Participants
Everyone heard on the recording or named in the approved minutes. Spellings follow the minutes and agenda; where the dialogue file's label differs, both are given. This recording's diarization merges Bonnie Miles and Arlene Hawkins in places, so several turns are reported under the label the dialogue file gives, with the minutes' attribution alongside.
| Name | Role | Participation |
|---|
| Heather Whitney | Chair | Presides and calls the roll "In the absence of our secretary" (0:00:43). Introduces the nonpublic item (0:34:32). On the tech center post: the previous director "had no experience in technical education at all" (0:53:55); proposes the "acting assistant CTE director" title (1:06:17) and restates the final motion (1:16:06). Proposes moving the first June meeting to a Tuesday (1:22:44). Voted no on the title amendment (minutes). |
| Frank Sprague | Vice chair; Finance Subcommittee chair | On 504 case management (0:19:59) and 504s "given as a consolation prize" (0:24:24). Moves the staff list (0:38:07) and the assistant director position (0:44:02), asking for relevant-field experience in the job description (0:44:26). Presents the Finance Subcommittee's calendar (1:27:41). |
| Candace Crawford | Member; Capital Improvement and SRVRTC subcommittee chair | Moves Girls on the Run funding (0:33:07); seconds the nonpublic motion (0:35:04); notes the 2024 SREB report recommends "a full time director at both the campuses" (0:46:39); wants a revised job description before approval (1:08:13). Presents Capital Improvement's plan (1:27:00). |
| Arlene Hawkins | Member; Curriculum representative; SAU 6 board chair | On 504s and formal evaluation (0:13:36); seconds Girls on the Run (0:33:32); moves to leave nonpublic (the chair: "Arlene made the motion, Frank seconded", 0:35:34); wants CTE language in the job description (1:01:43). Defers the SAU exploratory report, met "this afternoon" (1:21:26); curriculum report (1:30:01). The minutes also credit her with the title amendment and two questions the dialogue file labels Bonnie Miles (see footer). |
| Bonnie Miles | Member | Labeled in the dialogue file for the question "But we've already hired someone for a position that we have not approved. Is that correct?" (0:48:52), for the two-evaluators question (0:52:02) and for the title amendment (1:12:21); the minutes give those three to Arlene Hawkins. The minutes credit Miles with the full-time and state-compliance questions (0:47:48, 0:48:23) and the second to the amendment. |
| Michael Petrin | Member; Ad Hoc Communications | Answers the roll as "Patron here." (0:00:51). Seconds the assistant director motion (0:44:14); says he probably missed the meeting that failed for want of a quorum (0:57:33); the only vote against the position, objecting to the word acting (1:12:47, 1:19:13). |
| Whitney Skillen | Member; Policy Subcommittee chair | Asks about symptom-management supports for students with ADHD (0:15:31); moves the nonpublic session (0:34:50); asks whether candidates exist (0:45:30) and who backfills the candidate's vacated post (1:18:18); moves the June date change (1:24:46). Seconds the staff list (minutes; the transcript has "Chelsea Whitney, still on." at 0:38:13). |
| Noelle Kronberg | School board clerk | Absent from the meeting (the chair: "In the absence of our secretary"); signs the minutes. |
| Chris Pratt | Superintendent, SAU 6 | Superintendent's report: 504 plans over ten years (0:04:53); new teacher hires of 42, 36 and 21 in three years (0:06:58). Presents the assistant director position (0:41:31), says a candidate has accepted (0:45:37) and explains the timing (0:50:26); apologizes (1:19:22). |
| Mike Koski | Assistant Superintendent | Explains the AI framework training (0:08:55) and middle school self-regulation training with a local author (0:18:26). The dialogue file also gives him the IEP and 504 reimbursement answer (0:12:23); the minutes credit Michael McCosker (see footer). |
| Michael McCosker | Director of Student Services (agenda masthead, minutes) | Not identified by name on the recording. The minutes record "Mr. McKosker explained that 504 don't usually include services". |
| Patrick O'Hearn | Human Resources Director | Presents the professional staff list for ratification (0:36:41). |
| Tina McCosker | Special educator, Bluff Elementary School | Presents Girls on the Run (0:26:16). Spelling from the agenda and minutes; labeled "Tina McCusker" in the dialogue file. |
| Unidentified | Various | Brief interjections, including "We need to go into nonpublic." (0:47:07) during the personnel discussion. |
Agenda
Items from CSB Agenda 8.21.24 (2).pdf, quoted from that document. Dispositions from the recording, checked against the approved minutes.
