Participants
Names follow the agenda masthead, the roll call and the minutes. Where the dialogue file and the minutes disagree, the row says so.
| Name | Role | Participation |
|---|
| Heather Whitney | Chair | Presents the consent agenda (0:01:01); questions the business-administrator search (0:10:57) and the special education report on eligibility and ESSER-funded deans (0:43:22, 1:10:13); reports advice from Will Phillips and the board's attorney on the funding-fairness request (1:32:02); introduces the CCTV candidate (1:25:26); reports the roof bid opening (1:39:42). |
| Frank Sprague | Vice chair | Questions the ASL course's cost and enrollment (0:16:21, 0:17:28) and votes Nay (0:24:40); questions court-involved referrals and lead screening (1:12:02) and building identification rates (1:14:59); moves the funding-fairness host motion (1:33:28). |
| Arlene Hawkins | Member | Asks whether ASL would draw more students to a language (0:21:41); the dialogue file gives her the ASL motion (0:24:13), which the minutes give to Bonnie Miles (flag 3); questions paraprofessional roles and pay (0:52:41, 0:57:01) and program locations (1:20:02); seconds the funding-fairness and breakfast motions (1:33:37, 1:44:47). |
| Bonnie Miles | Member | Reports for the Capital Improvement Committee: a meeting on May 18 at 3:00 at the superintendent's office (1:36:31). The minutes name her as mover of the ASL motion. |
| Whitney Skillen | Member | Asks who will interpret for a deaf student if the proposed teacher moves to the classroom (0:22:46); reports two policy-subcommittee meetings (1:37:56); moves the staff-appreciation breakfast (1:44:26) and adjournment (1:47:36). |
| Jennifer Gallagher | Member (arrived 6:40 p.m., minutes) | Asks how many business-administrator candidates (0:10:27); seconds the ASL motion (0:24:23); asks about the summer paraprofessional academy and parent support groups (0:51:37, 1:22:33); notes the district is a plaintiff in the funding lawsuit (1:35:34). |
| Steven Horsky | Member | Absent (minutes) |
| Hannah Petrin | Student representative | Listed on the agenda; not heard. |
| Michael Tempesta | Superintendent, SAU 6 | Business-administrator search: three interviews, finalists next, consultant David Jack involved (0:08:59); supports the ASL course and says three language teachers are budgeted (0:20:22, 0:22:40); on paraprofessional pay, would have to talk to the union (0:55:18); tells members to route the breakfast planning through staff rather than e-mail one another (1:46:13). |
| Mike Koski | Assistant Superintendent | Explains tiered intervention and the inverted achievement pyramid (0:44:24, 0:44:54). |
| Ben Nester | Director of Special Education | Calls the roll (0:00:44); presents the special education report (0:25:05 onward) and answers questions. |
| Christopher Pratt | Principal, Stevens High School | Proposes the ASL course (0:13:16). |
| Dr. Alex Herzog | Citizens' comments, Ward 2; director, Sugar River Valley Regional Technical Center; chair of the CCTV board by his own account | Reports on tech-center programs and the summer camp (0:02:01); describes the CCTV board and supports the candidate (1:26:53). |
| Hope Damon | Citizens' comments; state representative, Sullivan District 8 | Reports on SB 266 and SB 272 (0:05:06); asks about special-education turnover (1:23:39). |
| Andy Lafreniere | Ward 3; NH School Funding Fairness Project request (minutes; the dialogue file gives only Andy) | Asks the board to be listed as a host of the May 25 presentation (1:28:43). The dialogue file also gives him a remark on the improved room layout (1:43:31). |
| Unidentified | Room voices | Three short rows, including Open till filled. (0:11:09) and a question about disability abbreviations (0:32:22). |
Agenda
Items and wording from the posted agenda, CSB Agenda 5.3.23.pdf; dispositions from the recording and the minutes.
