Participants
Everyone in the record, as far as the recording shows it. There are no minutes to check against, so attendance comes from the roll calls as the transcript renders them; names follow the September 29, 2022 SAU 6 agenda masthead where it lists the member. 76 of 341 dialogue rows (22.3%) are unidentified.
| Name | Role | Participation |
|---|
| Marjorie Erickson | Chair (Unity) | Presided. Corrected the May 19 minutes and this meeting's agenda, which still showed the former chair ("I was then chair and Frank was vice chair"). Pressed the superintendent for his own assessment of SAU staffing gaps and asked for a running action-item list. Hosts the July 24 retreat. Moved the clerk pay increase. |
| Frank Sprague | Vice Chair (Claremont) | Moved to enter and to leave nonpublic session, seconded the seal, moved the agenda and each set of minutes, and moved to adjourn. Asked how the year's decision "to reduce staff" was made. Proposed "150 meeting" for the clerk. |
| Heather Whitney | Member (Claremont) | Moved "To seal the minutes for 90 years." Argued for dedicated administrative assistants and a professional human-resources "face" for recruiting. Member of the superintendent evaluation subcommittee. |
| Joshua Lambert | Member (Claremont) | Answered each roll call Yes. Named by the chair among the evaluation subcommittee ("Josh, can you do Monday?"). |
| Bonnie Miles | Member (Claremont) | Named in each roll call; no attributed remarks. |
| Whitney Skillen | Member (Claremont) | Named in each roll call ("Whitney Skilling"); no attributed remarks. |
| Shannon Popescu | Member (Unity) | Votes Yes in the roll calls (rendered "Sheena and you" and "Cannon"); named by the chair for the evaluation subcommittee. |
| Atonya "Tanya" Hart | Member (Unity) | Answers the attendance roll and the first two roll-call votes ("Tonya. Hurt"). Not heard in the third. |
| Steven Horsky | Member (Claremont) | A member read as "Stephen" votes No on entering nonpublic session (0:02:33); not heard in the attendance roll or the later roll calls. Identification from the roll order only. |
| Michael Petrin | Member (Claremont) | Read first in the attendance roll ("Michael patron"); no answer is audible and he is not heard in any roll-call vote. Presence not established. |
| Gary Bader | Member (Unity) | Read in the attendance roll ("Gary bader"); no answer audible. The chair later says "Gary has indeed agreed to bring pork" to the retreat. The September 29 agenda spells him "Garry Bator"; spelling unverified. |
| Unity member read as "Roger" | Member (Unity) | "Roger. He's not coming." Probably Rocco Ruggeri, who is on the September 29 masthead; not confirmed. Absent. |
| Michael Tempesta | Superintendent, SAU 6 | Report on graduations and capstone projects. On staffing needs: "I don't know of another superintendent who doesn't have a dedicated administrative assistant." Explained the staff reduction: "I was looking for any way into model how we could get more teachers". Reported the clerk's resignation and the pay proposal. |
| Richard Seaman | Assistant Superintendent for Finance (not named on this recording) | Audit action plan with Plodzik & Sanderson; SAU budget calendar. Identified by content only. |
| Melissa Small | SAU 6 administrative assistant; acting recording secretary | Read the roll calls; noted outstanding minutes ("Two more, I believe. December and April."). Identification medium-high, from the secretary's role. |
| "Mary" | SAU 6 clerk (resigned) | Her resignation letter was noted; the superintendent said it had already been accepted. Not present. The project roster identifies her as Mary Woodman; not stated on this recording. |
| Unidentified | Member | Speaks at 0:19:16 to sharpen the chair's request ("What is your assessment of the need?"). Possibly Lambert; low confidence. |
| No citizens | Citizens' comments | The chair called for comments at 0:08:26: "Hearing none". |
Order of business (reconstructed)
No agenda for this meeting is posted in any district share; the SAU 6 packet archive begins with the July 24, 2022 retreat. The items below are reconstructed from the chair's transitions on the recording.
