Participants
Names follow the agenda masthead and the minutes. Where the dialogue file renders or attributes a name differently, the row says so.
| Name | Role | Participation |
|---|
| Frank Sprague | Vice chair, presiding | Calls the meeting to order (0:00:16); adds his NHSBA delegate nomination to the agenda (0:01:06) and abstains on the amended agenda (0:04:33, "So Frankenstein's for ice" in the transcript, read as [Frank abstains, four ayes]); moves the nonpublic session (0:05:53) and the ten-year seal (0:08:04); seconds his own nomination as NHSBA delegate (0:49:11); says "there is a move afoot to undermine public education" (1:13:39). |
| Heather Whitney | Chair | Absent (minutes). Her name is read in both roll calls (0:00:45, 0:07:41). |
| Whitney Skillen | Member | Absent (minutes). Crawford: "Miss Skilling isn't here tonight." (0:55:29). |
| Arlene Hawkins | Member (also SAU 6 board chair) | Seconds the agenda amendment and the nonpublic motion (0:04:08, 0:06:40); reports the new student board member law (0:09:15); questions pre-K staffing and IEP compliance (0:15:32, 0:15:57); presents policy GBE and moves its first reading (0:43:59, 0:45:45); nominates Sprague as NHSBA delegate (0:49:02); moves to postpone the listening session (1:11:35); seconds adjournment (1:20:00). Rendered Carly Hawkins in the roll. |
| Candace Crawford | Member | Adds three discussion items: the Eagle Times article, the listening session, the athletic-fields license (0:01:51); asks about VLACS staffing (0:21:11); reports for the SRVRTC visioning committee (0:47:04); asks for a history of the fields agreement (0:55:29); seconds the listening-session motion (minutes); moves adjournment (1:19:59). |
| Bonnie Miles | Member | Answers the roll calls (0:06:52, 0:07:52); seconds the motion to leave nonpublic (0:07:41, "Bonnie seconds") and, per the minutes, the GBE first reading; reports the Capital Improvement visit to Stevens on September 27 at 2:30 (0:42:57); asks that Crawford be listed on the visioning committee (0:48:27). |
| Jennifer Gallagher | Member | Answers present (0:00:45); moves to leave nonpublic (0:07:38); says of the September 6 minutes "I think there's a delay on the minutes" (0:08:50); asks about student board elections (0:10:00); reports for the curriculum and ad hoc disruptive behaviors committees (0:46:24, 0:47:55); calls the minimum-standards revision "potentially an existential threat to, to teachers and public educators" (1:13:57); raises the vacant clerk position (1:15:35). |
| Michael Tempesta | Superintendent, SAU 6 | Reports pre-K staffing and the new director Kristen Lawler (0:11:11), the Bluff split classes (0:16:33), VLACS (0:23:13); reports on the athletic-fields MOU with the city (0:49:54 to 0:57:06); discusses the minimum-standards listening session (1:03:36) and the clerk position (1:16:41). |
| Mike Koski | Assistant Superintendent | Explains VLACS use at Claremont Middle School for missing seventh-grade math and science teachers (0:19:39 to 0:20:34); the curriculum committee "will be meeting soon" (0:46:38). Rendered Mr. Kosky. |
| Mary Henry | Business Administrator | FY2023 fund-balance estimate (0:25:40); school tax rate presentation (0:27:23 to 0:35:42); the payroll failure and unpaid tech-center bills (0:40:59, 0:41:54). |
| Ben Nester | Director of Special Education | Calls the roll; answers pre-K enrollment ("Mid 60s", 0:15:08) and IEP compliance (0:16:01). Rendered Mr. Nestor. |
| Unidentified board voice | Member, not separable | Asks whether the fields MOU is in effect: "We're operating under it sort of in good faith at this point." (0:53:04). The dialogue file does not name this voice. |
| Citizens' comments | None | Sprague calls for comment and closes the period: "Seeing none closed." (0:08:58). |
Agenda
Items and wording from the posted agenda; dispositions from the recording and the minutes. The board added four items on the floor and renumbered the discussion items (minutes).
