Participants
Everyone the recording shows taking part. Names follow the project's dialogue file; where it says Unidentified, so does this table. No minutes exist online to check spellings against. No member of the public spoke.
| Name | Role | Participation |
|---|
| Michael Petrin | Chair | Presided; asked about assistant supervision ratios and whether the pre-K gap would be larger without the program; asked the board whether he should sign the federal assurances (2:22:31). Rendered Patron in the roll. |
| Heather Whitney | Vice chair | Added the nonpublic session to the agenda and moved it; questioned campus aide salaries, the new speech and occupational therapy positions, and the backup plan if positions go unfilled; asked about the unspent adult education grant (1:57:27); moved the assurances authorization; seconded tabling policy BEDH. |
| Whitney Skillen | Board member | Asked for annual tracking of ESSER positions, whether the pre-K differences were statistically significant ("I mean, I'm a scientist, I'm an epidemiologist."), about the monitoring findings, and at 2:28:43 about the exception clause in the aiding-and-abetting policy. |
| Frank Sprague | Board member | Asked for immediate baselines for the new positions; questioned pay levels and the pre-K program's purpose; moved to join the amicus brief (1:37:56); asked "what's the or else" on the monitoring findings and whether money had been lost; moved adoption of policies GBAA and GBEC. |
| Joshua Lambert | Board member | Seconded the amicus motion; moved to table policy BEDH; seconded the nonpublic session motion. |
| Bonnie Miles | Board member | Answered the roll call and voted in it; no speech is attributed to her in the dialogue file (possibly inside an Unidentified cluster). Dr. Herzog named her as a member of the technical center visioning committee. |
| Steven Horsky | Board member | Absent as far as the record shows: not called in the roll and never heard. |
| Michael Tempesta | Superintendent, SAU 6 | Introduced the new literacy specialist; presented the ESSER staffing plan from 0:05:09 and answered questions. |
| Richard Seaman | Assistant superintendent for finance, SAU 6 | Presented the FY2023 general assurances and the state monitoring corrective action plan from 2:06:21; answered on grant reimbursements and the aiding-and-abetting policy. The attribution rests on content, not direct address (medium confidence). |
| Ben Nester | Director of Special Education, SAU 6 | Presented the pre-K outcomes analysis from 0:51:27 and the request to join the amicus brief from 1:31:17. |
| Melissa Lewis | Principal, Disnard Elementary School | Explained the proposed early intervention positions and screening. |
| Alex Herzog | Director, Sugar River Valley Regional Technical Center | Reported from 1:38:31 on the 2019 needs assessment, adult education, renovation funding, the visioning committee, career day and summer camps. |
| Dr. Janeiro | SAU 6 curriculum administrator | Introduced Stephanie Hurst. Surname as heard by the transcription, unverified. |
| Stephanie Hurst | Incoming literacy specialist (from July 1, 2022) | Introduced herself. |
| Melissa Small | Administrative assistant (roll call) | Read the roll in place of the clerk. |
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 numbers the discussion and action items one to eight, so a written agenda existed. Hover over (or Tab to) a clipped entry for the full text.
