Participants
Everyone heard or named as present in the recording. No minutes were found, so names follow the agenda, the project's 2015-2023 roster and the attribution report for this recording; transcript renderings are noted where they differ.
| Name | Role | Participation |
|---|
| Michael Petrin | Chair | Presides throughout (roll answer heard as “Patron here.”, 0:00:58); invites citizens to comment on each action item (0:47:38); asks the pre-K presenter whether attenders would have done worse without the program (1:29:11); asks Dr. Herzog when state CTE renovation money could be available (1:58:18, 2:00:06); asks the board whether he should sign the general assurances (2:22:31). |
| Heather Whitney | Vice chair | Moves to add the nonpublic session (0:01:18, 0:01:39) and later moves to enter it (2:31:56); questions campus-aide pay, screening capacity and how ESSER positions will be evaluated (0:27:37 to 0:46:23); asks about the adult education grant (1:57:27); moves the general-assurances authorization (2:22:52). |
| Frank Sprague | Board member (chair until April 2022) | Asks for an immediate baseline of proficiency, failures and attendance to judge the new positions (0:24:45, 0:25:10); pushes back on the poverty explanation for pre-K results (1:26:45); moves the amicus sign-on (1:37:56) and both policy adoptions (2:30:30, 2:31:08); asks whether grant money was lost through late filings (2:20:18). |
| Joshua Lambert | Board member; policy committee | Seconds the amicus motion (1:38:00); moves to table BEDH (2:26:56); seconds the nonpublic motion (chair: “Heather made the motion and Josh seconded the motion”, 2:32:28). |
| Whitney Skillen | Board member (elected March 2022) | Asks for annual progress reports on ESSER positions before they sunset (0:22:35 to 0:23:27); questions the statistics behind the pre-K comparison (0:54:23, 0:56:30); asks whether federal money depends on compliance and how the district stays audit-ready (2:23:42, 2:25:05); questions the "officially closed" exception in policy GADA (2:28:43). Transcript renders the name "Whitney skilling" and "Whitney. Skin". |
| Bonnie Miles | Board member (elected March 2022) | Answers both roll calls (0:00:52, 2:32:43); no attributed speech. Dr. Herzog says she spoke with carpentry students on a visit to the tech center (1:45:54). |
| Steven Horsky | Board member | Not called in the roll and not heard; whether he was absent cannot be confirmed without minutes. |
| Michael Tempesta | Superintendent, SAU 6 | Introduces the new literacy specialist (0:02:46) and presents the revised ESSER staffing plan (0:05:09 to 0:21:58); answers on campus-aide pay (0:27:55) and on reevaluating positions that cannot be filled (0:48:08). |
| Richard Seaman | Assistant Superintendent for Finance, Operations and Human Resources, SAU 6 | Presents the FY2023 general assurances (2:07:00) and the Department of Education corrective action plan (2:09:21 to 2:17:03); says grant reimbursement requests are behind (2:19:36); introduces the policies (2:26:44, 2:27:56). Speaker label rests on content (attribution report, medium confidence). |
| Ben Nester | Director of Special Education, SAU 6 | Presents the Claremont Early Childhood Center outcome study (0:51:56 to 1:30:29) and the amicus request (1:31:17 to 1:37:36). |
| Dr. Mary Ellen Janeiro | Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum, Instruction, Innovation and Assessment (agenda) | Introduces Stephanie Hurst (0:03:04). Surname per the agenda masthead; the CSV labels her "Dr. Janeiro". |
| Stephanie Hurst | Incoming literacy specialist (from July 1, 2022) | Brief remarks on accepting the position (0:04:39 to 0:05:04). |
| Melissa Lewis | Principal, Disnard Elementary School | Explains the proposed ESSER speech and occupational-therapy intervention model (0:30:30 to 0:37:41); relays numbers from an early childhood staff member by text (1:21:41, 1:21:45). |
| Dr. Alex Herzog | Director, Sugar River Valley Regional Technical Center (SRVRTC) | Reports on the 2019 CTE needs assessment, adult education and state renovation money (1:38:31 to 2:05:50). |
| Melissa Small | SAU 6 staff, recording secretary for the night | Reads the attendance roll (0:00:52, 0:01:00). |
| Unidentified | Board members and others | 148 of 832 rows (17.8%), including the agenda motion and second (0:01:55, 0:01:59), several seconds, and every answer in the nonpublic roll call (2:32:40 to 2:32:49). |
Agenda
From the posted agenda (CSB Agenda 5.4.22 (2).pdf), with the time each item is taken up in the recording. Quoted agenda text is from that document, not the recording.
