Participants
Everyone the recording shows taking part. Names follow the project's dialogue file; no minutes exist online to check spellings against. Where the dialogue file marks an identification as uncertain, so does this table. Members are listed first.
| Name | Role | Participation |
|---|
| Frank Sprague | Chair | Opened the hearing and explained its haste: "if this process seems a little rushed and organized as far as this public hearing goes, it's because it is a little bit rushed." Reported on the October 20 budget retreat; recognized members throughout; spoke from "my own experience, having been a, a guidance director" on new-student registration (attributed to him by the dialogue file at medium confidence). |
| Rebecca Zullo | Board member (vice chair per the project roster) | Identified by the dialogue file by elimination (medium confidence). Abstained on the October 16 minutes because she was absent (0:18:56); urged the board to keep calling extra meetings if it went to one a month; asked that the sexual harassment policy go to the policy committee. |
| Jason Benware | Board member | Moved the agenda, both sets of minutes, the warrant article, the one-meeting-a-month schedule, the organ gift and adjournment. Asked that the December agenda take up an easier path for families moving into the district and for booking school tours. The chair's Mr. Bender is this name. |
| Michael Petrin | Board member | Explained the aid as restored stabilization grant money "going back to where it was in 2016". Seconded the agenda, the retreat minutes, the schedule change and adjournment. Asked for a report, possibly in nonpublic session, on how an incident involving a former high school employee reported in the press was handled. Rendered Mike patron. |
| Heather Whitney | Board member | Announced the student representative's college admission; described the retreat's view that the school is part of the community; suggested actively recruiting tuition students; seconded the organ gift. |
| Carolyn Towle | Board member | Seconded the October 16 minutes and the warrant article. Asked that all subcommittees report at the single monthly meeting. Rendered Carolyn Tall in the roll call. |
| Rob Lovett Jr. | Board member | Absent (chair, 0:58:24). |
| Michael Tempesta | Superintendent, SAU 6 | Read the warrant article at the hearing and outlined three proposed programs: another PRIDE classroom, an autism program, and an alternative program at Stevens High School. Reported on the MassCUE technology conference, a proposed one-to-one device lease, contract negotiations and 14 strategic-planning committees; proposed moving to one board meeting a month. |
| Richard Seaman | Business administrator, SAU 6 (introduced by the chair as Assistant Superintendent Seaman) | Explained the aid figures at the hearing ("This current year, I believe the the number is 1.3 million to the school"); the dialogue file marks those rows as uncertain because they were diarized with Benware. Later reported on catch-up audits and on a state system problem blocking food service reimbursement claims. |
| Donna Magoon | Assistant Superintendent, SAU 6 | Reported the October 29 Title I family event with author David Elliott; described the registration page on the SAU 6 website; gave the date of the school safety committee's meeting. |
| Mary Woodman | School district clerk and recording secretary | Called the roll. |
| Ben Nester | Director of Special Education, SAU 6 | Named by the superintendent as the author of the PRIDE program and invited to the front at 0:29:59; no words are attributed to him in the dialogue file. |
| Tyler Sullivan | Student representative, Stevens High School | Gave the school-by-school report and introduced two seniors who attended the CARE conference. First name from later meetings; spelling unverified. |
| Grace Thorton | Stevens High School senior | Presented the CARE conference at Colby-Sawyer College and the Friends of Rachel club's work (name as stated; spelling unverified). She introduced Megan Mullin, also a senior, whose voice the dialogue file does not separate. |
| Unidentified | Public commenter, e-Ticker News of Claremont | Asked at 0:08:01 whether money returned to taxpayers goes "to the city pot"; name not stated (transcribed Tick or news of Claremont). |
| Cynthia Howard | Public commenter, Ward 2 | Asked how much of "a $6.2 million" state check went to the schools; argued the district had lost only about $106,000 in aid over the year and that "the majority of this money should come back to the taxpayers". |
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. The chair refers to lettered items (item D, f), so a written agenda existed. Hover over (or Tab to) a clipped entry for the full text.