| Taken up | Item | Agenda text / disposition |
|---|
| 0:00:00 | Call to order, pledge, roll call | Roll call at 0:00:52. |
| 0:01:12 | Agenda changes | Nonpublic session added as item 8 on Heather Whitney's request; agenda as amended moved and seconded (both unidentified) and approved by voice vote. |
| 0:02:12 | Previous minutes; citizens' comments | Minutes put off. No citizens spoke. |
| 0:02:46 | Superintendent's report | New literacy specialist introduced; ESSER staffing plan presented. |
| 0:22:14 | Item 1: ESSER fund use projection, FY2022 to FY2024 | Discussion only; no vote. |
| 0:51:15 | Item 2: Claremont Early Childhood Center | Pre-K outcomes analysis; no vote. |
| 1:31:12 | Item 3: amicus brief (Verrill v. New Hampshire DHHS, as transcribed) | Sprague moved to sign on as a friend of the court; Lambert seconded; carried by voice vote. |
| 1:38:16 | Item 4: technical center report | Dr. Herzog. No vote. |
| 2:06:15 | Item 5: FY2023 LEA general assurances | Taken with the state monitoring corrective action plan update (from 2:09:21). Heather Whitney moved to authorize the chair to sign; seconded (unidentified); carried by voice vote at 2:26:28. |
| 2:26:44 | Item 7: policies | BEDH (public participation) tabled on Lambert's motion, Heather Whitney seconding. GBAA (employment references; prohibiting aiding and abetting sexual abuse) adopted on second reading, Sprague moving, seconder unidentified (2:30:30). GBEC (drug-free workplace) adopted on second reading on Sprague's motion, no second audible (2:31:08). |
| 2:31:51 | Item 8: nonpublic session | Heather Whitney moved, Lambert seconded; roll call six yes. Recording ends. |
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 |
|---|
| 0:00:33 | Roll call | "Melissa is here filling in for Miss Woodman." Six members answer; Horsky is not called. | |
| 0:01:18 | Nonpublic session added | Heather Whitney: "Nonpublic meeting per RSA 91. Dash a colon two comma two." then "Let me revise that." and a citation transcribed as "colon three comma one into." At 0:02:12: "Previous meeting is we are going to have those at this point, so move on." | MEDIUM OBSERVATION |
| 0:02:12 | Citizens' comments | Comments invited on matters "that do not pertain to those discussion and action items", with openings during the action items. None. | |
| 0:03:04 | New literacy specialist | Dr. Janeiro: "I'm very pleased to present to you Stephanie Hurst as our new literacy specialist beginning on July 1st." | |
| 0:05:09 | ESSER staffing plan revised | The superintendent returned to "discuss what was asked in the last meeting where we talked about the Esser funds and the plan to use the Esser funds and kind of how we would sunset." Middle school: two long-term substitutes, three campus aides, an academic center, a guidance counselor; high school academic center. "we have to sunset these folks for the year ending 25 budget". At 0:12:25: "I thought we had a good retreat on, on Sunday". | POSITIVE OBSERVATION |
| 0:13:33 | District-wide positions | Twenty-seven added FTEs "on the federal money dime": math, literacy and data specialists, a truancy officer, a nurse, rotating speech and occupational therapy assistants, tier two interventionists, and substitute bus drivers ("we don't have enough bus drivers."). About $3.34 million for staff over two years. "And again this is posted on our website." | POSITIVE |
| 0:17:46 | Transparency and funding source | "But we wanted to be very transparent out of the gate as to how we see it will go and what our plan was, as requested by the board." At 0:21:06: "it's important to know that this is non-local taxpayer money." and "It does come from somewhere." | POSITIVE |
| 0:22:35 | Tracking and baselines | Skillen asked for yearly tracking, "especially for the positions that we seek to eliminate at the end of fiscal year 25". Sprague at 0:24:45: "I too would like to see a baseline, but an immediate baseline"; of discipline monitors, "you don't need a master's degree to do that." The superintendent promised baselines for June. | |
| 0:27:37 | Campus aide pay | Heather Whitney asked about "an anticipated salary of 25,000 for the middle school and anticipated salary of 40,000 for Stevens High School." The superintendent: "Maybe a typo, but I'll I'll check on that." Sprague: "that's starting pay for teacher 40,000." | |
| 0:30:30 | Early intervention positions | Lewis: "The goal of these positions would be to intervene at the earliest moment possible and prevent getting to the point of special education." Heather Whitney worried it would become "a system that feeds itself."; Nester: "Create it. They will come." Lewis at 0:40:34: "I would have to respectfully disagree." Sprague: "I know, I know, it's free money and everything, but still." Nester: the district has "gone from 12 speech and language personnel in the last few years down to like nine." | |
| 0:47:51 | If positions go unfilled | Heather Whitney: "what is our backup plan for the money." The superintendent: "We're not going to add any dollars here." | |
