Participants
Everyone in the record. Name spellings follow the agenda and minutes (Kylee, not the transcript's Kylie). Speaker labels come from the dialogue file; differences from the minutes are noted in the row.
| Name | Role | Participation |
|---|
| Heather Whitney | Chair | Welcomes the student representatives (0:00:36); runs the consent agenda by "no objections"; leads the city-council discussion (1:02:28); moves the nonpublic session (1:24:03); seconds the motion to return and the tuition motion; votes No on sealing. |
| Frank Sprague | Vice chair; finance (formerly budget) subcommittee chair | Asks for a board representative in the para talks (1:01:41); recounts court-liaison referrals (0:47:44); renames the budget subcommittee the finance committee (1:20:41); seconds the nonpublic motion; moves to seal the nonpublic minutes for 50 years (1:25:50). |
| Arlene Hawkins | Member (also SAU 6 board chair) | Extended preschool questions on standards, assessment and transport to outside services (0:44:38); wants "a real plan laid out" before relocation (0:55:54); asks whether the para motion had a second (1:02:04); votes No on sealing; moves the $16,000 tuition rate (1:26:35); thanks the music teachers for the Dallas Brass visit. |
| Candace Crawford | Member | Questions Pratt on IXL (0:22:39); moves support for reopening the para contract (1:01:23); prefers a superintendent-city manager channel to joint meetings (1:04:59); reports on the SRVRTC visioning study (1:22:43). |
| Whitney Skillen | Member; policy subcommittee chair | Suggests one tightly agendaed meeting with the council (1:07:00); policy guide to be presented December 6. Answers all three roll calls; the minutes name her as seconder of the para motion but omit her from the attendance list. |
| Bonnie Miles | Member; capital improvement chair | Asks the goal of moving pre-K into the elementary schools and whether there is room (0:51:04); seconds the clerk-pay motion (chair at 1:18:44). The minutes credit her with the October 18 attendance correction (see flag 3). |
| Jennifer Gallagher | Member; curriculum and ad hoc disruptive-behaviors chair | Labeled as the speaker of the October 18 attendance correction (0:01:24); supports a round table with the council (1:07:53); moves the clerk pay (1:18:21) and amends it to name both amounts; reports the ad hoc committee meeting was cancelled (1:23:41). |
| Nicole Bouchard; Kylee Plummer | Student representatives (non-voting) | Seated tonight. The minutes credit Bouchard with the student report on Yondr pouches, bathroom vandalism and the handbook (0:02:09); the dialogue file leaves that voice Unidentified. |
| Michael Tempesta | Superintendent, SAU 6 | Teach United visit and RVCC follow-up (0:03:55); preschool rationale (0:51:16); para contract (0:59:47); clerk pay, "approximately five, 7000 more a year" (1:13:53). |
| Mike Koski | Assistant superintendent | Explains the Teach United coaching grant (0:07:15); defers the academic-achievement presentation (0:28:50). |
| Chris Pratt | Principal, Stevens High School | Principal's report (Exhibit J): Identikit visitor system, recognition cards, Screenagers night, restorative-justice student panels, SWOT review, IXL data (0:08:40). |
| Ben Nester | Director of Special Education | Presents five early-childhood recommendations (0:30:02); reads the three roll calls for the nonpublic session. |
| Chelsea Weatherford | Recording secretary | Signs the minutes ("Respectfully submitted by Chelsea Weatherford"); filling in while the clerk post is vacant (1:14:25). |
| Unidentified | Various | 32 of 550 rows (5.8%): roll answers, seconds, the student report and assents. |
| Citizens' comments | None | "Is there anybody in the audience that would like to speak to the board this time? Seeing none." (0:01:35) |
Agenda
Items from the posted agenda (CSB Agenda 11.1.23) with dispositions from the recording and the minutes.
