Participants
Names and attendance follow the agenda masthead and the approved minutes. Where the dialogue file renders a name or speaker differently, the row says so. Students are not named.
| Name | Role | Participation |
|---|
| Heather Whitney | Chair (re-elected tonight) | Takes the gavel after her re-election (0:01:58); moves acceptance of the SAFE grant (0:07:55) and the tuition agreements (1:16:13); nominates the subcommittee slates (1:24:06 onward); presents the draft by-laws and moves their adoption, then her own deferral (1:40:07, 2:01:28); responds to complaints about how the election was advertised (2:06:29). |
| Frank Sprague | Vice chair (re-elected tonight) | Nominates Whitney for chair (0:00:51); describes the Maple Avenue walk-through (0:08:26); asks "Is there a number?" on the lead grant (1:13:56) and whether the tuition agreements were vetted by counsel (1:16:38); seconds the by-laws motion (1:40:24). Continues as NHSBA delegate and Finance subcommittee chair. |
| Bonnie Miles | Member; Capital Improvement subcommittee chair | Answers the roll (0:03:09); praises the Maple Avenue art teacher (1:08:05). The minutes name her as seconder of the vice-chair nomination, the SAFE grant motion and the delegate nomination. |
| Whitney Skillen | Member; Policy subcommittee chair | Absent (minutes). Kept as Policy chair and stepped off Capital Improvement in her absence (1:25:31, 1:26:54). |
| Arlene Hawkins | Member; Curriculum representative | Asks whether the SAFE money is already granted (0:10:31); moves acceptance of the lead-remediation grant (1:12:40); asks whether the Goshen agreement covers Unity (1:18:13); speaks on televised meetings and voter awareness (2:07:58). The minutes name her as seconder of the chair nomination and as nominator of the NHSBA delegate. |
| Candace Crawford | Member (re-elected March 12) | Nominates Sprague for vice chair (0:02:09); questions the principals; seconds the lead grant (1:14:01); moves to replace two-thirds requirements in the by-laws with a simple majority (1:52:16) and argues for one-year officer terms (2:01:02); credits the chair for promoting the CCTV broadcasts of budget meetings (2:07:21). |
| Michael Petrin | Member (returned at the March 12 election) | "So I'm new we're back again." (0:09:32); asks about software costs for the SAFE cameras (0:09:36); recalls an earlier city lead committee (1:14:07); asks how tuition students are placed (1:17:29). Joins the Policy subcommittee and SRVRTC Visioning. The ASR renders his name Patron, Peter and Peterson. |
| Noelle Kronberg | School board clerk | Calls the roll (0:03:04); reads back the SAFE, lead and tuition motions (0:10:56, 1:14:53, 1:19:48); submitted the minutes; asked to run a Doodle poll for the retreat dates. |
| Christopher Pratt | Interim Superintendent | Presides over the officer elections and hands over the gavel ("Here's your gavel.", 0:01:58); superintendent's report (0:11:16); presents the tuition agreements (1:15:10); supports a two-year chair term for stability (1:53:57). |
| Michael Koski | Assistant Superintendent | Presents the SAFE grant (0:05:37) and the lead-remediation grant (1:11:34). |
| Jeff Small | Director of Technology | On SAFE: cameras, key fobs, interior door locks, consultation with the fire chief (0:06:50); camera licenses (0:09:57). |
| Mary Henry | Business Administrator | Financial update: $669,000 left at the end of February; year-end surplus "right around a million, maybe a little bit more"; interest income $63,000 year to date (1:20:07 to 1:23:52). Speaks for the two-thirds removal rule (1:55:34). |
| Christine Baker | Principal, Bluff Elementary | Presents DESSA social-emotional screening, assemblies, food bags and data meetings (0:27:23 onward). The agenda's Exhibit C is the Maple Avenue report; no Bluff exhibit is in the folder as MAP.md records it. |
| Mark Blount | Principal, Maple Avenue Elementary | Presents grade-level academic data teams, attendance and third-grade results (0:46:51 onward). |
Agenda
Official agenda items in order, with the time each is taken up on the recording and its disposition. Agenda wording is quoted from the agenda; motions and votes from the approved minutes unless the recording is cited.