| 0:52:41 | Pre-K outcomes | Nester compared kindergarten i-Ready scores of pre-K attenders and non-attenders; for math "352 versus 364. You can see the non attenders outperformed those that did go through the early childhood program." Skillen asked about statistical significance. At 1:06:03: "We can say with certainty based on these results that overall, students that attended our early childhood program performed poorer on the spring assessment." He cited the program's higher share of low-income children; "I can't know whose free and reduced lunch by law". | |
| 1:11:24 | Who the program serves | Nester: "currently our model is a no cost offering for qualifying students" and regular education students from a waitlist. He suggested an outside evaluation of the program and revisiting full-day pre-K. The chair: "I would think that gap would be much larger if the attenders hadn't attended." | |
| 1:31:17 | Amicus brief against the state health department | Nester: the district's special education attorney is asking districts to sign on; "the state, in my opinion, making efforts to downshift costs to the local taxpayer again"; "The suggested donation is 500 to $1000 to help draft the brief." Sprague: "some of these placements are $200,000 a year." Motion at 1:37:56: "Like to make a motion that we sign on to this as a friend of the court." Lambert: "Second that." Carried. | OBSERVATION |
| 1:38:31 | Technical center: needs assessment | Dr. Herzog: "I was asked to talk about the 2019 needs assessment status". A career counselor now works across the schools; a technical English course; evening adult classes funded by a USDA grant; at 1:49:37: "we were able to replace our walk in freezer." | |
| 1:57:27 | Adult education grant unspent | Heather Whitney: "I have information that says we haven't expended any of the the grant allocation money that was given to us and that the grant closes in June of 22." Herzog: "There are some challenges I've already talked to to Richard about that"; a state monitoring visit was due the next day. | MEDIUM |
| 1:58:18 | Renovation money; visioning committee | Herzog: "I didn't hear back from Jeff Beard."; "most of the time the state funded at 75%, where the community has to come up with 25%." The visioning committee's first meeting was set; "I believe Bonnie's on that, and Frank's on that from." At 2:01:44: career day, "We have about 45 employers."; summer camps, including one where "Josh here, with CCTV, is going to put together a week long program for kids to learn how to do TV stuff." | |
| 2:06:47 | FY2023 general assurances | Seaman: "in order to participate in federal grant programs, the state requires us to basically sign off on these general assurances."; "this year what they're asking is for the board chair to be signing it also." Skillen: "Is it true that we are currently, or were recently not in compliance with some of the written policies and procedures." | POSITIVE |
| 2:09:21 | State monitoring findings | Seaman: two policies were read on November 3 "it was approved for first reading, but we never put it on the agenda for second read."; "So we couldn't provide them to her and say, yes, we have these policies." Written procedures: "And we have not had those in the past."; "I have not finalized yet the one related to record retention." At 2:12:59: "The other one relates to time and effort." The payroll vendor: "that's not something we're willing to do, but for a price, maybe we can do it." Corrections due: "we have to have the corrections completed by August 30th." | MEDIUM POSITIVE |
| 2:15:31 | What is at stake | Sprague asked the consequence. Seaman: "we're going to cut you off on, on any of your federal grants."; "It's a big stick, there's no doubt about it."; "Oh no. It's millions." At 2:16:23: "Why we didn't deal with this sometime over the past years." | MEDIUM |
| 2:17:28 | Reimbursements behind | Seaman: "we're behind on it and cleaning up some things from many years of not quite so good process." Asked by Sprague whether money had been lost: "Not in the time that I have been here in the time prior to me arriving. My understanding is that we may have left behind some of the grant dollars." At 2:21:04: "Are we behind on that? Yes. There's no doubt about it." | MEDIUM |
| 2:22:31 | Assurances authorized | Heather Whitney moved "To approve the chair of the Claremont School Board signing off on." "General assurances for fiscal year 2023." Sprague: "I'm not sure what I'm voting on." Seaman explained; asked whether funding depends on compliance: "the simple answer is no, it is not." and "I thought we had the policies and we never brought them in for second read."; "So my fault, I'll follow that along." Carried at 2:26:28. | POSITIVE |
| 2:26:56 | Policy BEDH tabled | Lambert: "I wanted to make a motion to table BDH because we had a discussion at the close of our previous meeting that there were some tweaks we wanted to make, and we didn't get to discuss that at the retreat." Carried. | OBSERVATION |