| Taken up | Item | Disposition |
|---|
| 0:00:58 | Call to order, pledge, attendance | The chair: "why don't we just stand up and do the pledge attendance." |
| 0:02:04 | Nonpublic session | Sprague moved "to go into nonpublic RSA 91, dash a colon three a"; roll call, one No. Came out on Sprague's motion by roll call; Whitney moved to seal the minutes "for 90 years", Sprague seconded; roll call, all heard voting Yes. |
| 0:04:11 | Agenda | Accepted as presented on Sprague's motion. |
| 0:04:32 | Minutes: October 21 and November 18, 2021; May 19, 2022 | Each approved on Sprague's motion, the 2021 sets with abstentions from newer members recorded by show of hands; May 19 as amended to show the April officers. December and April minutes still outstanding. |
| 0:08:26 | Citizens' comments | None. |
| 0:08:38 | Superintendent's report | Graduations and projects; then the board's question on SAU staffing needs, entered on a running action-item list. |
| 0:25:49 | SAU retreat planning | Sunday July 24 at 1:00 at the chair's home in Unity; attorney Will Phillips at 2:00; potluck. |
| 0:27:36 | Superintendent evaluation update | Forms due; subcommittee to meet with the superintendent Friday June 24 at 6:00. |
| 0:32:32 | SAU clerk resignation and compensation | Resignation already accepted. Chair moved to raise SAU 6 clerk pay "to $150 per meeting"; seconded; carried by voice vote. Election pay unchanged. |
| 0:36:17 | Financial audit update | Action plan to complete the FY22 audit by February 2023. The SAU has no grants. |
| 0:37:37 | Scheduling; adjournment | SAU budget calendar; next meeting August 18. Sprague moved to adjourn; seconded; carried. |
Discussion timeline
Chronological, from the dialogue CSV. Times are the start of the cited row. Hover over (or Tab to) a clipped cell for the full entry.
| Time | Topic | What was said | Flags |
|---|
| 0:01:34 | Attendance roll | "Michael patron, Marjorie Erickson, here." "Gary bader." "Roger. He's not coming." "Tanya hart." "Frank Sprague here." "Joshua Lambert here. Bonnie. Miles, Whitney Skilling here. And Heather Whitney here." | |
| 0:02:04 | Motion to enter nonpublic session | Sprague: "I'd like to make a motion to go into nonpublic RSA 91, dash a colon three a." Chair: "All those in favor say aye. Oh. Roll call. Yeah. That's right. Roll call." Roll: "Stephen. No. Joshua. Lambert. Yes." and the rest Yes. | MEDIUM POSITIVE |
| 0:02:53 | Out of nonpublic; minutes sealed | Sprague: "I'd like to make a motion that we come out of nonpublic." Roll call. Whitney: "To seal the minutes for 90 years." Sprague: "I'll second. 90 years. 90." Roll call, all heard Yes. No reason or statutory finding is stated. | MEDIUM |
| 0:04:32 | Old minutes approved | "We have minutes from October 21st, November 18th, both of 2021 and May 19th." Whether enough members who attended were present: "It needs to be seven out of 12, doesn't it?" "I think we have to record the abstentions, because there were a lot of people who weren't here at the time." | MEDIUM |
| 0:06:48 | Officers corrected | "I was then chair and Frank was vice chair, and that should be changed at the top, as it should be for this meeting as well. I think in the agenda it still reads Mike patron [Petrin]." "the elections were in April". | |
| 0:07:59 | Minutes still outstanding | Chair: "I guess we still have December. Outstanding." Small: "Two more, I believe. December and April." | MEDIUM |
| 0:13:00 | SAU staffing needs | Chair: at the last meeting "you were going to come back and talk to us about staffing needs". Tempesta found no outside reviewer; the SAU has "450 employees"; "most schools that that I'm aware of have a more elaborate HR function." "I don't know of another superintendent who doesn't have a dedicated administrative assistant." | |
| 0:18:02 | Recruiting and the SAU's face | Whitney: "our biggest problem in this district is, is getting staff. And if we don't have a smooth, human resources department, that is a great face for us, then that's a strike against us." "If we can't offer dollars, we can offer, culture." | |