| Taken up | Item | Agenda text / disposition |
|---|
| 0:00:04 | I. Call to order and Pledge (Chris Pratt) | Agenda 6:30 p.m. |
| 0:00:32 | II. Election of board officers (Chris Pratt): a) Chair; b) Vice chair | Chair: Sprague nominates Whitney (0:00:51); minutes: "Arlene Hawkins seconded"; "Voice vote taken: all present voting in favor" (0:01:50). Vice chair: Crawford nominates Sprague (0:02:09); minutes: "Bonnie Miles seconded"; voice vote, all present in favor (0:02:46). No count is announced on the recording. |
| 0:02:46 | III. Roll call | Minutes: six present, Skillen absent. |
| 0:03:45 | III. Consent agenda (vote required): agenda; minutes of March 6, 2024 | No request to remove an item; declared approved (0:04:18). Minutes: "No discussion, consent agenda approved". |
| 0:04:18 | Citizens' comments; student report | No speakers; no student report. |
| 0:04:43 | IV. Public hearing: "Per NH RSA 198:20-b,III, the Claremont School Board will conduct a hearing regarding unanticipated revenue SAFE Grant, Round 3 funds awarded in the amount of $462,328. (Exhibits A-B)" | No resident speaks (0:07:55). Minutes: "Heather Whitney made a motion to accept $462,328 from the SAFE Grant to be applied as presented by Mr. Koski; Bonnie Miles seconded"; "Voice vote taken: all present voting in favor" (0:11:06). Flag 5. |
| 0:11:16 | VI. Superintendent report | Report only. |
| 0:27:23 | VII.1 Elementary school principals' presentation (Exhibit C): Christine Baker, Bluff; Mark Blount, Maple Avenue | Discussion. |
| 1:11:26 | VII.2 Lead remediation project (Discussion/Vote) (Exhibits D-E) | Hawkins moves to accept the grant (1:12:40), Crawford seconds (1:14:01); voice vote, all present in favor (1:14:56). No amount is stated. Flags 1 and 4. |
| 1:14:58 | VII.3 Tuition agreements (Vote/Sign): a. Croydon (Exhibit F); b. Goshen (Exhibit G) | Whitney moves acceptance "as written" (1:16:13), Hawkins seconds (1:16:33); voice vote, "passes unanimously" (1:19:58). Flag 6. |
| 1:19:58 | VII.4 Business office financial update | Discussion. |
| 1:24:06 | VII.5 Appointment of NHSBA delegate (Nomination/Vote) | Sprague continues, by no objection (1:25:05). Minutes: "Arlene Hawkins nominated Frank Sprague to continue in the position, Bonnie Miles seconded". Flag 7. |
| 1:25:31 | VII.6 Appointment of subcommittee chairs and members (Nomination/Vote) | All by "no objection", no vote. Capital Improvement: Miles (chair), Sprague, Crawford; Skillen steps off. Finance: Sprague (chair), Crawford, Whitney. Policy: Skillen (chair), Hawkins, Petrin. Curriculum representative: Hawkins. SRVRTC Visioning: Miles, Crawford, Petrin; Sprague steps down. |
| 1:29:16 | VII.7 Approval of the Claremont School Board By-Laws (Vote) (Exhibit H) | Whitney moves "to accept the Claremont School Board bylaws for 2024 to 2025, as written" (1:40:07), Sprague seconds (1:40:24). After debate on one- or two-year officer terms and two-thirds votes, a "friendly amendment" moves the item to the next meeting; minutes: "voice vote taken, all present voting yes" (2:01:56). Flag 3. |
| 2:02:11 | VIII. Other business: retreat dates | Doodle poll for a May retreat; Pratt to present a SWOT approach. |
| 2:04:50 | IX. Future dates | SREB site visit March 27 to 29; agenda lists "April 3, 2024 Claremont School Board Meeting" with the pre-populated agenda, financial calendar, SREA evaluation update and ESSER balance. |
| 2:09:02 | X. Adjournment | By no objection; minutes: "Adjourned at 8:39". |
Discussion timeline
Times are taken from the dialogue transcript (Dialogue/15638 SchoolBoard032024.mp4.CSV). Timestamps link to the same moment in the Cablecast recording.