| 2:27:56 | Policy GBAA adopted | Seaman: "It's a relatively new policy. This mimics, as we had discussed before, exactly what comes from the New Hampshire School Board Association." Skillen at 2:28:43 on the exception for a matter that "has been officially closed": "I wonder if that would prevent someone from reporting it to law enforcement." Seaman: "We can certainly get mad, Upton [Matt Upton], to provide us with our council". Skillen: "Okay, I like it better that way. Cool." Adopted at 2:31:03. | MEDIUM OBSERVATION |
| 2:31:08 | Policy GBEC adopted | Sprague: "I make a motion that we take the second reading and final approval policy." No second is audible; carried by voice vote. | MEDIUM |
| 2:31:56 | Nonpublic session | Heather Whitney: "enter into a nonpublic session for RSA 91-A colon, six, one and two." The chair: "Heather made the motion and Josh seconded the motion". Roll call at 2:32:40: Lambert, Miles, Petrin, Skillen, Sprague and Whitney all yes. The recording ends. | MEDIUM |
Items flagged for review
Flags are a reviewer's aid generated by comparing the meeting against the law in force on May 4, 2022, cited as it then read. They are not findings of violation, and nothing here is legal advice. Where no verified rule applies, the flag is recorded as an observation. Eight flags follow, ordered by severity.
MEDIUM A state monitoring visit found the district lacked required federal-grant policies, written procedures and time-and-effort certifications
From 2:09:21 the business administrator reported that a New Hampshire Department of Education monitor reviewing the district's Title programs found two areas needing correction. First, policies: two policies had been read for the first time on November 3 (2021 by context) "but we never put it on the agenda for second read.", so the district could not show them as adopted. One is the employment-references policy prohibiting aiding and abetting sexual abuse. Federal law requires this: 20 U.S.C. 7926(a), enacted in 2015, requires a local educational agency that receives funds under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act to "have laws, regulations, or policies that prohibit" helping a school employee who has engaged in sexual misconduct with a minor or student obtain a new job. Second, written procedures for implementing the policies (federal purchasing, time and effort, disposal of assets, record retention), which "we have not had those in the past", and time-and-effort certifications for staff partly paid from federal grants. For the latter, 2 CFR 200.430(i)(1) (2022 edition) requires that salary charges to federal awards "be based on records that accurately reflect the work performed" and be supported by a system of internal control.
Mitigation, stated on the record: a corrective action plan was filed and, per Seaman, accepted; corrections were due by August 30; the board adopted both policies on second reading this night (2:30:30, 2:31:08); and Seaman took responsibility ("So my fault, I'll follow that along."). Graded MEDIUM, not HIGH: the findings are a state agency's, and Seaman described the potential consequence as loss of federal grants worth "millions", but the record leaves material points unknown. Seaman's account ("They're in place there updated") leaves open whether earlier versions of the two policies were already adopted, so the recording does not show how long the 20 U.S.C. 7926 requirement went unmet; the district already kept time sheets for grant-funded staff, and the missing element was a signed certification statement, which 2 CFR 200.430(i) does not itself prescribe in that form; and the written-procedures item was described as "a new request". What the record shows is a monitored control weakness under a corrective action plan. This page did not see the monitoring report or the corrective action plan; the findings are as Seaman described them.
Sources: 20 U.S.C. 7926(a) (ESSA section 8546; Pub. L. 114-95, Dec. 10, 2015); 2 CFR 200.430(i)(1) (2022 CFR edition); findings as described by the business administrator, report not seen.
MEDIUM Federal grant reimbursements were behind, earlier years' grant money may have been left unclaimed, and the adult education allocation was unspent weeks before it closed
Seaman at 2:19:36: "we're behind on it and cleaning up some things from many years of not quite so good process." Title and IDEA were caught up, adult education and "a couple of the others" were not. Asked whether money had been lost: for his own tenure no, but "My understanding is that we may have left behind some of the grant dollars." from before, and "I have not gone back into that, Frank, to say how much or any of it was left behind, because there's nothing I can do about it." Earlier, Heather Whitney said at 1:57:27 that none of the adult education grant allocation had been spent and the grant closed in June 2022; Dr. Herzog acknowledged "some challenges".