| Taken up | Item | Agenda text / disposition |
|---|
| 0:00:12 | I. Call to order, pledge | Called to order by the chair (minutes). |
| 0:00:37 | II. Roll call | Nester calls the roll (0:00:45); the minutes list six present, Gallagher arriving at 6:40, Horsky absent. |
| 0:01:01 | II. Consent agenda (vote required) | Agenda: "1. Amendments and Final Approval of board agenda 2. Minutes Approval* 3. Accepting donation of $1000.00 from Claremont Kiwanis to sponsor the Tech Center Summer Camp." with the note that the April 19 minutes are postponed. The chair: "We have no minutes to approve this week." and asks for objections; "In the absence of objections, we're going to move forward." (0:01:31). No motion or vote. Minutes: "No objections from any board member for the consent agenda items. All items pass." See flags 4 and 6. |
| 0:01:54 | Citizens' comments | Herzog and Damon. The chair asks twice for further speakers (0:04:59, 0:08:39). The student representative report is not given. |
| 0:08:59 | III. Superintendent report: business administrator search | Three initial interviews; finalists to follow. Discussion only. |
| 0:13:13 | IV.1 American Sign Language (Exhibit A) | Motion "that we approve the American Sign Language class at Stevens High School" (0:24:13); Gallagher seconds (0:24:23); the chair calls the vote on "adopting American Sign Language as our second language at Stevens High School with a full time instructor" (0:24:24); Sprague votes Nay; carried. Minutes: Miles moved, Gallagher seconded, "all in favor via voice vote with Frank Sprague voting no." See flag 3. |
| 0:25:05 | IV.2 Special education update | Nester's report on enrollment, out-of-district placement, programs, hiring and provider contracts, and answers to board questions. Discussion only. See flag 1. |
| 1:25:26 | IV.3 CCTV appointment candidates (Exhibits B and C) | One candidate, Eric Zengota, for a school-board seat; the chair defers the board's decision to the next meeting (1:25:57). No vote. See flag 5. |
| 1:28:25 | IV.4 NH School Funding Fairness Project (Exhibit D) | Sprague moves to be listed as a host (1:33:28); Hawkins seconds (1:33:48); voice vote, carried (1:35:43). |
| 1:36:01 | IV.5 Subcommittee reports | Capital Improvement, Budget, Policy, Curriculum (not yet met), SRVRTC Visioning, Ad Hoc Parliamentary Procedure. See flag 2. |
| 1:39:42 | V. Other business | Roof RFP advertised, bids to be opened May 22 at 2 p.m. at the Dow. Staff-appreciation breakfast: Skillen moves (1:44:26), Hawkins seconds (1:44:47); voice vote, carried (1:46:32). |
| 1:46:44 | VI-VIII. Future items, closing, adjournment | Future items: school board clerk vacancy, a first read of BEDH, an extraordinary need grant update, the CCTV appointment vote. Skillen moves to adjourn (1:47:36); Miles seconds (minutes). |
Discussion timeline
Times are taken from the dialogue transcript (Dialogue/15058 SchoolBoard050323.mp4.CSV) and link into the recording.
| Time | Topic | What was said | Flags |
|---|
| 0:01:01 | First consent agenda | "We have no minutes to approve this week. Our. The lovely woman who usually does our minutes was away on vacation, so we're going to give her a pass on that." The consent agenda includes "accepting of a donation of $1,000 from the Claremont Kiwanis to sponsor the Tech Center summer camp." Adopted on no objection (0:01:31). | OBSERVATION POSITIVE |
| 0:02:01 | Tech center report | Herzog: the Visioning Committee meets with consultants (0:02:36); an adult machine-tool class; three summer camps the week after July 4, with scholarships "if you're in need" (0:03:39, 0:04:01); a job fair with about 20 regional employers (0:04:28). | |
| 0:05:06 | State bills | Damon, a House Education Committee member: SB 266, "a 30 page bill that is presented as housekeeping", would in her view take "away the definition of minimum adequacy of education" (0:05:36, 0:06:11); House Education voted to retain it (0:06:38). SB 272, "the Parents Rights Bill", came out of committee on a tie, "No recommendation meaning we were tie vote." (0:07:01, 0:08:19). These are her characterizations. | |
| 0:08:59 | Business administrator search | Tempesta: "there have been three initial interviews of candidates"; consultant David Jack "was in on the interviews" (0:09:32). The posting was Open till filled. (0:11:09); "there's 3 or 4 openings right now for business administrator" in nearby districts (0:11:10). | |
| 0:13:16 | ASL proposal | Pratt proposes a "full time American Sign Language class" with levels one and two and a Running Start section; "we currently have about 88 students interested in the class." With approval, the two languages would be Spanish and ASL (0:13:39). | |
| 0:17:28 | ASL cost | Sprague: "it's going to be very expensive"; the teacher would "come in at the top of the scale", "around 60 plus benefits. So it's going to be 110 one or more to put this position in." He does not think it is a full-time position (0:17:52). Tempesta: "there's 250 kids signed up for Spanish" (0:20:00); the likely instructor "would be a pied piper" (0:20:22). Sprague: "Is it in the budget?"; Tempesta: "there's three budgeted language teachers." (0:22:37, 0:22:40). | OBSERVATION |