| Time | Topic | What was said | Flags |
|---|
| 0:00:32 | Officer elections | Pratt: "I'd like to open up nominations for Voyager" [the chair]. Sprague: "To nominate Heather Whitney. Continue as chair." and "she's done an exemplary job." Pratt: "All in favor? I opposed graduations." [opposed? abstentions], then "Here's your gavel." Crawford: "I nominate Frank Sprague. Vice chair." Whitney: "He also talks me off the ledge." No tally is announced for either vote. | OBSERVATION |
| 0:03:17 | Welcome | Whitney welcomes "reelected or new board members as you were appointed. Miss Crawford and Michael Patron back to the board." No oath of office is administered or mentioned on the recording, although the February 21 agenda had listed "Swearing in of board members" for this date. | OBSERVATION |
| 0:04:43 | SAFE grant hearing | The chair opens a hearing under "RSA 198 colon 20-B, a Roman numeral three" for "Round three funds awarded in the amount of $462,328." Koski: "a grant to secure school buildings, provide surveillance cameras, harden entryways"; "We need to expend these funds this year." Small: key fobs and interior door locks, reviewed with the fire chief. Hawkins asks whether it is already granted; Koski: "We have to send in the minutes from this meeting to the state and then the the funds will become available." Clerk: "The motion to accept $462,328 from the Safe grant to be applied as presented by Mr. Kosky." Carried by voice. | OBSERVATION |
| 0:11:16 | Superintendent's report | A 32-page report; CMS adds an auto-maintenance course; Disnard data teams; SREB consultants "scheduled to be in Claremont in on March 27th, 28th and 29th"; ESSER-funded laptops; a new director of student services hired, going to the board at the next meeting. Pratt has started a page on X to show "Real life perspective" of the schools, without filming students. | |
| 0:27:23 | Bluff Elementary | Baker: on the DESSA screener "31% is the equivalent of 55 students in our school"; "between 40 and 50 grocery bags that go home with students every week to help support food needs"; data meetings after the fall and winter benchmarks; a behavior consultant on site that day. The PTO is "small but mighty", five parents. | |
| 0:46:51 | Maple Avenue Elementary | Blount: biweekly grade-level data teams, "30 to 45 minutes", before school; attendance Sure is an issue, with "a direct correlation" to achievement; third-grade results under review. Crawford: "it's extremely important for the public to hear that". Board members praise the building's cleanliness and art. | |
| 1:11:26 | Lead remediation grant | Koski: "We have believed 8 or 9 places where when we test, turn on the tap, cast the water that immediately comes out and test that for lead that we need to remediate"; board approval lets the district be reimbursed. "If we run that water from those sinks, the lead amount disappears", so "we're not using the first water that comes out of the tap." Pratt: "It's the parts per million." Sprague: "Remediation grant? Is there a number?" Hawkins: "Yeah. No. For that." Petrin: "I can't believe we still have led three even trace levels." Koski: "probably some old lead solder that would still leave parts per million". Accepted by voice. | MEDIUM OBSERVATION |
| 1:14:58 | Tuition agreements | Pratt: Goshen continues and Croydon "is new to the table"; "there's no surprise language in here." Sprague asks whether counsel vetted them; Pratt: "pre superintendent embedded it all through Matt Upton". Whitney: "it looks like it's across the board. 16,000." and "Revenue positive for us." Hawkins clarifies that the Goshen agreement names Claremont or Unity as receiving district. | OBSERVATION |
| 1:20:07 | Financial update | Henry: the report "came through email" and is not in members' folders; "as of the end of February, we had $669,000 left", much of it encumbered for out-of-district placements; surplus "right around a million, maybe a little bit more." Pratt: no more spending "unless it's an absolute necessity right around the week of April 17th." Interest "Year to date is 63,000", against "under 30" before, using a money market so the money is "all 100% insured." | |
| 1:24:06 | Delegate and subcommittees | The chair had collected preferences "via email" and proposes each slate for "no objection". Delegate: "I nominate Frank Sprague to be this delegate. I'll second him." Capital Improvement: Miles chair, Sprague joins, Crawford stays; Skillen ("Miss Gillen") steps off. Finance unchanged. Policy: Skillen ("Miss Whitney Scullin") chair, Hawkins, Petrin. Curriculum: Hawkins. SRVRTC Visioning: Miles, Crawford, Petrin. | OBSERVATION |