Seaman's description of the deadlines ("everything needs to be in by September 30th for two year ago grants") matches the federal carryover rule for education formula funds, which remain available for obligation for one additional fiscal year under 20 U.S.C. 1225(b). Funds not obligated and claimed within that period are lost to the district. MEDIUM rather than HIGH: this is a control weakness he described as being corrected, and no specific lost amount is on the record. The superintendent's remark to the SAU 6 board on May 19 about "six years of audits that weren't done" (show 12400) bears on the same history.
Sources: 20 U.S.C. 1225(b) (Tydings carryover; one additional fiscal year); speaker's account, amounts not verified.
MEDIUM The motion to enter nonpublic session, as transcribed, does not state a specific paragraph II exemption
RSA 91-A:3, I(b), as in force in 2022, requires that "Any motion to enter nonpublic session shall state on its face the specific exemption under paragraph II which is relied upon", with a roll-call vote. When adding the item at 0:01:18, Heather Whitney cited a section transcribed as "91. Dash a colon two comma two." and then, revising, a citation transcribed as "colon three comma one into." The motion itself at 2:31:56 is transcribed as "enter into a nonpublic session for RSA 91-A colon, six, one and two." As transcribed, none of these names a lettered exemption in RSA 91-A:3, II, and RSA 91-A:3, I contains no exemptions at all. The roll call that followed was done correctly: six members, each voting yes by name (2:32:40).
MEDIUM, not HIGH, because the transcription of spoken statute numbers is unreliable and a lettered exemption (for example II(a)) could have been lost; the minutes, which would record the motion's wording, are not online. The recording ends at the roll call, so neither the subject of the session nor any vote to seal its minutes is on tape. Under RSA 91-A:3, III, nonpublic minutes must be disclosed within 72 hours unless sealed by a recorded two-thirds vote in public session; no nonpublic minutes for this date were located.
Sources: RSA 91-A:3, I(b) and III (2022 codification; source note ends 2021, 163:1 and 172:1, eff. Jan. 1, 2022).
OBSERVATION Minutes were put off again, no agenda or minutes are online, and a board retreat held days earlier has no record in the corpus
At 0:02:12 the chair said of the previous minutes: "Previous meeting is we are going to have those at this point, so move on." Two weeks later the May 4 minutes were still not in final form (see May 18). The 1. CSB 7.20.22 packet holds the April 6 and June 15 minutes but not May 4's. Under RSA 91-A:2, II (2022 text), minutes, drafts included, must be open to inspection within five business days; absence from the online archive is a limit of what the district posts and is recorded here as an observation.
The superintendent referred at 0:12:25 to "a good retreat on, on Sunday", and Lambert at 2:26:56 to matters "we didn't get to discuss that at the retreat". A retreat at which a quorum of the board discusses board business is a meeting under RSA 91-A:2, I ("the convening of a quorum of the membership of a public body") and needs notice and minutes. This project holds no recording, notice or minutes for it, and the date is not stated beyond Sunday.
Sources: RSA 91-A:2, I and II (2022 codification); Input/SupportingDocuments/MAP.md sections 164, 166 and 169.
OBSERVATION A member's question about the aiding-and-abetting policy's exception was answered by interpretation, not by counsel, before adoption
At 2:28:43 Skillen asked whether the policy's clause lifting the prohibition when "at least one of the following conditions applies", including that the matter "has been officially closed", could override the reporting duty. Seaman gave his own reading and offered to ask the district's attorney; Skillen accepted the reading and the policy was adopted the same night. The federal statute's exception is conjunctive: under 20 U.S.C. 7926(b) the prohibition does not apply only if the information has been properly reported to law enforcement and to other required authorities, and one of three further conditions is met (the matter officially closed or found without probable cause, acquittal, or no charges within four years). The adopted policy text is not available online, so whether its structure matches the statute could not be checked here. Seaman said it copies the New Hampshire School Boards Association sample.