| 0:24:02 | ASL vote | Motion (0:24:13), second by Gallagher, vote (0:24:24); Sprague Nay (0:24:40); "The ayes have it." (0:24:42). | OBSERVATION |
| 0:25:05 | Special education report | Nester: "Our current rate is 26%." correcting the slide's 27%, "a record high for Claremont at 26%" against a historical 23 to 25% (0:30:20, 0:30:46). Special educators went from 25 in 2017 to 27 (0:35:44); 19 related-service providers (0:37:20); turnover "of about 30%" (0:37:53); state compliance determinations passed in 2021-22 and 2022-23 (0:39:53). | HIGH |
| 0:40:38 | Out-of-district placements | The elementary behavior program brought placed-out students back (0:41:06); placements rose at the middle and high school after their behavior programming was dismantled, "resulting in a bit of a wash" (0:41:51). "the out of district budget is not tenable the way it is" (0:48:51); a middle and high school alternative program proposed for next year (0:47:30). | |
| 0:44:24 | Tiered intervention | Koski: "Right now our pyramid is completely inverted where 80% are below grade level and 20% are on grade level." (0:44:54). | |
| 0:49:11 | Paraprofessionals | "We have 65 paraprofessionals"; a three-day, 12-hour summer academy for new paraprofessionals with a regional consultant (0:49:42). The academy cannot be required (0:54:15); a pay differential would need union negotiation (0:55:18, 0:58:04). Asked how often paraprofessionals are pulled to cover classes, Nester: "Daily, if I'm being honest." (1:22:20). | |
| 1:01:18 | Eligibility process | Nester walks through an eligibility form: "there's not one individual that determines eligibility. It is the IEP team." (1:02:23). | |
| 1:10:13 | ESSER-funded deans and coordinators | Whitney: the middle-school deans and learning centers "are Esser funded programs"; should the district consider special education coordinators "in light of or in lieu of these learning centers?" (1:10:32). Nester: the point "warrants robust discussion on our end" (1:11:52). | |
| 1:14:59 | Building rates | Sprague notes Disnard's identification rate of 15.6, well below the other schools, and credits its principal (1:15:23). | |
| 1:24:32 | Question timing | Asked what would help, Nester says one more week for board questions would have been useful (1:24:52). | |
| 1:25:26 | CCTV appointment | The chair: one candidate, rendered "Eric Goda" in the transcript (Eric Zengota in the packet), whom Herzog supports "as a repeat candidate for the six year position." / "Did I say that correctly? Six year. Position three year. Sorry." (1:25:57); "We don't have anyone for the two year position." Herzog: "the board could appoint three seats. The school board points, two seats, and the city provides three seats plus a city councilor." (1:27:17); the candidate "talks about the school district as much as he can" and "I believe he's still doing Mr. Tempesta." / "Some PR stuff." (1:27:40, 1:28:00). | OBSERVATION |
| 1:28:43 | Funding-fairness host | Lafreniere asks that the board "would join many other New Hampshire school boards" in being listed as a host (1:31:24). Whitney consulted Will Phillips and "spoke to Matt Upton about this" (1:32:02); "as a board, we have a right to be biased if we choose" (1:32:20). Lafreniere: "Not a monetary commitment? Basically, it's name recognition." (1:33:09). Gallagher: "we are plaintiffs in the lawsuit." (1:35:34). Carried by voice vote (1:35:43). | |
| 1:36:26 | Subcommittee reports | Miles: the Capital Improvement Committee meets May 18 at 3:00 at the superintendent's office (1:36:31). Whitney: "Frank and I were able to meet with" consultant David Jack for the budget subcommittee (1:37:20, 1:37:34). Skillen: "we've had two meetings so far", Wednesdays "from 515 to 615, in the conference room of the Dow building" (1:37:56); two policies for May 17 (1:38:37). The chair: policy drafts out "at least seven days" ahead (1:38:55). | MEDIUM |
| 1:39:42 | Roof bids | "ads for the roofing RFP are going out this week, with bids opening on the 22nd at 2 p.m. at the Dow." Anyone wishing to attend should notify Chelsea (1:40:06). | |
| 1:40:35 | Staff appreciation | Sprague asks whether the board has staff-recognition money; Tempesta: You do? as transcribed (1:40:58, 1:41:04). The chair also floats spending school-board budget money on the room's acoustics (1:42:54). Skillen's motion: "each school will have a catered asterisk." / "Catered breakfast in the teachers staff break room" (1:44:26); carried (1:46:32). Tempesta: "Go to Chelsea, go to Chelsea and we'll put it." / "It's not a on posted meeting." (1:46:09, 1:46:13). | POSITIVE |
| 1:46:44 | Future agenda | School board clerk position, "a first read of the policy. BEDH", an extraordinary need grant update "and a little bit more fleshed out detail on where that money has gone", and the CCTV vote (1:47:08). | |
Items flagged for review
These flags are a reviewer's aid, not findings of violation and not legal advice. Each one cites the rule it rests on as that rule read on May 3, 2023; check the recording and the primary source before relying on any of them. Severity: HIGH, a likely breach of a binding rule or a missed statutory deadline; MEDIUM, a probable process gap or control weakness; OBSERVATION, notable with no confirmed rule; POSITIVE, practice beyond the legal minimum.