| 0:20:05 | The staff reduction | Sprague: "Well, we made a decision this year to reduce staff." "So how was that decision made?" Tempesta: "I was looking for any way into model how we could get more teachers for the, for the schedule." "I mean, I wish I could take back on that." | |
| 0:24:44 | A running action-item list | Chair: "One of the things we do up in unity is we keep a running list of action items that don't necessarily have specific due dates. I would like to do that here". First item: a presentation on SAU staffing needs. | POSITIVE |
| 0:25:56 | Retreat at the chair's home | "we're having a retreat on the 24th." "It's going to be potluck." "That will be meeting at 1:00 at my house. Will Phillips will come at two." | OBSERVATION |
| 0:27:36 | Superintendent evaluation | "I'm still waiting for some people to return their forms." "the last one we did that I have is 2020." "we theoretically we need to have the evaluation completed by June 30th." | |
| 0:29:41 | Evaluation subcommittee meeting set | "since I have the whole subcommittee here". Friday the 24th at six. Chair: "Now on a Friday that screams pizza and beer." "It's a business meeting." Whitney: "Request the background [back room]." | OBSERVATION |
| 0:32:32 | Clerk resignation; pay doubled | "the compensation as as it was before was $75 per meeting". Chair: "the time spent outside of the meeting, putting the minutes together" is "almost double". Sprague: "I think 150 meeting would be reasonable. I agree we're very dependent on our minutes." Motion "to $150 per meeting" carried. | |
| 0:36:27 | Audit backlog | "we're working through a backlog on, on, audits". With "Plods and Sanderson [Plodzik & Sanderson]" an "action plan is in place" to "have our fiscal 22 audit completed, by February of 23, which is a somewhat more normal timeframe". "the s a you has no grants." | OBSERVATION |
| 0:38:03 | SAU budget calendar | "the Saw budget process is a whole different schedule. Than the district budgets". "We need to have it finalized in December, because the funding from the Saw budget feeds into the individual districts." | |
Items flagged for review
Flags are a reviewer's aid generated by comparing the meeting against the state law in force on June 16, 2022, not today's text. They are not findings of violation, and nothing here is legal advice. Each flag cites the rule it rests on; where no verified rule applies, the flag says so and is recorded as an observation. 6 flags follow, ordered by severity.
MEDIUM Nonpublic minutes sealed "for 90 years" with no statutory finding stated on the record
RSA 91-A:3, III, as it read in 2022, required nonpublic minutes to be "publicly disclosed within 72 hours of the meeting, unless, by recorded vote of 2/3 of the members present taken in public session, it is determined that divulgence of the information likely would affect adversely the reputation of any person other than a member of the public body itself, or render the proposed action ineffective, or pertain to terrorism". Minutes so withheld stay withheld "until, in the opinion of a majority of members, the aforesaid circumstances no longer apply." On the recording the motion is only "To seal the minutes for 90 years" (0:03:28), seconded "90 years. 90." (0:03:31), and passed by roll call (0:03:48); no one states which of the three grounds applies. The statute sets no fixed term; it ties the withholding to the continuing existence of the ground.
The motion to enter nonpublic session is transcribed as "RSA 91, dash a colon three a" (0:02:04). RSA 91-A:3, I(b) requires the motion to "state on its face the specific exemption under paragraph II"; the transcript may have lost "II" before "a" (the employee-matters ground), so this page does not treat the motion wording as a defect. Graded MEDIUM, not HIGH, because the minutes of this meeting, which might record the finding, are not available to check (see flag 2).
Sources: RSA 91-A:3, I(b), II(a) and III (2022 codification; source note ends 2021, 163:1 and 172:1, eff. Jan. 1, 2022).