Official agenda items and dispositions as heard in the recording
| Taken up | Item | Disposition |
|---|
| 0:00:00 | I-II. Call to order and Pledge of Allegiance | Agenda: "6:45PM Call to Order and Pledge of Allegiance" (listed twice, as items I and II). |
| 0:00:52 | III. General business: roll call | Six members answer (0:00:52, 0:01:00); Horsky not called. |
| 0:01:12 | III. Agenda amendments and approval | Whitney adds a nonpublic session as item 8, citing the statute twice in garbled form (0:01:18, 0:01:39); unidentified motion and second (0:01:55, 0:01:59); voice vote (0:02:02). See MEDIUM. |
| 0:02:12 | III. Previous minutes approval | Agenda lists "Jan 5, 2022Feb 2, 2022, April 6, 2022" (agenda text as printed). The chair defers them: “Previous meeting is we are going to have those at this point, so move on.” No vote. See MEDIUM. |
| 0:02:12 | III. Citizens comments | None offered; closed at 0:02:39. The chair notes comment openings during each action item. |
| 0:02:46 | IV. Superintendent report | Introduction of the new literacy specialist (0:03:04); revised ESSER staffing plan (0:05:09). |
| 0:22:14 | V.1 ESSER Fund Use Projection FY22-24 Summary | Chair formally moves to the item after the presentation (0:22:14); questions to 0:51:15. Discussion only; no vote. |
| 0:51:15 | V.2 Claremont Early Childhood Center Student Outcome Data (Ben Nester) | Presentation and questions to 1:31:00. No vote. |
| 1:31:12 | V.3 Verrill v. NH DHHS; Friend of the Court Brief (Ben Nester) | Motion to sign on as friend of the court: Sprague (1:37:56); second Lambert (1:38:00); voice vote, no dissent heard (1:38:03). |
| 1:38:16 | V.4 SRVRTC Update (Dr. Alex Herzog): 2019 Needs Assessment Status; State Renovation Money for CTE | Report and questions to 2:05:56. No vote. |
| 2:06:15 | V.5 FY23 LEA General Assurances (Richard Seaman) | Taken up, then held until after item 6 (2:09:11). Motion that the chair sign the FY2023 general assurances: Whitney (2:22:52, 2:23:02); unidentified second (2:23:08); voice vote (2:26:28, 2:26:37). |
| 2:09:21 | V.6 DOE Financial CAP Update (Richard Seaman) | Report on the Title monitoring findings and corrective action plan (2:09:30 to 2:17:03). No vote. See MEDIUM. |
| 2:26:44 | V.7 Policies, second/final read | (c) BEDH Public Participation at Board Meetings tabled: Lambert motion (2:26:56), Whitney second (2:27:10), voice vote (2:27:28). (a) GADA Employment References and Verification adopted: Sprague motion (2:30:30), unidentified second (2:30:49), voice vote (2:31:03). (b) ADB/GBEC Drug Free Workplace and Drug-Free Schools adopted: Sprague motion (2:31:08), voice vote (2:31:29); no second is audible. |
| 2:31:51 | 8. Nonpublic session (added at the meeting) | Whitney motion (2:31:56), Lambert second (2:32:28); roll call, six yes (2:32:40 to 2:32:49). The recording ends here. See MEDIUM. |
| 8:15 p.m. | VI. Other Business; VII. Closing Activities; VIII. Adjournment (8:40 p.m.) | Not reached before the nonpublic session; the recording ends without them. |
Discussion timeline
Times are taken from the dialogue transcript (Dialogue/12366 SchoolBoard050422.mp4.CSV) and link into the recording.