| Taken up | Item | Agenda text / disposition |
|---|
| 0:00:01 | I. Call to order, pledge; roll call | The chair calls the roll (0:00:43); minutes: "all members present". |
| 0:00:53 | Consent agenda | Agenda and "Minutes Approval- August 7, 2024". "If there are no objections, you can just move this with silent consent." Accepted as written (0:01:23). |
| 0:01:23 | Citizens' comments | None. |
| 0:01:52 | III. Superintendent's Report | Year's focus, 504 data, staffing, professional development. No action. |
| 0:25:54 | IV.1 Girls on the Run Program at Bluff Elementary School | Crawford moves to support the program and find "$1,500 in the current budget" (0:33:07); Hawkins seconds (0:33:32); voice vote, carried (0:34:14). |
| 0:34:32 | IV.2 Nonpublic session | Agenda: "RSA 91-A:3, II (j) Consideration of confidential, commercial, or financial information that is exempt from public disclosure under RSA 91-A:5, IV in an adjudicative proceeding pursuant to RSA 541 or RSA 541- A (c) Matters which, if discussed in public, would likely adversely affect the reputation of any person". Skillen moves "to move to a nonpublic session" (0:34:50); Crawford seconds; roll call (0:34:54). Return at 7:30; no motion to seal (0:35:53). See flag 1. |
| 0:36:26 | IV.3 Ratification of Professional Staff Nominations (Vote) | Sprague moves "to accept the list as presented" (0:38:07); second by Skillen per the minutes; voice vote, carried (0:41:04). See flag 6. |
| 0:41:04 | IV.4 Assistant Tech Center Director Position (SRVRTC) (Discussion/Vote) | Sprague moves (0:44:02), Petrin seconds (0:44:14). Amendment to retitle the post "acting assistant CTE director" (1:12:21); roll call per the minutes 5-2 (Petrin and Whitney no). Main motion as amended by roll call (1:19:04): 6-1, Petrin no. See flag 2 and flag 5. |
| 1:20:31 | IV.5 Region 10 Agreement | Deferred to September 4. |
| 1:21:26 | IV.6 SAU Exploratory Subcommittee Update (Discussion and Vote) | Agenda: "Discussion of budgetary and administrative impacts of potential withdrawal of Unity from SAU 6. Recommended action." Deferred; Hawkins says members got "a very late copy today". See flag 5. |
| 1:22:17 | IV.7 Permanently Changing 1st Meeting Date in June (Vote) | Skillen moves a Tuesday first meeting in June (1:24:46); the chair seconds; carried (1:25:04). January 2 meeting date announced (1:25:41). |
| 1:26:04 | IV.8 Progress on Improving Sub-Committee Effectiveness | Purpose statements and cadences, to be posted "when we get the new, website up" (1:26:30). |
| 1:27:00 | IV.9 Sub-Committees | Capital Improvement, Finance, Policy, Curriculum, SRVRTC and Ad Hoc Communications reports. |
| 1:31:08 | V-VI. Other business; future dates | Joint meeting with City Council September 30; televised Finance Subcommittee meetings; DMG strategic-planning invitations (1:32:34). |
| 1:33:22 | VII. Adjournment | By consent. |
Discussion timeline
Times are taken from the dialogue transcript (Dialogue/15947 SchoolBoard082124.mp4.CSV) and link into the recording.