| Taken up | Item | Agenda text / disposition |
|---|
| 0:00:16 | I. Call to order, Pledge | The recording begins mid-Pledge; answers to a roll follow at 0:00:26. |
| 0:01:01 | II. Consent agenda (agenda; minutes of 10/11/23 retreat and 10/18/23) | Approved by no objection after an attendance correction to the 10/18 minutes (0:01:24). Minutes: "Bonnie Miles was not present at the last board meeting on 10.18.23." Citizens' comments: none. Student representatives welcomed; the agenda names them "Nicole Bouchard and Alex Barney". |
| 0:03:55 | III. Superintendent report: Teach United visit | NHDOE visit of October 24; RVCC follow-up; two new bus drivers passed. |
| 0:08:29 | IV.1 Stevens High School (Exhibit J) | Agenda: Yondr, Running Start with RVCC and Program of Studies. Report and questions; no vote. |
| 0:28:44 | IV.2 Academic achievement indicators (i-Ready) / summer program | Deferred by Koski: "We're going to put that off until our next meeting". Minutes: to a December meeting. |
| 0:29:19 | IV.3 Preschool programs / SEL goals (Exhibits A-H) | Five recommendations for 2024-25; the board asks for a plan and timeline in January. No vote. |
| 0:59:29 | IV.4 Paraprofessional contract (discussion and vote) | Crawford moves that the board "Support the administration. Approaching paraprofessionals to open reopen their contract for discussion of making it more competitive." A second is heard (1:01:37); the minutes name Skillen. Carried unanimously (1:02:28). |
| 1:02:28 | IV.5 Initiating city council annual meetings | Discussion; consensus that the chair and superintendent meet the city manager and mayor first, "after the next election" (1:12:35). No vote. |
| 1:13:26 | IV.6 School board clerk position (Exhibit I) | Gallagher moves the flyer's compensation; Miles seconds; amended to state $300 per board meeting and $350 per special district meeting; carried unanimously (1:19:35). |
| 1:20:20 | IV.7 Subcommittee reports | Capital: nothing. Budget subcommittee renamed the finance committee by consensus. Policy: guide on December 6. Curriculum: still scheduling. SRVRTC: SREB study data under review. Ad hoc disruptive behaviors: meeting cancelled. |
| 1:24:03 | IV.8 Nonpublic session, RSA 91-A:3, II(k) | Agenda: "Non-Public Session RSA91-A:,II (k) Consideration of a school board of entering into a student or pupil contract authorized by RSA 194 or RSA 195-A". Whitney moves, Sprague seconds; roll 7-0 (1:24:46). Return by roll 7-0 (1:25:34). Seal for 50 years: on tape 5 yes, 2 no (Whitney, Hawkins) (1:26:10); see flag 1. |
| 1:26:35 | IV.9 Tuition agreement rate FY25 (discussion and vote) | Hawkins moves "Tuition rate at 16,000 for K-12 students for the year 24, 2024, 2025."; Whitney seconds; carried on a voice vote (1:26:49). |
| 1:27:18 | V. Other business | Thanks for the Dallas Brass visit; chair asks for an update on the SREA committee developing a teacher evaluation tool (1:28:38). |
| 1:29:15 | VII. Adjournment | By no objection. Agenda time 8:30 p.m.; no actual time in the minutes. |
Discussion timeline
Times are taken from the dialogue transcript (Dialogue/15385 SchoolBoard110123.mp4.CSV) and link into the recording.
| Time | Topic | What was said | Flags |
|---|
| 0:01:24 | Correcting the October 18 attendance | A member: "I was absent two weeks ago. Okay." Chair: "You're documented as being on there, so you're requesting that we change the minutes to reflect that you are not." The dialogue file labels the member Gallagher; the minutes record the correction as Miles's absence. | MEDIUM |
| 0:02:09 | Student report | On Yondr pouches: "I don't have the fear of being filmed by other students or being photographed without my consent." Bathroom vandalism; a handbook update on how tardiness and detentions affect clubs. | |
| 0:03:55 | Superintendent report | NHDOE Teach United visit on the 24th; RVCC follow-up; "we have two new busses and two of the drivers passed" (0:05:23). Koski: 14 teachers in the early-educator coaching program (0:08:07). | |
| 0:17:17 | Stevens: IXL | "We have 3115 skills mastered since the beginning of the year, 3442 skills that they're proficient." (0:20:08) IXL "was grant funded" (0:23:38); questions are "based on MCAS" per Pratt. | |
| 0:25:01 | Identikit visitor screening | "It's not for students. It's for visitors who come in." Asked what it scans for, Pratt: "It's just another level of safety". | |
| 0:30:02 | Preschool recommendations | An independent study of the program; a research-based curriculum with training; relocation to the elementary schools; keep the 50/50 "early childhood model"; and "we don't charge a fee, even a nominal fee for" regular-education students, which Nester recommends exploring for 2024-25 (0:31:31). | POSITIVE |