| Taken up | Item | Agenda text / disposition |
|---|
| 0:00:16 | I. Call to order, pledge | Called to order by Vice Chair Sprague (minutes: "Meeting called to order by vice-chair Frank Sprague"). |
| 0:00:45 | II. Roll call | Five present, Whitney and Skillen absent (minutes). |
| 0:01:06 | II.1 Amendments and approval of agenda | Added: the NHSBA delegate nomination (Sprague); discussion of the Eagle Times article, the September 21 listening session, and the fields license with the city (Crawford, 0:01:51 to 0:03:28). Minutes: "Frank Sprague makes a motion to amend the agenda; seconded by Arlene Hawkins; All in favor via voice vote with Frank Sprague abstaining. Motion passes unanimously." On tape the mover is not audible and Hawkins seconds (0:04:08). |
| 0:05:53 | IV.1 Nonpublic session (moved to the start) | Agenda: "Non-Public Meeting Session- Title IV Section 91-A-3 I (j)". Sprague moves; Hawkins seconds (0:06:40); roll call, five Yes (0:06:41 to 0:06:59). Return moved by Gallagher, seconded by Miles, roll call five Yes (0:07:38 to 0:07:59). Sprague moves to seal the minutes "for ten years"; roll call, five Yes (0:08:04 to 0:08:30); minutes credit Gallagher with the second. See flags 1 and 2. |
| 0:08:39 | II.2 Minutes approval, 9.6.23 | Agenda: "Minutes Approval- 9.6.23 (Postponed)". Not taken up. See the September 6 page, flag 1. |
| 0:08:54 | II. Citizens' comments; student representative report | No speakers. Hawkins reports the change of title to student board member (0:09:15). |
| 0:10:44 | III. Superintendent report | Pre-K staffing, Bluff split classes, VLACS at CMS (minutes concur). |
| 0:25:35 | IV.2 Claremont District Budget Update | Agenda: "Update from Business Administrator, Mary Henry on FY 2023". Discussion only. |
| 0:27:23 | IV.3 School Tax Rate | Agenda: "How the state and local government sets the school portion of the tax rate." Presentation; slides in the packet. |
| 0:40:27 | 3A Newspaper article (added) | Henry on the payroll glitch and tech-center bills. No action. |
| 0:42:50 | IV.4 School Board Sub-Committees | Capital Improvement (Miles): Stevens visit September 27. Budget (Sprague): "Nothing new to report." Policy: GBE first read, Hawkins moves (0:45:45), approved by voice vote (0:46:10); minutes record Miles as seconder and, as corrected on October 4, a motion to move the policy to second reading. Curriculum (Gallagher): not yet met. SRVRTC visioning (Crawford's report). Ad hoc disruptive behaviors (Gallagher): first meeting held. |
| 0:48:36 | 5. NHSBA delegate (added) | Hawkins moves to nominate Sprague; Sprague seconds; voice vote (0:49:02 to 0:49:17; minutes concur). See flag 7. |
| 0:49:29 | 6. MOU with the city, athletic fields (added) | Report and discussion; no action. See flag 6. |
| 1:00:07 | 7. Listening session 9.21.23 (added) | Hawkins moves to postpone the session "until such time that the Claremont School Board and the community are educated about the documents" with a November education session and a January listening session (1:11:35, 1:11:55); Crawford seconds (minutes); voice vote, no opposition heard (1:14:31). |
| 1:14:37 | V. Other business; VI. Future dates | Future dates read in part; Gallagher on the vacant clerk position, $150 a regular meeting and $200 for the deliberative session (1:15:35); Hawkins on the Disnard open house. |
| 1:19:59 | IX. Adjournment | Crawford moves, Hawkins seconds, voice vote (1:20:02). |
Discussion timeline
Times are taken from the dialogue transcript (Dialogue/15311 SchoolBoard092023.mp4.CSV) and link into the recording.