Topics in the order discussed
| Time | Topic | What was said | Flags |
|---|
| 0:00:00 | Opening, roll, agenda | Pledge and reminder to silence phones (0:00:33). Roll of six (0:00:52, 0:01:00). Nonpublic session added to the agenda (0:01:18 to 0:02:02). Minutes for January 5, February 2 and April 6 deferred (0:02:12). No citizens comment (0:02:39). | MEDIUM MEDIUM OBSERVATION |
| 0:02:46 | New literacy specialist | Dr. Janeiro: Stephanie Hurst will start “as our new literacy specialist beginning on July 1st” (0:03:04). Hurst: “eager to get to work, roll my sleeves up” (0:04:42). | |
| 0:05:09 | ESSER staffing plan (superintendent) | Plan revised at the board's request to show “If we're adding staff, exactly what does that look like? When would they come on board? What is the outlay? Where are the positions?” (0:05:31). Middle school: two long-term subs, three campus aides and an academic-center teacher at “about 55,000” (0:07:02, 0:07:46). Positions sunset “for the year ending 25 budget” (0:11:43). Two programs total “a 1.3 million” (0:12:57); new district-wide posts include a math specialist, data/grant specialist, truancy officer, nurse, speech and COTA staff and bus drivers (0:13:52 to 0:15:09). Extra positions “975” a year, “1905” for two years (0:16:25); “And those combined are $3.6 million a little over in the total allocation” and “300, 3,341,000 for the staff in these positions” (0:17:17). Staff ratios: middle school 62 to 71 people (0:18:53); Stevens 76 to 81 (0:21:06). | POSITIVE |
| 0:22:35 | Board questions on ESSER positions | Skillen wants yearly reports before positions end in FY25 (0:22:38). Sprague: “I too would like to see a baseline, but an immediate baseline” (0:24:45). Whitney asks why a middle-school campus aide is budgeted at 25,000 and a Stevens aide at 40,000 (0:27:37); the superintendent: “Maybe a typo, but I'll I'll check on that.” (0:27:55). | POSITIVE |
| 0:30:12 | Speech and OT early intervention (Principal Lewis) | Lewis: the posts would let staff “intervene at the earliest moment possible and prevent getting to the point of special education” (0:30:30). Whitney presses on how success will be measured (0:33:37, 0:41:44) and concludes the assistants “So this actually doesn't increase our screening capacity.” (0:46:14); Nester: “it increases the intervention capacity” (0:46:21). | |
| 0:47:38 | Comment invitation; permanent staff | Chair invites citizen comment on the item (0:47:38). Whitney asks that money go to permanent staff and paraprofessional certification (0:50:23, 0:50:50). | POSITIVE |
| 0:51:56 | Early Childhood Center outcome study | Nester compares i-Ready spring kindergarten scores of pre-K “attenders” and non-attenders (0:52:41); for the 2017-18 kindergartners, math “352 versus 364” (0:56:20). Conclusion: “students that attended our early childhood program performed poorer on the spring assessment” (1:06:03). District free and reduced lunch “34.8% on average” against “47.5%” in pre-K (1:07:28). He proposes an outside evaluation (1:23:48, 1:24:38) but has no cost estimate (1:24:56). Skillen and Sprague question the statistics and the poverty explanation (0:56:30, 1:26:45). | |
| 1:31:17 | Amicus brief on adult disability services | Nester: districts are asked to sign a letter in Verrill v. NH DHHS; “The suggested donation is 500 to $1000 to help draft the brief.” (1:33:11). Sprague estimates the cost exposure: “you're talking $1 million” (1:37:27). Motion, second, voice vote (1:37:56 to 1:38:03). The motion as heard does not mention the contribution. | |
| 1:38:31 | SRVRTC: needs assessment and career survey | Students “generally did not know what it takes to get where they want to go” (1:39:34); half of CTE respondents named no career interest (1:40:29). Free community night classes: plumbing, “out of nine students, three of them got hired into the plumbing field” (1:43:57). Perkins money replaced the walk-in freezer (1:49:37). | |