Sources: 20 U.S.C. 7926(b) (exception conditions); policy text not seen.
OBSERVATION The board joined an amicus brief with a suggested contribution, but the motion set no amount
Nester described a request from the district's special education attorney for districts to sign on to a brief concerning the state health department's obligations to disabled adults, with "The suggested donation is 500 to $1000 to help draft the brief." Sprague moved at 1:37:56 "that we sign on to this as a friend of the court"; Lambert seconded and it carried. The motion did not state whether or how much the district would contribute, or from which budget line. The case name is transcribed as Verrill versus New Hampshire DHHS and was not verified here.
Sources: No statute relied on; recorded as an observation.
POSITIVE The ESSER staffing plan was itemized in public, revised at the board's request, posted online, and given sunset dates
The superintendent returned with the ESSER plan the board had questioned at its previous meeting (April 6; 0:05:09), corrected a tally error he had found in the packet version, listed each added position with cost and school, stated that the positions would end in the FY2025 budget, and noted that the plan was posted on the district website (0:16:25). Members pressed for baselines and annual tracking, and the superintendent committed to baselines for June. Setting out one-time federal money position by position, with an end date, is the practice that guards against a fiscal cliff; members' questions about which positions they would want to keep show the board engaging with that risk.
Sources: No statute relied on; practice, reported from the recording.
POSITIVE The business administrator disclosed the monitoring findings in public, and the board asked what it was voting on before authorizing the assurances
The corrective action plan was placed on the agenda and explained in public (2:09:21), including the district's own lapses. When Sprague said "I'm not sure what I'm voting on.", the chair and Seaman explained before the vote; Skillen asked directly whether the district was out of compliance, and got a direct answer. Bringing the chair's signature on the FY2023 federal assurances to a recorded board vote, rather than having it signed administratively, lets the public see who authorized the district's federal compliance commitments.
Sources: No statute relied on; practice, reported from the recording.
Appendix: source files
Official and public sources
- Cablecast show 12366, "School Board Meeting of 5/4/22": Claremont Community TV, CLAREMONT SCHOOLS gallery. Every timestamp on this page links into this recording.
- No Drive material for this meeting: the Claremont
2022 Meeting Documents archive begins with 1. CSB 7.20.22 and no Meeting Minutes year folder predates 2023 (MAP.md section 166, checked 9/26/26). That July packet carries the April 6 and June 15, 2022 minutes but not this meeting's. No agenda, ESSER slides, pre-K analysis, assurances, corrective action plan, policy texts or minutes were located.
- Related pages: Claremont School Board, April 6, 2022 (first ESSER III plan presentation); Claremont School Board, May 18, 2022; SAU 6 Board, May 19, 2022.
Project files
Working files this page was built from. The dialogue file is linked; the others are not published with the page.
Dialogue/12366 SchoolBoard050422.mp4.CSV (832 attributed rows; the basis of this page)Input/Videos/12366 SchoolBoard050422.mp4Input/Transcripts/12366 SchoolBoard050422.mp4.jsonScripts/attribution_reports_2015_2023/12366 SchoolBoard050422.mp4.mdInput/SupportingDocuments/MAP.md, section 166
Laws and rules cited on this page
- New Hampshire statutes, as in force on May 4, 2022. RSA 91-A:2, I and II (meeting defined; minutes within 5 business days; 2022 codification, source note ends 2018, 244:1). RSA 91-A:3, I(b) and III (nonpublic session motion and roll call; 72-hour disclosure of nonpublic minutes; 2022 codification).
- Federal statutes. 20 U.S.C. 7926 (prohibition on aiding and abetting sexual abuse; added by Pub. L. 114-95, 2015). 20 U.S.C. 1225(b) (carryover of federal education funds for one additional fiscal year).
- Federal regulation, 2022 CFR edition. 2 CFR 200.430(i)(1) (documentation of personnel expenses charged to federal awards).