Participants
Everyone heard or addressed on the recording. Spellings follow the agenda and approved minutes. Unidentified voices stay unidentified.
| Name | Role | Participation |
|---|
| Heather Whitney | Chair, presiding | Moves the nonpublic session to the top of the agenda and reports the audit postponement (0:00:48). Moves to seal the nonpublic minutes for five years (0:04:47). Presents the donation (0:06:30) and explains the hearing threshold (0:07:03). Asks where the matrix should be kept for future boards (0:13:50). Reports the NH Listens forum for March 4 (0:21:50). The minutes record her as seconder of the retiree motion. |
| Frank Sprague | Vice chair; Ad Hoc Communications Committee (with Petrin); Finance subcommittee chair | Moves to put the nonpublic session first (0:01:27); seconds the motion to enter nonpublic (0:02:46); moves to come out (0:04:27). Asks whether the donation needs a public hearing (0:06:58). Presents the communication matrix (0:08:20) and moves its adoption with Crawford's correction (0:16:31). |
| Candace Crawford | Member; Capital Improvement subcommittee chair | Seconds the agenda change (0:01:34). Asks when the audit report will be rescheduled (0:01:45). Moves to accept the retiree list (0:05:54). Proposes that the board, not the district, "own" subcommittee work in the matrix (0:09:50); suggests it go in the school board handbook (0:14:50). |
| Michael Petrin | Member; Ad Hoc Communications Committee | Moves to accept the $14,000 donation (0:07:19). Says the matrix ends the ad hoc committee (0:16:10) and seconds its adoption (0:16:46). Offers to contact the police department about voting-day signs (0:17:42); describes the SAU website pop-up (0:21:10). |
| Bonnie Miles | Member | Moves to enter nonpublic (0:02:42). Seconds the donation (0:07:26). Presses for more voting-day publicity: school-bus signs, police message boards, the city's announcements and the newspapers (0:17:08 to 0:19:41). |
| Whitney Skillen | Member | Absent per the approved minutes (see Board composition above). |
| Arlene Hawkins | Member; curriculum committee representative | Absent per the approved minutes. |
| Patrick O'Hearn | Human Resources Director, SAU 6 | Reads the attendance roll and all three roll-call votes (0:00:34, 0:02:51, 0:04:41, 0:04:59). Presents three retirement notices: teachers at Bluff (one with about 35 years, one in Title I since 2017) and at Stevens (0:05:11, 0:05:41); the surnames are not reproduced because the transcript renders them unreliably and no document lists them. |
| Unidentified | Voices in the off-agenda crosstalk after the nonpublic session | Several short remarks at 0:03:30 to 0:04:19 about scheduling and attendance at the deliberative session; the dialogue file leaves them unidentified. |
| Christopher Pratt; Mary Henry | Superintendent; business administrator | Not present. The chair: the superintendent was at a conference and the business administrator had an unavoidable meeting (0:01:56). |
| Miles Sheehan; Lilly Clark | Student board members | No report this evening (0:01:56). The agenda spells Lilly. |
| Noelle Kronberg | School board clerk | Not heard; O'Hearn reads the rolls. She signs the minutes. |
Agenda
Items from CSB Agenda 2.5.25.pdf; agenda wording is quoted from that document. Dispositions from the recording, checked against the approved minutes. The nonpublic session (agenda item III.5) was moved to the front by vote.