| 1:57:27 | Adult education grant | Whitney: “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” (1:57:27). Herzog cites staffing problems and a state visit the next day (1:57:42, 1:58:01). | OBSERVATION |
| 1:58:18 | State CTE renovation money; visioning committee | Herzog: the state usually funds 75%; “if we're looking at a $4 million renovation, it would be $1 million that we'd have to come up with” (2:00:14). A feasibility study comes first (1:59:38). Visioning committee to meet the following week (2:00:57). A CCTV staff member will run a summer TV program for middle schoolers (2:03:30). | |
| 2:07:00 | FY2023 general assurances | Seaman: the state now wants the board chair as well as the superintendent to sign (2:07:44); the list covers federal laws “we believe we're capable of complying with in order to get these federal dollars” (2:08:07). | |
| 2:09:21 | Department of Education Title monitoring findings and CAP | Two policies given first reading “back at the November 3rd meeting” were “never put it on the agenda for second read” (2:09:55); no written procedures (2:10:43); time-and-effort certifications missing (2:12:59, 2:13:25). Corrections due August 30 (2:14:49). Asked what is at stake: “Oh no. It's millions.” (2:16:00). | MEDIUM |
| 2:19:36 | Grant reimbursements behind | Seaman: “we're behind on it and cleaning up some things from many years of not quite so good process” (2:19:36). Before his arrival “we may have left behind some of the grant dollars” (2:20:22); none lost since (2:21:42). | OBSERVATION |
| 2:22:31 | Assurances vote | Sprague: “I'm not sure what I'm voting on.” (2:23:13). Seaman: compliance is not a condition of the grant money “the simple answer is no, it is not” (2:23:48). Motion carried by voice vote (2:26:28). | |
| 2:26:44 | Policies BEDH, GADA, ADB/GBEC | BEDH tabled because tweaks discussed earlier were not taken up at the retreat (2:26:56, 2:27:28). Skillen asks whether GADA's “officially closed” exception could block a report to police (2:28:43). GADA and ADB/GBEC adopted (2:30:52, 2:31:22). | MEDIUM |
| 2:31:51 | Nonpublic session | Motion “enter into a nonpublic session for RSA 91-A colon, six, one and two” (2:31:56); roll call, six yes (2:32:40 to 2:32:49). Recording ends. | MEDIUM POSITIVE |
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 May 4, 2022, or is labeled an observation where no verified rule applies.
MEDIUM No minutes found for this meeting, and three earlier sets of minutes were still awaiting approval
The agenda was posted: its Drive folder, 19. CSB 5.4.22, was created May 2, 2022, about 10 a.m. Eastern, two days ahead. No minutes of this meeting were found. The search was two-stage: the meeting's own folder (it holds only the agenda), then the later 2022 packet folders recorded in MAP.md (the 1. CSB 7.20.22 packet carries minutes of February 9, April 6 and June 15, 2022, but not May 4) and title searches of the district shares. The agenda also put minutes of January 5 and February 2, 2022 up for approval three and four months after those meetings, and the chair deferred all three sets without explanation (0:02:12); MAP.md records no minutes for either January or February meeting. RSA 91-A:2, II, in the text in force since January 1, 2019, requires minutes naming members, persons appearing, the subject matter, final decisions and the members who moved and seconded each motion, "open to public inspection not more than 5 business days after the meeting". Draft minutes satisfy that; approval does not. The MEDIUM limb of the project's severity rule applies because the meeting was noticed and packeted and only the minutes are missing. Without them the record cannot name the unidentified movers and seconders on the agenda (0:01:55, 0:01:59), the assurances (2:23:08) and GADA (2:30:49), or show whether ADB/GBEC was seconded at all (2:31:08).