| Time | Topic | What was said | Flags |
|---|
| 0:01:52 | Superintendent's report | Motto "meeting minds and shaping lives, one student at a time" (0:02:18); training on "MeeGo. It's an AI frameworks" for grades five through 12 (0:03:06). 504 plans: "if you notice the year, the pandemic, it really jumped up a lot, you know, to 100" (0:04:53), with "the notable rise in those with ADHD, anxiety and depression" (0:06:06). New teachers: "two years ago, we hired 42 new teachers." then "Last year was 36 and this year was 21." (0:06:58). | |
| 0:11:20 | Who pays for 504 plans | The chair asks whether there is "any reimbursement"; the answer (labeled Koski; minutes: McCosker): IEP related services can bring "Medicaid reimbursement" (0:12:23), but "Burden of a of a 504 is totally on us." (0:12:56). Sprague: 504s were often "given as a consolation prize for someone not getting an IEP" (0:24:24). | |
| 0:26:16 | Girls on the Run | McCosker: "We have 45% of our students who live at or below the poverty level." (0:27:47); 15 girls, two volunteer coaches; "It is a total of 1500 that I'm asking for. And that's from monies left over from last year." (0:29:46). The chair: "it can't come from last year" (0:33:24). Funded from the current budget (0:34:14). | POSITIVE |
| 0:34:32 | Nonpublic session | "Our second item on the agenda is entering into a nonpublic session for a 91 dash, a three comma Roman numeral two, J." Skillen: "I'd like to make a motion to move to a nonpublic session." (0:34:50). Return: "Is there any motion to seal the minutes? No." (0:35:53). | HIGH |
| 0:36:41 | Staff list ratified | O'Hearn presents "all the professional staff, credentialed teaching positions this year for your ratification". Maple's vacancies, some from the prior year (0:37:20). About ten staff working on certification (0:38:50); district-wide "We're around 33." (0:39:12); the chair summarizes "for the minutes" (0:39:56). Carried (0:41:04). | OBS |
| 0:41:31 | Assistant tech center director | Pratt cites a 2015 SREB recommendation of one director for Newport and Claremont; the post can be filled "for less than, we're currently paying Doctor Herzog" (0:42:54), at "around 80,000" (0:43:47). "It's been posted. And we actually had someone accepted today." (0:45:37); the candidate has master's degrees in counseling and education but, Pratt says, not tech experience (0:50:26). Crawford: the 2024 report "said that there should be a full time director at both the campuses" (0:46:39). | OBS |
| 0:48:52 | Hired before approval | "But we've already hired someone for a position that we have not approved. Is that correct?" Pratt: "it was going to go in the last agenda, but that we there was a meeting that was going to go to it. There was we didn't have a quorum." (0:49:26) and "this is a time sensitive thing, and I had to make the decision" (0:50:26). Later: "Technically she didn't sign a contract yet" (0:56:12). Petrin: "The meeting was missed. I think I'm probably one that missed that meeting." (0:57:33). | OBS MEDIUM |
| 1:01:43 | Job description and title | Hawkins wants the description to reflect CTE (1:01:43); a letter of agreement will require work toward CTE director certification (1:04:09). The chair floats "acting assistant CTE director" (1:06:17); Petrin objects that no other post is titled acting (1:13:29). Amendment carried (1:15:29); restated as approval of "the job description currently as written currently with the change acting assistant CTE director" with a revision due September 4 (1:16:06). Final roll call (1:19:04). | MEDIUM |
| 1:19:22 | Superintendent's apology | "I just want to apologize. It really wasn't my intention to cause the lost that ensued." | |
| 1:21:26 | SAU exploratory report deferred | Hawkins: "you guys got a very late copy today. We were able to meet this afternoon, Mr. Pride and myself and Chelsea." She wants it ready for the SAU 6 meeting of September 12. | MEDIUM |
| 1:22:44 | June meeting date | The first June meeting "conflicts every single year with the senior student night"; moved permanently to the Tuesday (1:25:04). | |
| 1:26:04 | Subcommittee purpose statements | Capital Improvement: "a 3 to 5 year, two to 3 to 5 year plan" (1:27:00). Finance: deadlines "by RSA and and statute" and the DRA's rules (1:27:41); next meeting September 18, 10 to 11 (1:28:25). Curriculum adds Kat McLaughlin (1:30:01). | MEDIUM |
| 1:31:50 | Televised budget meetings | "The finance subcommittee has set our dates to to be televised by CCTV. It's going to be November 12th, November 19th, December 4th, December 18th." | POSITIVE |
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 August 21, 2024 (the 2024 codification of RSA 91-A, whose source notes end with 2023 session laws), or is labeled an observation where no verified rule applies.