HIGH The public packet's special education report lists individual students by full name and grade under program headings that indicate a disability category
The packet document Special Education -Director’s Report- Claremont School District 5.3.2023.pdf, created in the district's public packet folder on April 26, 2023, ends with an appendix (labelled Appendix E) that lists students by full name and grade in columns headed by self-contained program and by categories such as behavior and cognitive delay. A name with a program placement and disability basis is personally identifiable information from education records: the FERPA regulations define PII to include "The student's name;" and require signed parental consent before disclosure except as 34 CFR 99.31 allows, and the IDEA confidentiality rule requires parental consent before PII is disclosed outside participating agencies (regulations, 2022 editions). None of the 99.31 exceptions reaches publication in a public board packet. The file was still readable in the district's packet folder when this page was built on 2026-10-03. Nothing on the recording refers to the appendix; the board discussed only aggregate figures. This page reproduces no name, grade or count from that appendix, and readers should not seek it out; the district can remove or redact the file.
Sources: 34 CFR 99.3 (education records; personally identifiable information), 2022 edition; 34 CFR 99.30(a) (written consent before disclosure); 20 U.S.C. §1232g(b)(1) (no federal funds for a policy or practice of releasing education records); 34 CFR 300.622(a) (IDEA: parental consent before disclosure), 2022 edition
MEDIUM The policy subcommittee reports two meetings, and two of three budget subcommittee members met a consultant, with no notice or minutes found for either
Skillen reports "we've had two meetings so far" of the policy subcommittee, seated on April 19 with two members, Skillen and Hawkins (1:37:56); the chair reports that she and Sprague, two of the three budget subcommittee members, met David Jack (1:37:20). RSA 91-A:1-a, VI(d) makes "any committee, subcommittee, or subordinate body" of the board a public body, and RSA 91-A:2, II requires notice 24 hours ahead and minutes open to inspection within five business days (statute). The board's own Exhibit D of April 19 told subcommittees to post both on the SAU 6 website. The district's Claremont Policy Sub Committee Drive folder (created October 27, 2022) returned no files to a listing, and a title search for policy or subcommittee files created between April 19 and July 15, 2023 returned nothing; these searches are unreliable for negatives, so this is "not found", not "does not exist". MEDIUM rather than HIGH under the project's severity rule: the subcommittee reported its meetings and their schedule in public session tonight and the minutes record that schedule, and whether the budget contact was a convened meeting or a staff consultation is not clear from the record. A browser enumeration of the subcommittee folders could raise or clear this.
Sources: RSA 91-A:1-a, VI(d); RSA 91-A:2, I and II (2022 codification); April 19 Exhibit D, subcommittee rules; Claremont Policy Sub Committee folder
OBSERVATION The minutes and the recording disagree on who moved the ASL course, and the vote approved a full-time position with no figure on the record
RSA 91-A:2, II requires "The names of the members who made or seconded each motion" in the minutes (statute). The minutes name Bonnie Miles as mover; the dialogue file attributes the motion at 0:24:13 to Arlene Hawkins, and nobody names the mover aloud. Miles has two attributed rows in the whole file, so the diarizer may have merged the two voices; the recording does not settle it. The chair then put the question on "adopting American Sign Language as our second language at Stevens High School with a full time instructor" (0:24:24), wider than the motion's words. Sprague estimated "110 one or more" (0:17:28); the only answer on funding was "there's three budgeted language teachers." (0:22:40). No cost appears in the minutes or the agenda.