| 1:29:16 | Draft by-laws | Whitney: "Matt Upton, our school district attorney, cited Manchester as a district that had done great work creating structure and policy. And for that reason, we used the Manchester bylaws as a model." Proposed changes: two-year officer terms with removal by "five out of seven", and NHSBA resolutions "supported by a two thirds majority instead of a simple majority". Crawford questions redundant sections and moves to replace two-thirds with a simple majority. Pratt favors two years: "stability is very important". Henry defends the two-thirds removal rule. Whitney: "We are 830", and the item moves "to be addressed at our next meeting". | OBSERVATION |
| 2:02:11 | Retreats and future dates | A May retreat by Doodle poll, normally on a weekend; Pratt to present a SWOT analysis "at our second meeting in April". SREB site visit "March 27th to the 29th"; NHSAS results in May. | |
| 2:06:29 | Election publicity and CCTV | Whitney answers community complaints that the election and budget vote were not advertised: "we did no more, no less than we have in the past", but without contested races there were no campaign signs. Crawford: "you promoted, the CCTV, broadcasts of the budget meetings." Hawkins: "people didn't even know it was Election Day." To be added as an agenda item. | |
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 March 20, 2024; 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 board accepted a lead-remediation grant without any amount on the record
Asked "Is there a number?", the mover answered "Yeah. No. For that." (1:13:56 to 1:13:58), and the motion read back was simply "A motion to accept the lead remediation grant." (1:14:53). The agenda, Exhibit D and the minutes state no amount either. RSA 198:20-b sets different duties by size: for unanticipated funds of $20,000 or more a prior public hearing with newspaper notice (III(a)); below that, notice "of the funds in the agenda", notice in the minutes, and acceptance "in public session of any regular school board meeting" (III(b)). The item was on the agenda and accepted in public session, and eight fixtures suggest a modest sum, but without a figure no reader can tell which limb applied, and the board voted to accept money it had not quantified. Koski said the minutes would be sent to the state to unlock reimbursement (1:11:59).
Sources: RSA 198:20-b, III(a)–(b) (source note ends 2023, 38:1, eff. July 18, 2023); Exhibit D; approved minutes, item VII.2
MEDIUM The draft minutes reached the public share 27 days after the meeting
RSA 91-A:2, II requires minutes to be "open to public inspection not more than 5 business days after the meeting", which for Wednesday, March 20, 2024 was Wednesday, March 27. The draft is filed in the April 17 packet folder; its Drive createdTime is April 16, 2024, seconds after that folder was created, and its modifiedTime is the same day, so nothing in the metadata shows it existed earlier. That is the nineteenth business day. The scheduled April 3 meeting, whose packet would normally have carried these minutes, does not appear in the record (flag 3). This rests on Drive metadata; a copy at the SAU office is not ruled out, which is why this is MEDIUM rather than HIGH.
Sources: RSA 91-A:2, II (2023 codification); 3.20.24 draft CSB minutes (1) (4).pdf
OBSERVATION The by-laws were put off to a "next meeting" that the record does not show
The board voted to have the by-laws "addressed at our next meeting" (2:01:28 to 2:01:56). The agenda's future dates list an "April 3, 2024 Claremont School Board Meeting" with the pre-populated agenda, the financial calendar, the SREA evaluation update and the ESSER balance. The project's enumeration of the Cablecast archive and the 2024 packet share found no April 3 meeting: no recording, no packet folder, no minutes and no cancellation notice; the next packet is April 17, and its consent agenda approves these March 20 minutes. The by-laws were finally adopted on June 5, 2024, in a revised form. At the March 6 meeting the chair had told the board that the draft by-laws themselves called for adoption at the first meeting after the election, which this was.
Sources: agenda, item IX(b); Exhibit H, draft by-laws; approved minutes, item VII.7
OBSERVATION Lead above the action level at eight outlets; parent notice is not in the record, and the units were misstated
Exhibit D (Steven Holt, February 28, 2024) reports "8 outlets requiring remediation between the Claremont Middle School and the Sugar River Valley Regional Technical Center" that "tested higher than the allowable 5 parts per billion", most already refitted. RSA 485:17-a sets the 5 parts-per-billion action level and, on an exceedance, requires notice to parents within 5 business days, an alternative supply of compliant water, and a remediation plan. Koski described the district's interim measure of not using first-draw water (1:12:44); the record examined does not show whether parents were notified. Pratt and Koski both spoke of "parts per million" (1:13:14, 1:14:34), a thousand times the unit in the exhibit and the statute, which understates nothing but could mislead a listener about the scale.
