDIUM No agenda, packet or minutes survive in any district share, including the record of a split officer vote
The meeting had an agenda (0:03:22) and a packet ("we can ignore pages six and seven of this packet", 1:53:34), the board approved its March 6 minutes after correcting them (0:04:04 to 0:06:09), and the clerk was visibly taking minutes, stopping the meeting to get a mover and seconder (0:30:12). None of this meeting's documents is in the district's public shares: MAP.md records that neither share holds a year folder older than 2022. RSA 91-A:2, II required minutes with the names of members, persons appearing, a brief description of the subject matter and final decisions, open to public inspection "not more than 5 business days after the meeting", and from January 1, 2019, the names of each motion's mover and seconder. The minutes matter more than usual here: the vice chair was chosen on a show of hands that the recording does not capture (0:15:40 to 0:15:53), and several seconds are unidentified. Graded MEDIUM under the project's rule for missing records because the record mitigates the gap: the meeting was noticed and packeted and minutes were being kept, and only their public availability is missing.
Sources: RSA 91-A:2, II, 2019 codification (source note ends 2018, 244:1, eff. Jan. 1, 2019): minutes contents, mover and seconder, five business days
OBSERVATION The board was told a secret ballot was an option for electing its vice chair; the statute bars it
Asked how to hold the contested vice chair vote, the clerk suggested "Like ballots." (0:15:30) and the acting superintendent said "I think you have the option to do public or not." (0:15:32). RSA 91-A:2, II provides: "Except for town meetings, school district meetings, and elections, no vote while in open session may be taken by secret ballot." A school board choosing its own officers in open session is not a town meeting, a school district meeting or an election in that sense, so a ballot was not an option. The board voted by show of hands (0:15:40, 0:15:48), so the outcome complied; the advice did not. Graded an observation because no secret vote was taken.
Sources: RSA 91-A:2, II, 2019 codification (secret-ballot bar; source note ends 2018, 244:1)
POSITIVE Public hearings scheduled before accepting $164,160 in unanticipated funds, with the reason explained
For the Couch Family Foundation's $23,160 and the $141,000 in public school infrastructure funds, staff stopped the board from acting that night and set a public hearing for April 3 (0:22:45, 0:28:07), as RSA 198:20-b, III(a) requires for "unanticipated funds in the amount of $5,000 or more". The business administrator explained the hearing's purpose in plain terms, "to get the public's input in case there is what I would call a quote unquote, strings attached" (0:27:17), and that the district's threshold is $5,000 (0:27:35). The $3,000 Byrne Foundation gift, under the threshold, was taken as a listed agenda item and accepted in public session (0:23:11 to 0:24:41), as ¶III(b) requires. The explanation of the statute is a practice beyond the minimum. Contrast the February 20, 2019 meeting, where a $7,500 gift was accepted with no hearing on the record.
Sources: RSA 198:20-b, I and III(a)-(b), 2019 codification (source note ends 2005, 188:1): prior public hearing at $5,000 or more; agenda and minutes notice below it
POSITIVE Monthly budget-versus-actual reports put before the board in public
The board received a general fund revenue report and a 24-page expenditure report (2:11:04) and questioned specific lines in public, including a special education contracted-services line that looked "a shortfall of over $300,000" until the business administrator explained the offsetting salary savings (2:14:07, 2:14:27). He proposed to "do this, once a month for the rest of the year" (2:10:54) and to bring a year-end projection (2:19:48), and a member reminded staff that "these reports become public record" (2:17:32). No statute requires monthly reporting to the board; it is a practice that lets the public follow the budget between annual meetings.
Sources: the recording (2:10:31 to 2:20:11); no rule requires the practice.
Appendix: source files
Official and public sources
- Cablecast: SCHOOL BOARD meeting of 3-20-19 (show 10294; run time from the Cablecast API not retrieved, as the API refuses requests from this environment)
- Google Drive: no agenda, packet or minutes. MAP.md: "neither share holds a year folder older than 2022, and the Meeting Minutes share starts at 2023 (checked 9/26/26)." Not searched again for this page, per the run instructions for meetings with no Drive material.
- Related meeting pages: February 20, 2019 (audit backlog; a $7,500 gift) and March 6, 2019 (food service renewal)
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.jsonInput/SupportingDocuments/MAP.md, section 95Scripts/attribution_reports_2015_2023/10294 SchoolBoard032019.mp4.md (speaker attribution report)
Laws and rules cited on this page
- 2 CFR 200.512(a)(1) and 200.501(a), 2019 annual edition: single-audit deadline and threshold
- RSA 91-A:2, II, 2019 codification (2018, 244:1, eff. Jan. 1, 2019): minutes, mover and seconder, five business days; secret-ballot bar
- RSA 198:20-b, I and III, 2019 codification (2005, 188:1): unanticipated money; prior public hearing at $5,000 or more