Sources: RSA 91-A:2, II (mover and seconder); May 3 minutes; Exhibit A, ASL class
OBSERVATION The consent agenda was used for the first time without a rule adopting it, and the agenda's "vote required" became no vote
On April 19 the chair sought only consensus to try a consent agenda, and Horsky warned that existing policy requiring board votes on donations conflicted with it (see the April 19 page). No rule or policy change adopting the format appears in either meeting's record. Tonight the agenda heads the item "Consent Agenda (vote required)", and the chair adopted it on the absence of objection (0:01:31); the minutes record "No objections from any board member for the consent agenda items. All items pass." General consent is a recognized way to decide routine items, and nobody objected, but the record shows neither the rule the April 19 exhibit recommended adopting first nor how the donation policy Horsky cited was reconciled.
Sources: May 3 agenda; April 19 Exhibit A, consent agenda overview
OBSERVATION The CCTV appointment papers and the discussion disagree on the seat and its term, and the candidate's district work is described on tape
The chair first called the seat "the six year position", then "three year", and said no one had applied for "the two year position" (1:25:26, 1:25:57); the minutes say "The 2 year seat is still available". The CCTV by-laws in the packet (Exhibit C, dated October 2021, approved by Alex Herzog as President) list two school-board seats, Seat 5 with a one-year term and Seat 6 with a three-year term (by-laws). Exhibit B, titled as a school board application, is a City of Claremont Planning and Development reappointment form dated April 12, 2023 and stamped received that day, whose signature line is dated 4/5/2022. Herzog, who chairs the CCTV board and recommended the candidate, said the candidate is "still doing Mr. Tempesta." / "Some PR stuff." (1:27:40, 1:28:00); the form's question on relationships asks only about City employees and boards. A week later the superintendent told the SAU 6 board that the publicist is hired by Claremont, partly with SAU money from Unity through federal grants (see the May 11 page). The board took no vote and set the appointment for May 17, a meeting for which no minutes have been found. No rule verified for this page governs these points; they matter for anyone checking which seat was filled and on what term.
Sources: Exhibit B, application; Exhibit C, CCTV by-laws (October 2021); May 3 minutes
POSITIVE The Kiwanis gift was noticed on the posted agenda and accepted in public session, and the minutes reached the share on the third business day
As RSA 198:20-b read before July 18, 2023, a gift under $5,000 required that "the school board shall post notice of the funds in the agenda and shall include notice in the minutes" with acceptance "in public session of any regular school board meeting" (statute). The $1,000 Kiwanis donation for the tech-center summer camp was on the posted agenda, accepted in public session (0:01:01) and recorded in the minutes, which is the procedure the April 19 gift lacked. The minutes were created in the Meeting Minutes share on Monday, May 8, 2023, within five business days, and name the mover and seconder of each motion. The packet folder, with the special education report, was created on April 26, a week ahead of the meeting.
Sources: RSA 198:20-b, III(b) (2022 codification); RSA 91-A:2, II; May 3 minutes, created May 8, 2023
POSITIVE Members were steered away from planning by e-mail among themselves, and policy drafts were promised a week ahead
When members began arranging the staff breakfast by e-mail, the superintendent told them to go through the board's assistant: "Go to Chelsea, go to Chelsea and we'll put it." / "It's not a on posted meeting." (1:46:09, 1:46:13). RSA 91-A:2-a, I and II confine deliberation to meetings and bar "Communications outside a meeting, including, but not limited to, sequential communications among members" used to circumvent the chapter (statute). The chair also committed to post policy drafts with the agenda "at least seven days" before the vote (1:38:55), longer than the 24-hour notice the statute requires.
Sources: RSA 91-A:2-a, I and II (2022 codification); RSA 91-A:2, II (24-hour notice)
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/15058 SchoolBoard050323.mp4.CSV (633 attributed rows; the basis of this page)Input/Videos/15058 SchoolBoard050323.mp4 (local copy of the recording)Input/Transcripts/15058 SchoolBoard050323.mp4.json (diarized transcript)Input/SupportingDocuments/MAP.md, section 194 (video-to-document map)
Laws and rules cited on this page