HIGH The motion to enter nonpublic session stated no exemption, the one the chair named cannot apply, and no nonpublic minutes were located
RSA 91-A:3, I(b): "Any motion to enter nonpublic session shall state on its face the specific exemption under paragraph II which is relied upon as foundation for the nonpublic session." The motion on tape is "I'd like to make a motion to move to a nonpublic session." (0:34:50); the minutes record it the same way. The chair had introduced the item as "Roman numeral two, J" (0:34:32), and the agenda heading prints both II(j) and II(c). II(j) covers "confidential, commercial, or financial information that is exempt from public disclosure under RSA 91-A:5, IV in an adjudicative proceeding pursuant to RSA 541 or RSA 541-A"; a school board's regular meeting is not such a proceeding, so II(j) is unavailable on its face. II(c), reputation, may have fit; nothing on the record says which ground was used. The board then declined to seal ("Is there any motion to seal the minutes? No.", 0:35:53), so RSA 91-A:3, III required the nonpublic minutes and decisions to be "publicly disclosed within 72 hours of the meeting". The approved public minutes record only the entry and exit votes. No minutes of this nonpublic session were found by Drive title search across the district's shares (a search negative is not proof of absence; the minutes may exist and be unposted). Mitigation: the entry and exit votes were roll calls, and the agenda gave the public notice of the two grounds considered. The August 7 minutes approved tonight cite their own nonpublic session as "RSA 91-A:3, I & II (1)", a numbering that does not exist in the statute.
Sources: RSA 91-A:3, I(b), II(c), II(j) and III (2024 codification; source note ends 2023, 189:1); CSB Agenda 8.21.24 (2).pdf; approved minutes; 8.7.24 Draft CSB Meeting Minutes (3).pdf
MEDIUM The approved minutes record the wrong title in the final vote on the tech center post
The amendment changed the title to "acting assistant CTE director", and the chair restated the main motion with "the change acting assistant CTE director" (1:16:06). The approved minutes record the amendment correctly but then the final vote "to approve the position with the amendment in the title to 'assistant'", dropping the word the board had just voted on and Petrin had voted against. The minutes also say "Mr. Pratt also explained that the board could not approve this position", where the recording has Pratt telling the board "you guys have every right to say no" (0:56:12) and "you can say, you know, we don't want to go in, assistant director" (0:50:00). RSA 91-A:2, II requires minutes to include "a brief description of the subject matter discussed and final decisions"; on the final decision, the official record contradicts the recording. The roll-call tallies themselves (5-2 on the amendment, 6-1 on the main motion) are recorded with each member's name.
Sources: 2. approved CSB meeting minutes 8.21.24; RSA 91-A:2, II (2024 codification; minutes contents)
MEDIUM A board meeting between June 20 and August 7 failed for want of a quorum and left no record
Pratt says the position "was going to go in the last agenda" but "we didn't have a quorum" (0:49:26); Petrin: "The meeting was missed. I think I'm probably one that missed that meeting." (0:57:33); the approved minutes: "was on a previous board agenda but there was not a quorum." It was not June 20 (six present, no such item) or August 7 (six present; the August 7 draft minutes list no such item). No notice, agenda, packet folder, minutes or recording for it was found: the packet sequence runs 11. CSB 6.20.24, then 1. CSB 8.7.24 and 2. CSB 8.21.24, and no member names the date. Under the project's severity rule this is graded MEDIUM, not HIGH, because the record mitigates it: the body lacked a quorum and transacted nothing. What is missing is the notice and any record that the meeting was called, which RSA 91-A:2, II's posting requirement would have produced.
Sources: RSA 91-A:2, II (notice posted 24 hours ahead; minutes within five business days); approved minutes
MEDIUM Subcommittee minutes reached the public three to four weeks late, and one subcommittee met that afternoon without a located notice
A committee or subcommittee of a school board is a public body under RSA 91-A:1-a, VI(d), which reaches "any committee, subcommittee, or subordinate body thereof", so its minutes are due within five business days. The Finance Subcommittee met July 22 (Crawford, Sprague, Whitney; minutes in calendar-notes form) and the Capital Improvements Committee on July 29 at the SAU office, 3:30 to 4:01 p.m. Both sets of minutes first appear in this packet, uploaded August 19, 2024 (Drive createdTime and modifiedTime both that morning), the 20th and 15th business days after the meetings. Separately, Hawkins said the SAU exploratory ad hoc subcommittee, created by consensus on August 7, met "this afternoon" with Pratt and the board's executive assistant (1:21:26). No notice for that meeting was located; a draft of its minutes, titled 1. draft SAU6 Exploratory AdHoc Sub-Comm 8.21.24, was found only in the project maintainer's own Google Drive (see footer), not in a district share. The by-laws adopted June 5 send subcommittee material to the district website, which the chair says is not yet up (1:26:30). Graded MEDIUM because minutes exist for all three meetings; the defects are timing and notice.