| Taken up | Item | Agenda text / disposition |
|---|
| 0:00:24 | Public hearing: special district meeting warrant | Warrant article read by the superintendent; questions from two members of the public answered by the chair, superintendent, business administrator and a member. Closed by the chair at 0:15:21. No vote at a hearing. |
| 0:15:42 | Pledge and roll call | Roll answered by six members; Lovett absent. |
| 0:16:38 | Agenda changes and approval | Warrant vote added as the first action item; item D (revisit drug policy) struck and sent to subcommittee; auditors' presentation moved to November 20 (0:17:34). Moved by Benware, seconded by Petrin (Mike seconds); approved by voice vote. |
| 0:18:20 | Minutes of October 16 and of the October 20 retreat | October 16: Benware, second Towle, approved with Zullo abstaining. October 20 retreat: Benware, second Petrin, approved by voice vote. |
| 0:19:46 | Citizens' comments | Invited on subjects other than the warrant article; no speaker. |
| 0:20:26 | Vote to move the warrant article to the special district meeting | Benware moved to "approve the warrant put forth by Mr. Tempesta"; Towle seconded; approved by voice vote, no dissent audible. Meeting set for Thursday, November 21, 6:30 p.m., Stevens High School auditorium. |
| 0:21:20 | Superintendent's report | Technology conference, Title I event, negotiations and strategic-planning committees, and the three proposed special education programs. |
| 0:34:39 | Student representative report | School news, then the CARE conference presentation. |
| 0:49:53 | Report on the board retreat | Report on the October 20 budget retreat at the community center. |
| 0:54:22 | Item F: meeting frequency | Benware moved "one meeting a month, first Wednesday of the month" with more during budget season; Petrin seconded. Carried "4 to 2" by voice vote (1:01:00); the two members voting no are not identified on the tape. |
| 1:01:29 | Acceptance of donation: Lowrey organ | Benware moved to accept the organ "for the use of the music department"; Whitney seconded; approved by voice vote. The donor is named on tape only as Barbara. |
| 1:03:44 | Future agenda items | Auditors and policy committee for November 20; grading system, school safety, health policies and five-year graduation rates pending committee work. |
| 1:07:44 | Other business | Petrin's request for a report on the high school incident; Zullo's request for review of the sexual harassment policy; Benware's request on new-family information and school tours. |
| 1:18:19 | Adjournment | Benware moved, Petrin seconded; approved by voice vote. |
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 |
|---|
| 0:00:24 | Hearing opened; why it was rushed | The chair said the board learned from counsel "at our last board meeting" that part of the state money arrives this year and must be encumbered through a hearing or go to tax relief: "I think, December or so is the deadline". "We ourselves didn't know what the constraints on this money were until our last board meeting." | MEDIUM |
| 0:02:19 | Warrant article read | A "single session special School District meeting on Thursday, November 21st, 2019 at 6:30 p.m. at Stevens High School Auditorium". Article 1: a special education expendable trust fund "pursuant RSA 198 20 C" [RSA 198:20-c], "the sum of $650,000", to come from increases in the adequacy grant "RSA 19841" [RSA 198:41], "with no money to be raised from taxation", with the board as agents to expend. | |
| 0:03:29 | Why a trust fund | The superintendent tied it to last year's PRIDE classroom ("I think it was 637,000 last year") and three proposed programs: another PRIDE classroom, an autism program for students who might leave the district, and an alternative program at Stevens High School like the former OWLS program. Unused money "has to go back to the taxpayers". | |
| 0:08:01 | Public questions | e-Ticker News asked where returned money goes (to the city). Cynthia Howard asked how much of "a $6.2 million" check reached the schools. Richard Seaman (uncertain attribution): 1.3 million this year; next year about 3.8 million in total, of which 2.2 million is for infrastructure. The chair: 650,000 to the trust fund and "the other 650 goes to property tax relief this year". | |
| 0:10:53 | How much aid was lost | Howard: "we only lost approximately 30,000 this fiscal year. For special ed, the total was somewhere around 106,000". The superintendent said he was unsure of that number. Petrin described the money as the stabilization grant being restored "back to where it was in 2016". Howard: "I think the majority of this money should come back to the taxpayers". | |