| Time | Topic | What was said | Flags |
|---|
| 0:01:51 | Agenda additions | Crawford asks for "clarification and response. From the administration" on the Eagle Times article of September 16-17; guidance on the listening session, since "I don't have enough information about what I'm supposed to be listening to" (0:02:26); and a follow-up on the fields licensing agreement (0:03:28). | |
| 0:05:53 | Motion to enter nonpublic | Sprague: "I would like to make a motion to, go into nonpublic under title for section 91-83. I j which is the consideration confidential commercial or financial information that is exempt from public disclosure under Rs 915." Roll call: five Yes. The recording resumes at 0:07:22: "Coming back in session." | MEDIUM |
| 0:08:03 | Ten-year seal | Crawford: "Are you going to steal the minutes?" [seal]. Sprague: "I'm going to make a motion that we seal the minutes for ten years." Gallagher: "When in doubt, roll call." (0:08:21). Five Yes. No reason for sealing is stated. | MEDIUM |
| 0:08:39 | September 6 minutes | Sprague: "So will we not discussing minutes at nine? Six? Because I didn't see them. Did we get them?" Gallagher: "I think there's a delay on the minutes. So I think we're postponing them." (0:08:50). | |
| 0:09:15 | Student board member | Hawkins: a law effective January 1 makes the student representative a student board member "elected by the student body" for "a one year term". Gallagher asks when elections happen; Tempesta will follow up with Chris Pratt (0:10:08). | |
| 0:11:11 | Pre-K staffing | The pre-K director resigned August 8; Kristen Lawler was hired "in just three weeks", so the program stayed at the tech center rather than moving into the elementary schools (0:13:28). Still "short a a teacher and a two teachers and a para" (0:13:06): two classroom teachers and a third room with a substitute (0:15:01), "Mid 60s" students (0:15:08), three-year-olds mornings and four-year-olds afternoons (0:15:41). | |
| 0:15:57 | Are IEPs being met? | Nester: "It's it's been a tough couple of years with staffing to fulfill our obligations entirely ... by and large, we are. But it would be disingenuous for me to say that we're 100% quiet." [compliant, by context]. | OBSERVATION |
| 0:16:33 | Bluff split classes | A grade 2-3 class of 18 and a grade 4-5 class of 18 with experienced teachers; the teachers asked for planning stipends and a PD day, "about 6000 a teacher" (0:17:12); "We still will keep those positions in the budget" (0:17:48). | |
| 0:19:39 | VLACS at CMS | Koski: "there's a shortage of math and science at both seventh and eighth grade" filled with VLACS online courses; seventh grade will continue with VLACS for math and science "Because we don't have positions for them" (0:20:05). Half the seventh grade has a live teacher and half VLACS, switching midyear (0:22:06). Tempesta: "on the cost. It's free." (0:23:13). | |
| 0:25:40 | FY2023 budget update | Henry, without a printout: "right now, as it stands, is about a $400,000, a little over $400,000 fund balance left in 23. That could fluctuate". Items still need to be moved to grants, some may belong in FY2022, tuition payments are outstanding (0:26:27); "I'm working on it, for the Doe 25. So hopefully I can really start getting started on that." (0:26:48). | MEDIUM |
| 0:27:50 | School tax rate presentation | FY2023 appropriations $38,139,852 (also on the slide). FY2022 "unassigned fund balance for this year or 22 was $1,712,100. You guys voted to retain 426 for 94", with the transcript's "1,000,200, 500, $285, $606" for the fund balance used to reduce taxes (0:28:59); the two garbled figures read as [$426,494] and [$1,285,606], which sum to the $1,712,100. Net assessment "31,000,392 419" [$31,392,419] (0:29:35). SWEPT rate $1.37783, about $975,000 (slide: $975,244). "the total amount that you're required to raise is 15,992,143" (0:31:34). Since 2018 "you guys have only had to raise $111,000 more in your assessment" (0:32:54). | POSITIVE |
| 0:40:27 | Eagle Times article: payroll and bills | Henry: "Okay payroll was not met. We had a glitch in our system where the two programs did not connect, which we did sort out." Funds reached accounts by the end of the day, with possible credit-union delays (0:40:59). On the tech-center accounts: "we had had some bills that we did not have receipts for ... under normal circumstances, we do not pay a bill without backup" (0:41:54); "By Monday morning, we were all set." (0:42:22). | OBSERVATION |
| 0:43:59 | Policy GBE, first read | Hawkins: an update of a policy in the book "since 2004"; gray text is new, mostly from the NHSBA sample policy, including reports "promptly submitted at the time specified" (0:45:01). Gallagher asks whether the motion accepts the policy or moves it to second reading (0:45:58). Approved by voice vote. | |
| 0:47:04 | Subcommittee reports | Crawford relays Andy's report that SREB's clarification questions were answered and "the ball is in court to give us a report back" (0:47:38). Gallagher: the disruptive-behaviors committee met with juvenile justice participants and building administrators and has "some policies that we want to bring forth to the board" (0:47:55). | |
| 0:48:36 | NHSBA delegate | Sprague: "it isn't an essay appointment. It's a it's a local appointment." Hawkins: "Move to nominate you as our Claremont School board representative" (0:49:02); Sprague: "And I'll second that." (0:49:11). The delegate will bring the NHSBA resolutions to the next meeting for votes "one by one" (0:49:29). | OBSERVATION |
| 0:49:54 | Athletic fields MOU with the city | Tempesta: "We didn't do the diligence that we should have." (0:50:15); the city proposes $30,000 a year; "It didn't exist in the budget line that we imported in from the budget" (0:51:01); the city's term was six years and he wants two (0:52:27). A member: "We're operating under it sort of in good faith at this point." (0:53:04). Tempesta: "I'm supposed to sign it." It began "as just a handshake between the schools and the city years and years ago" (0:53:46); the same firm, Drummond Woodsum (Drummond Woodson), represents both sides, with disclosures made (0:54:59). | OBSERVATION |
| 1:00:12 | Listening session on minimum standards | Hawkins: the competencies document is "139 pages long" and "I don't feel that I've been educated in any part of this" (1:01:08). Tempesta favors pushing it toward spring (1:04:00). Crawford: "they're updating at March 2024" (1:07:08). Sprague: "there is a move afoot to undermine public education." (1:13:39). Motion to postpone carried (1:14:31). | |
| 1:15:35 | Vacant district clerk | Gallagher advertises the paid clerk position. Hawkins asks whether an appointee must be a Claremont resident; Tempesta: "That's a question for Esquire. Upton." (1:16:41), and later "It is the board can't appoint. That's they can't." (1:17:58) before deferring to counsel (1:18:04). The question is left open. | |
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 September 20, 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. This page carries no HIGH flag.