| 0:42:29 | Pre-K schedule cut by staffing | Nester: a rotating schedule for about three weeks "just due to some staffing, staffing issues", with a plan to parents on Friday. Hawkins asks whether children could lose outside services for lack of transport (0:44:38); "we are required to provide that by law." (0:47:38) | |
| 0:49:06 | Referrals and cost-shifting | Nester: "The state is often looking to offload expenses onto the, onto the local taxpayer"; a new referral form requiring building and director signatures; "So far, we've seen one special ed referral from our buildings this year" (0:50:16). | |
| 0:51:04 | Why move pre-K? | Miles asks the goal and whether there is room. Tempesta: administrative support, specials, transport; Maple enrollment "has gone down dramatically" (0:54:54). Hawkins wants "a real plan laid out"; Nester will present "a strategic plan and timeline in January" (0:58:54). | |
| 0:59:47 | Reopening the para contract early | "the contract of the power professionals isn't up until for another year"; the aim is "a very competitive contract". Sprague asks for a board representative; Tempesta: "Absolutely. At least one." | |
| 1:02:28 | Meeting the city council | Chair: "There is a feeling around the community that one of the things that's holding Claremont back is our school district" (1:03:06). Crawford found past joint meetings "less than helpful" (1:04:59). | |
| 1:13:30 | Clerk pay | "We needed your approval to increase the compensation." The prior rate was "somewhere around 250 or 275" (1:14:48); the clerk should "have a draft of the, the meeting, the draft stuff out within five days like we're supposed to" (1:15:11). Hawkins asks why a registered voter; Tempesta: "It's elected. We can." (1:15:41) | MEDIUM |
| 1:20:41 | Finance committee | Sprague: "we'd like to change it to the finance committee. And sort of broaden the scope." Consensus, no vote. | |
| 1:24:03 | Into nonpublic | The chair cites "RSA 91-A colon, two k consideration of a school board of entering of a school board entering into a student or pupil contract authorized by RSA 119 or RSA 195-9." Roll by Nester, all Yes (1:24:46). | MEDIUM |
| 1:25:25 | Return and seal | Gallagher: "Oh. Did who seconded that. I'm sorry." Chair: "I'm moving right to roll call. I'll second." Sprague: "Let's make a motion to seal the minutes of the nonpublic for 50 years." (1:25:50) Roll: Whitney "No, thanks."; Hawkins no; the other five yes. | MEDIUM MEDIUM |
| 1:26:35 | FY25 tuition rate | $16,000 moved by Hawkins for K-12, 2024-25; the chair: "That's 16,000 per year for 2425." Carried on a voice vote. | MEDIUM |
| 1:28:38 | Teacher evaluation committee | The chair reminds the superintendent that the SREA agreement called for a committee to develop an evaluation tool. | |
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 November 1, 2023, or is labeled an observation where no verified rule applies.
MEDIUM Tuition-contract minutes sealed for 50 years with no stated finding, though RSA 91-A:3, II(k) requires them to be made public
The board entered nonpublic session under the tuition-contract exemption, RSA 91-A:3, II(k), on a 7-0 roll call (1:24:46) and on return voted to seal the minutes for 50 years on Sprague's motion (1:25:50). Two problems follow. First, RSA 91-A:3, III allows sealing only by a two-thirds recorded vote "taken in public session" when "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 motion and the minutes state no such determination; the vote count clears two-thirds (5-2 on tape) but the finding is missing. Second, II(k) carries its own disclosure rule: "A contract negotiated by a school board shall be made public prior to its consideration for approval by a school district, together with minutes of all meetings held in nonpublic session". A 50-year seal is hard to square with that sentence, and the board voted the $16,000 FY2025 tuition rate in public about a minute after returning (1:26:35). The MEDIUM grade reflects that the rate vote is not itself the approval of a contract, and this record does not show when any tuition contract was approved or whether these minutes were released then; if a contract was approved with them still sealed, the II(k) point becomes a likely violation. The citation is also defective in every form: the agenda and minutes print "RSA91-A:,II (k)" with no section number, and the chair read it as "91-A colon, two k" and the enabling statutes as "RSA 119 or RSA 195-9" (statute: RSA 194 or RSA 195-A). The tally differs between tape and minutes too: on tape Sprague's vote is heard (Yes, daddy, a known ASR rendering of his Yes) for 5-2, while the minutes list six votes, 4-2, and omit him.