MEDIUM A months-long SAU 6 minutes backlog, and no minutes of this meeting online
RSA 91-A:2, II requires minutes to be "promptly recorded and open to public inspection not more than 5 business days after the meeting"; draft minutes satisfy it. Tonight the board approved minutes of October 21 and November 18, 2021, seven and eight months on, and the secretary said December and April were still outstanding (0:08:06). The SAU clerk had resigned and the administrative assistant was "catching up in the minutes" (0:32:46). The SAU 6 agenda of September 29, 2022 then lists minutes of "December 16, 2021, April 21, 2022, June 16, 2022" for approval. None of those minutes, including this meeting's, is in any district share: the SAU 6 packet archive begins with July 24, 2022, and the September 29 folder holds only its agenda. The later folders that do carry SAU 6 minutes (November 16 and December 1, 2022) carry those of September 29 and November 16.
This page applies the MEDIUM limb of the project's rule for missing records, because the record mitigates: the backlog is acknowledged on tape, the minutes were being produced, and those for this meeting existed by September 29. What the recording does not show is whether drafts were open to inspection within five business days; "outstanding" may mean not yet approved rather than not yet written.
Sources: RSA 91-A:2, II (2022 codification); SAU 6 School Board Agenda 9.29.22.
OBSERVATION A board retreat at the chair's home and a subcommittee session planned for a restaurant back room
The July 24 retreat was set for "1:00 at my house" in Unity, as a potluck, with counsel attending (0:26:11). The superintendent evaluation subcommittee, which the chair noted was all present, set its session with the superintendent for Friday June 24 at six, with talk of "pizza and beer" and a restaurant "back room" (0:31:33); the chair added "It's a business meeting." A retreat of the full board is a meeting, and RSA 91-A:1-a, VI(d) makes "any committee, subcommittee, or subordinate body thereof" a public body with the same notice, access and minutes duties. Neither venue is unlawful in itself. A packet folder exists for the retreat (1. SAU SB Retreat 7.24.22); no notice or minutes of the June 24 subcommittee session have been located, and this page has not searched for them beyond the shares named in the appendix.
Sources: RSA 91-A:1-a, VI(d); RSA 91-A:2, II (2022 codification).
OBSERVATION The SAU's own audits were in backlog, with a plan to be current by February 2023
The finance officer reported "a backlog on, on, audits" and an action plan with the audit firm to complete the FY22 audit "by February of 23" (0:36:27). He also said the SAU "has no grants" (0:37:16), so the federal single-audit rules that bear on the member districts' audits do not obviously reach the SAU itself. This page has not verified a state deadline for SAU audits, so the point is recorded as an observation.
Sources: the recording at the cited times.
POSITIVE Roll-call votes on entering and leaving nonpublic session, and on sealing
RSA 91-A:3, I(b) requires that the vote on a motion to enter nonpublic session "shall be by roll call". The chair began a voice vote, caught herself ("Oh. Roll call. Yeah. That's right. Roll call.", 0:02:16), and the secretary called the roll by name, recording one dissent. The board also took roll calls to leave nonpublic session and on the seal, which RSA 91-A:3, III requires to be a recorded vote in public session.
Sources: RSA 91-A:3, I(b) and III (2022 codification).
POSITIVE The board put a follow-up on its own record
When a request from the previous meeting (an assessment of SAU staffing needs) came back unanswered, the chair asked for a standing action-item list carried in the agenda so that open requests are not lost, and the item was entered with the superintendent's agreement (0:24:44). No statute requires this; it is a practice that makes a board's follow-through checkable by the public.
Sources: the recording at the cited time.
Appendix — source files
Official and public sources
Project files
Working files this page was built from. The dialogue file is linked; the others are not published with the page.
Dialogue/13444 SAU6061622.mp4.CSV (341 attributed rows; the basis of this page)Input/Videos/13444 SAU6061622.mp4Input/Transcripts/13444 SAU6061622.mp4.jsonInput/SupportingDocuments/MAP.md, section 170
Laws and rules cited on this page