MEDIUM The nonpublic session was entered under a paragraph that does not exist as cited, and the exemption it describes applies only in an adjudicative proceeding that the record never identifies
The agenda heads the item "Non-Public Meeting Session- Title IV Section 91-A-3 I (j)", and the minutes repeat "Title IV Section 91-A-3 I ((j)". RSA 91-A sits in Title VI, and paragraph I of RSA 91-A:3 contains no lettered exemptions; the text the agenda goes on to quote is paragraph II(j). The motion on tape follows the agenda (0:05:53). RSA 91-A:3, I(b) requires the motion to "state on its face the specific exemption under paragraph II which is relied upon", so the citation itself is defective. The substance matters more: II(j) covers confidential, commercial or financial information exempt under RSA 91-A:5, IV only "in an adjudicative proceeding pursuant to RSA 541 or RSA 541-A". Neither the agenda, the motion nor the minutes names such a proceeding. Later in the meeting Nester says "I didn't know how much of this was going to be covered in nonpublic" while pre-K staffing is discussed, and Tempesta refers to "the just the student student issue" (0:13:04, 0:13:06), which suggests the session concerned a student matter; whether a proceeding under RSA 541-A was pending cannot be told from the record. The roll-call requirement was met: five members voted Yes by name (0:06:41 to 0:06:59).
Sources: RSA 91-A:3, I(b) and II(j) (2022 codification, in force before 2023, 189:1 took effect October 3, 2023); agenda, item IV.1; minutes, item II.1
MEDIUM The nonpublic minutes were sealed for ten years with no statutory finding stated
RSA 91-A:3, III requires nonpublic minutes to be disclosed within 72 hours "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". The vote met the numerical test: a roll call in public session, five of five present voting Yes (0:08:24 to 0:08:30). But the motion was only "that we seal the minutes for ten years" (0:08:04), no member stated which of the three statutory grounds applied, and the minutes record only "a motion to seal the meeting minutes for 10 years". The determination the statute makes the basis for withholding is absent from both records. The ten-year term is not itself a statutory concept on this date; the review rule in RSA 91-A:3, IV took effect October 3, 2023.
Sources: RSA 91-A:3, III (2022 codification); RSA 91-A:3, IV (2023, 189:1, eff. Oct. 3, 2023, for the later review rule); minutes
MEDIUM Twenty days after the statutory date for school district financial reports, the business administrator said FY2023 was not yet closed and the DOE-25 not yet begun
RSA 21-J:34, V provides that "School districts shall submit financial reports on or before September 1 of each year." On September 20 Henry described FY2023 as still open: items "need to be moved to grants", some expenses "may have belonged in fiscal belong in fiscal year 22", tuition payments are outstanding, and "I'm working on it, for the Doe 25. So hopefully I can really start getting started on that. So that's my goal next week" (0:26:04 to 0:26:48). Her surplus figure, "a little over $400,000", was given without a printout and "could fluctuate" (0:25:40). This page did not verify whether the DOE-25 is the report RSA 21-J:34, V refers to, or what the Department of Education's own DOE-25 due date was for FY2023, so it is graded MEDIUM rather than HIGH. Mitigation on the record: Henry started in early July 2023 after a business-administrator vacancy, and describes reconciliation work with Lori Mowrey (transcribed Lori Morey; the spelling follows a 2026 district banking resolution). Whatever was filed by September 1 could not have reflected a closed year.
Sources: RSA 21-J:34, V (2023 codification; source note ends 2007, 182:2)
OBSERVATION The special education director said the district could not claim full delivery of IEP services in pre-K because of staffing
Asked whether IEPs are being met while pre-K is short staff (0:15:57), Nester said the district is "making an absolute good faith effort", that "by and large, we are", and that "it would be disingenuous for me to say that we're 100% quiet" (0:16:01); the last word is a transcription and context suggests [compliant]. Federal regulation requires that, once an IEP is developed, "special education and related services are made available to the child in accordance with the child's IEP." This is graded an observation because no specific child, service or shortfall is identified on the record, and the director's statement is candid rather than evasive. It is the kind of statement a board might follow with a request for a written compliance report.