Sources: RSA 91-A:3, I(b), II(k), III (2023, 189:1, eff. Oct. 3, 2023: roll-call entry; tuition-contract exemption and its publication duty; sealing requires a recorded two-thirds vote and a statutory determination)
MEDIUM The board set the district clerk's pay, which RSA 194:10 assigns to the district's annual meeting
On Gallagher's motion, seconded by Miles, the board raised the clerk's compensation to $300 per board meeting and $350 per special district meeting (1:19:35), an increase the superintendent put at "approximately five, 7000 more a year" (1:13:53). The superintendent described the post as elective ("It's elected. We can.", 1:15:41), and the flyer in the packet gives it election duties (overseeing the ballot process, certifying results, administering oaths). RSA 194:10 provides that "At its annual meeting each school district shall determine the salaries of its school board and other district officers". In an SB 2 district that is the deliberative session and ballot. Mitigation: the post had been vacant (Gallagher: "No one ran.", 1:16:19), the rate is framed as pay for a person appointed until an election, and a budget line approved by voters may already fund clerical support; none of that is shown in this record. The finding is that the vote fixes an officer's salary by board action without citing any authority for doing so.
Sources: RSA 194:10 (annual meeting determines salaries of school board and other district officers); Exhibit I- School Board Clerk Flyer 11.1.23.pdf
MEDIUM The minutes omit a member who voted three times, a seconder and a vote, and the October 18 correction never reached that meeting's minutes
The approved minutes list six members present ("Frank Sprague, Heather Whitney, Arlene Hawkins, Bonnie Miles, Candace Crawford, Jennifer Gallagher"). Whitney Skillen is missing, though she answers all three roll calls on tape (1:24:46, 1:25:34, 1:26:10) and the same minutes name her as seconder of the para motion. The motion to return from nonpublic is recorded with no seconder; on tape the chair seconds it (1:25:28). The seal tally omits the mover, Sprague. The masthead names the student members "Nicole Bouchard and Alex Barney" while the body welcomes "Nicole Bouchard and Kylee Plummer". RSA 91-A:2, II requires "the names of members" and "The names of the members who made or seconded each motion". Separately, the board approved the October 18 minutes subject to the correction "Bonnie Miles was not present at the last board meeting on 10.18.23", but the October 18 minutes in the district's share (last modified November 7, 2023) still list only Gallagher absent and omit Miles and Skillen. The speaker who asked for the correction (0:01:24) is labeled Gallagher in the dialogue file, and Gallagher was in fact absent on October 18; the chair's reply, "You're documented as being on there", fits Miles better, since the October 18 minutes already list Gallagher absent. The record does not settle it. Mitigation: every vote here except the seal was unanimous, and the seal clears two-thirds on either count.
Sources: RSA 91-A:2, II (2023 codification, in force from Oct. 3, 2023)
POSITIVE Written board questions answered in the public packet, and draft minutes posted on the fifth business day
Board members sent preschool questions ahead of the meeting (Hawkins, October 17; Sprague, October 23; Whitney, October 23) and the special education director's written answers, "UPDATED 10.27.23", were posted in the packet with the RAND study, the Head Start memorandum and the program history, so the public could read the same material the board did. Hawkins thanked him on tape "for getting information to us well in advance" (0:59:07). The staff-experience table in those answers identifies staff only by letter. Separately, the draft minutes were created in the November 15 packet folder on November 8, 2023 at 3:34 p.m., inside the fifth business day after November 1, meeting RSA 91-A:2, II.
Sources: Questions/Responses for Special Education Director.pdf; RSA 91-A:2, II (five business days)
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/15385 SchoolBoard110123.mp4.CSV (550 attributed rows; the basis of this page)Input/Videos/15385 SchoolBoard110123.mp4Input/Transcripts/15385 SchoolBoard110123.mp4.jsonInput/SupportingDocuments/MAP.md, section 208
Laws and rules cited on this page
- RSA 91-A:3, I(b), II(k), III (2023, 189:1, eff. Oct. 3, 2023): nonpublic entry by roll call; tuition-contract exemption and its publication duty; sealing
- RSA 91-A:2, II, 2023 codification: minutes contents, movers and seconders, five business days
- RSA 194:10: salaries of district officers set at the annual meeting