Sources: RSA 91-A:2, II (2022 codification; source note ends 2018, 244:1, eff. Jan. 1, 2019): minutes content, movers and seconders, five business days
MEDIUM The nonpublic-session motion, as recorded, does not state a specific exemption
RSA 91-A:3, I(b) requires that a motion to enter nonpublic session "state on its face the specific exemption under paragraph II" and be decided by roll call. The session was added at the start as “Nonpublic meeting per RSA 91. Dash a colon two comma two.” (0:01:18), revised to “RSA RSA 91-A colon three comma one into.” (0:01:39); the motion itself reads “enter into a nonpublic session for RSA 91-A colon, six, one and two” (2:31:56). None of the three names a lettered ground in RSA 91-A:3, II, and no subject was stated. These are machine transcriptions and the words may be garbled, so this rests on the recording alone; minutes would settle it, and none were found (MEDIUM). The roll call itself was taken, as the statute requires (2:32:40 to 2:32:49). The recording ends before any return to public session, so there is no public record of decisions reached, and no nonpublic minutes were found; RSA 91-A:3, III requires those within 72 hours unless sealed by a recorded two-thirds vote.
Sources: RSA 91-A:3, I(b) and III (2022 codification; source note ends 2021, 163:1 and 172:1, eff. Jan. 1, 2022)
MEDIUM State Title monitoring found required policies unadopted for six months and no time-and-effort certifications
The business administrator reported two findings from the NH Department of Education's monitoring of the Title programs. First, two policies the board gave first reading on November 3, 2021, employee references (aiding and abetting sexual abuse) and the drug-free workplace, “never put it on the agenda for second read” (2:09:55), and the district had no written procedures for federal purchasing, time and effort, disposal of assets or record retention (2:10:43, 2:11:06). Federal law requires an LEA receiving ESEA funds to have a policy prohibiting aiding and abetting sexual abuse (20 U.S.C. 7926). Second, staff paid partly from federal grants had not signed time-and-effort certifications (2:12:59, 2:13:25); 2 CFR 200.430(i)(1) requires salary charges to rest on records that accurately reflect the work performed, supported by internal control. He took responsibility: “I thought we had the policies and we never brought them in for second read.” (2:25:19). Mitigation on the record: a corrective action plan was filed and accepted (2:15:21), corrections are due August 30 (2:14:49), and the board adopted both policies the same night (2:30:52, 2:31:22). MEDIUM, a control weakness identified by the state and being corrected; the monitoring letter itself was not found in the district's shares.
Sources: 20 U.S.C. 7926 (ESEA sec. 8546: LEA policy prohibiting aiding and abetting sexual abuse); 2 CFR 200.430(i)(1), 2022 edition (salary charges supported by records of work performed); 2 CFR 200.303(a), 2022 edition (effective internal control over federal awards)
OBSERVATION Federal grant reimbursements were behind, and earlier grant money may have lapsed
The business administrator said reimbursement requests were behind on several grants, adult education among them (2:19:36), that before his arrival in October 2019 “we may have left behind some of the grant dollars” without saying how much (2:20:22), and that the district was “working through a few different years of reconciling three years ago and two years ago” (2:22:01). He was emphatic that nothing had lapsed since (2:21:42). Separately, Whitney said none of the adult education grant allocation had been spent with the grant closing in June 2022 (1:57:27). Federal education formula funds stay available for one extra fiscal year (20 U.S.C. 1225(b)), after which unobligated money is lost. No figure in the record ties a lapse to a grant or year, so this is an observation; the district's single-audit reports for FY2019 to FY2021 would show whether any federal money was returned or lapsed.