| 0:12:27 | PRIDE program results | Seaman (uncertain attribution): the PRIDE classroom "has already been successful", and "the payback on this program was thought to be 1.3 years." Hearing closed at 0:15:21. | POSITIVE |
| 0:16:38 | Agenda amended; minutes | Drug policy item struck and sent to subcommittee; auditors moved to November 20. October 16 minutes approved with Zullo abstaining; retreat minutes approved after a number correction. | |
| 0:20:26 | Warrant article sent to the voters | Benware moved, Towle seconded, approved by voice vote with no dissent audible. | |
| 0:21:20 | Superintendent: technology and Title I | The MassCUE conference (transcribed Mask conference); a "lease proposal for one to ones" with E-rate to come to the board. Assistant Superintendent Magoon: author David Elliott visited the three elementary schools on October 29 and spoke at the annual Title I family meeting. | |
| 0:25:31 | Negotiations and planning committees | "were negotiating for contracts right now. And 14 separate committees" working on a new three-to-five-year strategic plan; a public appeal for volunteers. | |
| 0:30:50 | Program costs | Six students out of district at "approximately $550,000" in tuitions; three more who "might need to go out of district". Estimates: Stevens alternative program "200 and 250,000", autism program about 300, one more PRIDE classroom about 200,000. | |
| 0:35:05 | Student representative; CARE conference | School news, then Grace Thorton on the October 15 CARE conference at Colby-Sawyer College and the Friends of Rachel club, named for Rachel Joy Scott, a victim of the Columbine shooting. Whitney announced the student representative's admission to Colby-Sawyer, with a "Big, fat scholarship." | |
| 0:49:53 | Retreat report | Budget retreat on Sunday, October 20 at the community center, about 2.5 hours. The superintendent: "it's a it's a posted public meeting". The chair: "nobody gets a dime". | |
| 0:54:22 | One meeting a month | The superintendent proposed it because administrators were "out three nights a week anyway". Zullo warned "the six board meetings are perfect example of how things fall apart when you don't meet frequently enough". Carried "4 to 2" at 1:01:00. | |
| 1:01:29 | Organ donation | Accepted for the music department by voice vote. | |
| 1:06:11 | Audits and food service claims | Seaman: "we're anticipating that by the end of December, we'll have both audit reports." The state "has a problem right now" so "we are not able to complete our application for the food service at the state level"; an unidentified exchange: "We missed the reimbursement a month period, a period of months over two years, because that's a monthly report." | OBSERVATION |
| 1:07:44 | Incident at the high school | Petrin asked for "some sort of report on what happened, how it was handled", perhaps in nonpublic session. The superintendent said "This is a whole new administration" and described a confidential tip line. Zullo asked that the sexual harassment policy go to the policy committee. | |
| 1:13:20 | Families new to the district | Benware asked for one place explaining how to enroll and how to book a school tour. Magoon noted the SAU 6 website's registration page. Whitney suggested recruiting tuition students. | |
| 1:18:19 | Adjournment | Moved by Benware, seconded by Petrin. | |
Items flagged for review
Flags are a reviewer's aid generated by comparing the meeting against the law in force on November 6, 2019, 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. Ordered by severity.
MEDIUM The district's counsel later said no notice of this hearing was posted on the SAU 6 website, which the special-meeting statute names as a required posting place
This hearing was held under RSA 197:3-a, the statute for a special meeting on changed state education aid. As it read in 2019, paragraph IV required the hearing "at least 14 days prior" to the meeting, with notice of its "time, place, and subject" posted in at least two public places, "one of which shall be on the school district's website, if such exists, at least 7 days prior to the hearing." The 14-day rule was met (November 6 to November 21). The website rule is disputed: four weeks later, on December 4, the chair read a statement from the district's attorney saying that "no notice of the public hearing held on November 6th, 2019 was posted on the Saw six website." The chair acknowledged at 0:00:24 that the process was "a little bit rushed" because the board learned of the deadline only at its previous meeting.