Sources: 34 CFR 300.323(c)(2) (71 FR 46753, Aug. 14, 2006; unchanged since)
OBSERVATION A payroll run failed and tech-center vendor bills went unpaid for lack of invoices, both first raised by a newspaper
Henry confirmed that "payroll was not met" because "two programs did not connect", with funds reaching most accounts by the end of the day (0:40:59), and that some tech-center bills had gone unpaid because the office "did not have receipts" for them, leaving at least one vendor on cash-on-delivery terms until the following Monday (0:41:54, 0:42:22). The board learned of both from the Eagle Times article, which a member added to the agenda on the floor (0:01:51). Refusing to pay without backup is a sound control; the gap is that the documents were missing in the first place. No rule was verified for this page that the events breach, so this is an observation; it belongs with the district's later internal-control and audit history.
Sources: the recording at the times shown; minutes, item 3A
OBSERVATION The district is operating under an unsigned athletic-fields agreement with the city, at about $30,000 a year, with no line in the budget and no record of the arrangement's history
The superintendent said the administration "didn't do the diligence that we should have" (0:50:15), that the $30,000 "didn't exist in the budget line that we imported in from the budget" (0:51:01), that he could not find the file of the city's actual costs (0:52:27), and that the arrangement began "as just a handshake" with no paperwork the district could find (0:53:46). A member described the district as "operating under it sort of in good faith" (0:53:04), and the superintendent said "I'm supposed to sign it" while bringing it to the board because of its term (0:53:13). The city and the district use the same law firm, with conflict disclosures made (0:54:59, 0:55:08). RSA 32:8 bars a school board from agreeing to pay money "for any purpose for which no appropriation has been made"; a missing budget line is not by itself a missing appropriation, so this is an observation. The board asked for a cost breakdown and a written history (minutes).
Sources: RSA 32:8 (1993, 332:1; unamended); fields license draft, September 6 packet, Exhibit H; minutes, item 6
OBSERVATION The presiding officer seconded his own nomination as the board's NHSBA delegate
Hawkins moved to nominate Sprague as the Claremont delegate to the NHSBA delegate assembly, and Sprague, presiding, said "And I'll second that." (0:49:11); the minutes record "seconded by Frank Sprague". Earlier he had abstained on the agenda amendment that added the item (0:04:33). No statute or district policy verified for this page forbids it; Robert's Rules practice generally discourages a presiding officer from making or seconding motions. With four other members present, any of them could have seconded. Recorded for completeness.
Sources: minutes, item 5
POSITIVE The business administrator gave a public explanation of how the school tax rate is set, with the slides posted in the packet
The agenda billed the item as "Board and Public Education". Henry walked through the MS-22 appropriations, the MS-24 revenue estimates, the retained and applied fund balance, SWEPT and adequacy aid, and fifteen years of tax-rate, valuation and assessment history (0:27:50 to 0:35:42), arguing that residents should watch the amount raised rather than the rate (0:35:21). The slides, with their DRA and NHDOE sources linked, are in the packet as School Tax Rate. No law requires this; it gives the public the figures to check the next budget against.
Sources: School Tax Rate slides, presented September 20, 2023
Appendix: source files
Official and public sources
- Cablecast: Claremont School Board Meeting 9/20/23 (Claremont Community Television (CCTV) / Claremont Community Media Center (CCMC); title as MAP.md records it)
- Drive packet folder 21. CSB 9.20.23 (created September 13, 2023), 5 documents:
- Minutes:
14. CSB meeting minutes 9.20.23.docx.pdf (Meeting Minutes share, created October 17, 2023); a further draft copy, draft CSB meeting minutes 9.20.23.docx (2) (1).pdf, is in the October 4 packet.
- Related pages: Claremont School Board, September 6, 2023; Claremont School Board, October 4, 2023
Project files
Working files this page was built from. The dialogue file is linked; the others are not published with the page.
Dialogue/15311 SchoolBoard092023.mp4.CSV (512 attributed rows; the basis of this page)Input/Videos/15311 SchoolBoard092023.mp4 (local copy of the recording)Input/Transcripts/15311 SchoolBoard092023.mp4.json (diarized transcript)Input/SupportingDocuments/MAP.md, section 205 (video-to-document map)
Laws and rules cited on this page