Sources: RSA 485:17-a (lead in school drinking water; 2018, 4:18, eff. July 1, 2019; 2022, 325:1, eff. July 8, 2022); Exhibit D
OBSERVATION The SAFE grant hearing required published newspaper notice that is not in the record examined
At $462,328 the SAFE grant falls under RSA 198:20-b, III(a): "the school board shall hold a prior public hearing on the action to be taken", with notice "published in a newspaper of general circulation in the relevant municipality at least 7 days before the meeting is held", here by March 13, 2024. The agenda cites the paragraph and the board held the hearing (0:04:43 to 0:11:06). The packet folder was created March 15, so the agenda itself could not serve as the 7-day notice; no newspaper notice is in the packet or minutes, and no one mentions one. Notices of this kind are not normally filed in the packet, so this marks a gap in what could be checked, not a finding that notice was missed.
Sources: RSA 198:20-b, III(a); agenda, item IV
OBSERVATION The tuition agreements approved "as written" are not in the public packet
The board approved the Croydon and Goshen agreements as presented (1:16:13 to 1:19:58), with a $16,000 tuition figure mentioned from the dais. The agenda lists them as Exhibits F and G, and lead Exhibit E; none of the three is among the seven documents MAP.md records for the 6. CSB 3.20.24 folder, and Henry's financial report was distributed only by e-mail (1:20:07). This is a finding of not found in the folder as recorded, not of nonexistence; Drive enumeration on these shares is known to be incomplete. A resident reading the packet could not see the terms the board approved.
Sources: packet folder 6. CSB 3.20.24; agenda, item VII.3
OBSERVATION Officer and delegate votes: no count on tape, and a nominator the recording does not show
Both officer elections were voice votes with no announced count (0:01:50, 0:02:46); the minutes record "all present voting in favor" for each, and later in the evening Crawford refers to "our unanimous vote tonight". For the NHSBA delegate the recording has the chair saying "I nominate Frank Sprague to be this delegate. I'll second him." and taking it by no objection (1:25:05); the minutes record "Arlene Hawkins nominated Frank Sprague to continue in the position, Bonnie Miles seconded". The dialogue row may merge more than one voice. Subcommittee seats, listed on the agenda as "(Nomination/Vote)", were filled by the chair's slates and "no objection", which the minutes record as such. RSA 91-A:2, II requires movers, seconders and final decisions in the minutes, and these minutes supply them; the recording cannot confirm the delegate names.
Sources: RSA 91-A:2, II (2023 codification); approved minutes, items II and VII.5–6
OBSERVATION The scheduled swearing-in does not appear on the recording or in the minutes
The February 21 agenda listed for this date "Swearing in of board members, election of officers, approval of Claremont School Board Rules". Tonight's agenda omits the swearing-in, the chair welcomes the re-elected and returning members (0:03:17), and neither the recording nor the approved minutes records an oath being taken. It may have been administered before the meeting or elsewhere; this page does not cite a statute on who administers a school board member's oath because none was verified for this build.
Sources: February 21, 2024 agenda, future dates (c); approved minutes
POSITIVE The minutes record the adjournment time and an absence, before the law required times
The approved minutes record "Adjourned at 8:39", which the recording confirms within a minute, and list Whitney Skillen as absent. The requirement that minutes state the start and end time of a meeting was added to RSA 91-A:2, II only by 2025, 112:1, effective August 22, 2025; in March 2024 the statute required members' names, persons appearing, subjects, final decisions, and movers and seconders. Recording the end time a year and a half before it was required helps a reader tie the video to the clock.
Sources: RSA 91-A:2, II (2023 codification; the time requirement came with 2025, 112:1); approved minutes, item X
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/15638 SchoolBoard032024.mp4.CSV (709 attributed rows; the basis of this page)Input/Videos/15638 SchoolBoard032024.mp4 (local copy of the recording)Input/Transcripts/15638 SchoolBoard032024.mp4.json (diarized transcript)Input/SupportingDocuments/MAP.md, section 228 (video-to-document map)
Laws and rules cited on this page