Sources: 20 U.S.C. 1225(b) (carryover: funds available one additional fiscal year)
OBSERVATION The agenda lists a board that no longer existed, and one seated member is missing from the roll
The posted agenda's masthead reads "Chair Frank Sprague, Vice Chair Heather Whitney, Steven Horsky, Joshua Lambert, Rob Lovett Jr., Michael Petrin, & Nicholas Stone" (agenda text). On the recording Petrin presides (0:02:46, Tempesta: “Thank you, Chair Peter.”), and the roll calls Bonnie Miles and Whitney Skillen, elected in March 2022, and not Lovett or Stone (0:00:52, 0:01:00). Horsky, still a member, is not called at all. No rule governs an agenda masthead, but a public reader using the agenda would misidentify the chair and two members, and the roll omits a seated member without noting an absence.
Sources: CSB Agenda 5.4.22 (2).pdf (masthead); project roster, 2015-2023 (composition from March 2022)
POSITIVE ESSER plan shown position by position, with costs and sunset dates, in public
At the board's request the superintendent presented each ESSER-funded position, its cost, its building and its end date (0:05:31, 0:11:43), corrected his own spreadsheet error in public (0:05:51, 0:06:17), and pointed viewers to the posted plan (0:16:25). The ARP ESSER requirements call for an LEA plan developed with public input and posted online; a line-by-line sunset schedule presented and questioned at a televised meeting goes further. Board members pressed for baseline data to judge the positions (0:24:45, 0:33:37), and the superintendent committed to baseline figures at the June meeting (0:26:17).
Sources: 86 FR 21195 (Apr. 22, 2021), ARP ESSER interim final requirements: LEA plan, public input, website posting
POSITIVE Citizens invited to comment on each action item, and the nonpublic entry put to a roll call
The chair opened citizens' comment at the start and reminded the room that comment would be taken during each discussion and action item (0:02:12), then repeated the invitation mid-item (0:47:38). RSA 189:74's public-comment requirement did not take effect until September 6, 2022, so this exceeded what state law then required. The vote to enter nonpublic session was taken by roll call with each member's answer audible (2:32:40 to 2:32:49).
Sources: RSA 189:74 (2022, 333:1, eff. Sept. 6, 2022; not in force on May 4, 2022); RSA 91-A:3, I(b) (roll call)
Appendix: source files
Official and public sources
- Cablecast: School Board Meeting of 5/4/22 (show 12366; run time not retrieved, the Cablecast API refuses requests from this environment)
- Google Drive packet folder 19. CSB 5.4.22 (created 2022-05-02), in the district archive 2021 22 CSB Packets (Web): one document, CSB Agenda 5.4.22 (2).pdf. This archive is not yet recorded in MAP.md, which says the district's packet archives begin in July 2022. The superintendent's slides, the early childhood study, the general assurances and the policy drafts referred to on tape are not in the folder.
- Minutes: not found. Checked the meeting's own folder, the later 2022 packet folders recorded in MAP.md (including 1. CSB 7.20.22), and Drive title searches for
5.4.22 and 5-4-22 (2026-10-03).
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.jsonInput/SupportingDocuments/MAP.md, section 166Scripts/attribution_reports_2015_2023/12366 SchoolBoard050422.mp4.md (speaker attribution report)
Laws and rules cited on this page
- RSA 91-A:2, II, 2022 codification (in force Jan. 1, 2019 to Oct. 2, 2023): minutes content, movers and seconders, five-business-day inspection
- RSA 91-A:3, I(b) and III, 2022 codification (in force Jan. 1, 2022 to Oct. 2, 2023): motion states the specific exemption; roll call; 72-hour disclosure of nonpublic minutes
- RSA 189:74 (2022, 333:1, eff. Sept. 6, 2022): public comment period; cited only to show it was not yet law
- 20 U.S.C. 7926 (ESEA sec. 8546, Pub. L. 114-95): policy prohibiting aiding and abetting sexual abuse
- 20 U.S.C. 1225(b): one-year carryover of federal education funds
- 2 CFR 200.430(i)(1) and 2 CFR 200.303(a), 2022 annual edition: time-and-effort support; internal control
- 86 FR 21195 (Apr. 22, 2021): ARP ESSER interim final requirements