Why MEDIUM and not HIGH: the defect is mitigated on the record. Counsel argued on November 20 that the SAU 6 site is not a Claremont School District website, so the "if such exists" clause may not have been triggered, and the board then used the curative procedure of RSA 40:16 and RSA 31:5-b, holding a second special meeting on December 12, 2019. Whether notice was posted in two physical places is not in any available record.
Sources: RSA 197:3-a, IV (2019 codification; source 2013, 197:1, unamended): hearing 14 days before the meeting, notice on the district website "if such exists" 7 days before the hearing; RSA 40:16 (2019 codification): special meeting to cure procedural defects.
OBSERVATION Food service reimbursement claims were missed for months over two prior years and could not yet be filed this year
At 1:06:11 the business administrator said the state could not accept the district's food service application because of a state IT problem, so "we have not submitted as of yet any of our reimbursements". In the exchange that follows, which the dialogue file leaves unidentified, someone confirms: "We missed the reimbursement a month period, a period of months over two years, because that's a monthly report." On November 20 he reported the application accepted and claims submitted for September and October. The amount of reimbursement lost in the earlier years is not stated. This page did not verify the federal claim-filing deadline, so it records the point as an observation of lost revenue and control weakness rather than a rule violation.
Sources: the recording only; no rule verified for this flag.
OBSERVATION No agenda, packet, hearing notice or minutes for this meeting are posted online
MAP.md 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 recording shows the board approving the October 16 and October 20 minutes, and the November 20 recording shows these minutes approved with a correction. In 2019, RSA 91-A:2, II required minutes to be "open to public inspection not more than 5 business days after the meeting" and to name the mover and seconder of each motion. Whether that was met cannot be tested from here. The limb of the project's missing-records rule applied is the online-availability observation, because the record shows minutes kept and approved.
Sources: RSA 91-A:2, II (2019 codification; source note ends 2018, 244:1): minutes within 5 business days, naming mover and seconder; Input/SupportingDocuments/MAP.md section 114.
POSITIVE The hearing met the statute's 14-day lead time and every public question was answered on the record before the board voted
The hearing fell 15 days before the November 21 meeting, meeting the 14-day floor in RSA 197:3-a, IV. The chair invited questions from the floor (0:07:40), and the chair, superintendent, business administrator and a member each answered the two speakers, including a challenge from Cynthia Howard that most of the money should go to tax relief. The chair then told her she could vote on it on November 21. The board voted to send the article only after the hearing closed.
Sources: RSA 197:3-a, IV (2019 codification): hearing "at least 14 days prior" to the meeting.
Appendix: source files
Official and public sources
- Cablecast show 10605, "CLAREMONT SCHOOL BOARD meeting 11-6": Claremont Community Television. 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, hearing notice, warrant, presentation slides or minutes for this meeting were located.
- Related pages: October 16, 2019 (previous meeting); November 20, 2019 (counsel on the posting question; auditors); November 21, 2019 special district meeting; December 4, 2019 (curative hearing).
Project files
Working files this page was built from. The dialogue file is linked; the others are not published with the page.
Dialogue/10605 SchoolBoard110619.mp4.CSV (413 attributed rows; the basis of this page)Input/Videos/10605 SchoolBoard110619.mp4Input/Transcripts/10605 SchoolBoard110619.mp4.jsonScripts/attribution_reports_2015_2023/10605 SchoolBoard110619.mp4.mdInput/SupportingDocuments/MAP.md, section 114
Laws and rules cited on this page
- New Hampshire statutes, as in force on November 6, 2019. RSA 197:3-a (special meeting for change in education funding; 2019 codification). RSA 40:16 (legalization of meetings; 2019 codification). RSA 91-A:2, II (notice and minutes; 2019 codification).
- Cited in the warrant article as read, not relied on for a flag. RSA 198:20-c (expendable trust funds) and RSA 198:41 (adequate education grant).