Sources: RSA 91-A:1-a, VI(d) (subcommittees are public bodies); RSA 91-A:2, II (notice; five business days); Exhibit B- Meeting Minutes Finance Subcommittee 7.22.24 (2).pdf; Exhibit A- Capital improvements Committee Minutes 7.29.24 (3).pdf (Drive metadata read 2026-10-03)
OBSERVATION The superintendent filled a new administrative post before the board approved it, two weeks after counsel said the board must approve new positions
The August 7 draft minutes, approved on consent tonight, record counsel Matt Upton telling the board "that the Board has to approve any new positions, even if it is within the budget". Tonight Pratt said the candidate "accepted today" (0:45:37), that the item had been meant for a meeting that lacked a quorum (0:49:26), and that he "had to make the decision" because school was about to start (0:50:26); later he added that she had not signed a contract (0:56:12). Members said plainly they were being asked to approve a post already filled (0:48:52, 0:50:12). The board approved it 6-1 with a changed title and a revised job description due September 4. Pratt apologized on the record (1:19:22). No statute verified this run fixes when an administrative position must be approved, so this stays an observation; the governing documents are counsel's advice and the board's own policies.
Sources: 8.7.24 Draft CSB Meeting Minutes (3).pdf (counsel's advice); approved minutes
OBSERVATION The year's teacher list was put to the board for ratification after new teachers had begun orientation
"Superintendents shall nominate and school boards elect all teachers." O'Hearn presented the list "for your ratification" (0:36:41) after Pratt had described new teacher orientation and that day's professional development (0:03:36, 0:07:41). The August 7 minutes record counsel advising that the board elects certified positions and that "the official language is electing, but it is the same thing". The board did elect the list, by voice vote (0:41:04). The statute sets no date for the election, so the sequence is not shown to be unlawful; the observation is that the board's vote came after the people on the list were at work. Members also asked for, and did not receive, firm counts of staff working toward certification (0:39:56).
Sources: RSA 189:39 (superintendent nominates, board elects teachers); 8.7.24 Draft CSB Meeting Minutes (3).pdf
POSITIVE The Finance Subcommittee committed to televised budget meetings, and the chair kept a request inside the current year's appropriation
The Finance Subcommittee's purpose statement in the packet says its November and December budget meetings "shall be televised for transparency", and the chair announced four dates for CCTV to record (1:31:50). No statute requires a subcommittee's budget sessions to be televised. On Girls on the Run, the presenter asked for "monies left over from last year"; the chair answered "it can't come from last year" (0:33:24) and the motion funds the $1,500 from the current budget, which matches the lapse rule for prior-year appropriations.
Sources: Exhibit B- Meeting Minutes Finance Subcommittee 7.22.24 (2).pdf; RSA 32:7 (2024 codification; appropriations lapse at fiscal year end)
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/15947 SchoolBoard082124.mp4.CSV (696 attributed rows; the basis of this page)Input/Videos/15947 SchoolBoard082124.mp4Input/Transcripts/15947 SchoolBoard082124.mp4.jsonInput/SupportingDocuments/MAP.md, section 234
Laws and rules cited on this page
- RSA 91-A:3, I(b), II(c), II(j) and III, 2024 codification (source note ends 2023, 189:1): motion must state the exemption; the reputation and adjudicative-proceeding grounds; 72-hour disclosure unless sealed
- RSA 91-A:2, II, 2024 codification (source note ends 2023, 188:1): notice; minutes contents; five business days
- RSA 91-A:1-a, VI(d): committees and subcommittees are public bodies
- RSA 189:39: superintendents nominate and school boards elect teachers
- RSA 32:7, 2024 codification: lapse of appropriations