| Taken up | Item | Agenda text / disposition |
|---|
| 0:00:05 | I. Call to order, pledge | Agenda: "6:30 PM Call to Order and Pledge of Allegiance". |
| 0:00:29 | II. Roll call | Read by O'Hearn. Present per the minutes: Petrin, Miles, Crawford, Sprague, Whitney; absent: Skillen, Hawkins. |
| 0:00:48 | II.a.1 Agenda amendments | Audit presentation postponed; Sprague moved to make the nonpublic session the first action item (0:01:27), Crawford seconded, voice vote, carried (0:01:39). Minutes: "voice vote taken, all present voting in favor". |
| 0:01:56 | II.a.2 Minutes, 1.15.25 and 1.21.25 | "Is there any objection" ... "Seeing none, the minutes are forwarded" (0:02:22). Approved by unanimous consent though the agenda heads the consent agenda "(vote required)"; minutes: "Consent approval". |
| 0:02:22 | II.b Citizens' comments | The chair invites speakers to the podium; none come forward. Minutes record no speakers. |
| 0:01:56 | II.c Student report | Not given; student members absent. |
| 0:02:22 | III.5 (taken first) Nonpublic session, RSA 91-A:3, II(c) | Miles moved, Sprague seconded, roll call, all present yes; in at 6:33 p.m. per minutes. Out on Sprague's motion (0:04:27), Miles second per minutes, roll call yes; 7:28 p.m. Sealed for five years on the chair's motion (0:04:47), Petrin second, roll call yes. See flag 1 and flag 2. |
| 0:00:48 | III.1 FY2021 audit and FY2022–23 progress (Plodzik & Sanderson) | Postponed; "Next meeting" per the chair (0:01:53). See flag 5. |
| 0:05:04 | III.2 Retiree notification list (vote) | Three retirees; Crawford moved to accept (0:05:54); minutes name Whitney as seconder; voice vote, carried (0:06:14). |
| 0:06:30 | III.3 Byrne Foundation donation, $14,000 (Exhibit A) | Agenda: "Donation for Claremont Middle School Boston Field Trip from Jack and Dorothy Byrne Foundation in the amount of $14,000." Petrin moved (0:07:19), Miles seconded (0:07:26), voice vote, carried (0:07:33). See flag 6. |
| 0:07:33 | III.4 Subcommittees; Ad Hoc Communications matrix (Exhibit B) | No standing subcommittee reports. Matrix presented by Sprague; adopted with Crawford's amendment (owner of subcommittee work changed from district to board) on Sprague's motion (0:16:31), Petrin second (0:16:46), voice vote (0:16:49). See flag 3 and flag 7. |
| 0:17:01 | IV. Other business | Voting-day publicity; NH Listens candidate forum on March 4 (0:21:50). |
| 0:24:42 | V–VI. Future dates; adjournment | "If there's no objection, I'd like to adjourn." Minutes: "Consent adjournment" (no time recorded). |
Discussion timeline
Times are taken from the dialogue transcript (Dialogue/16322 School Board 020525.mp4.CSV) and link into the recording.
Topics in the order discussed. Quotations are the transcript as it stands.
| Time | Topic | What was said | Flags |
|---|
| 0:00:05 | Call to order and roll | The chair calls the February 5, 2025 meeting to order; O'Hearn reads the roll (0:00:34). | |
| 0:00:48 | Agenda changes; audit postponed | "The the audit for 21, 22 and 23. The progression update is not going to happen tonight." The chair asks for the nonpublic session to become the first item; carried by voice vote (0:01:39). Crawford: "I would really like to know when the report audit report is going to be rescheduled." (0:01:45). | OBSERVATION |
| 0:01:56 | Absences; minutes; citizens' comments | The chair notes the superintendent and business administrator are away and the student report will not be given; the 1/15 and 1/21 minutes are approved by consent; no one comes to the podium (0:02:22). | |
| 0:02:22 | Motion to enter nonpublic | "Can I have a motion to move into nonpublic?" Miles: "I can make a motion to move into nonpublic." (0:02:42); Sprague seconds (0:02:46); roll call (0:02:51). No exemption is spoken. | MEDIUM |
| 0:03:30 | Recording resumes; off-agenda crosstalk | The recording picks up after the nonpublic session with members discussing the deliberative session's schedule and turnout ("Well, I think we need to alternate Saturday morning versus evening.", 0:03:48). | |
| 0:04:27 | Out of nonpublic; minutes sealed | Sprague moves to come out; the chair: "I have to roll call that we're out of nonpublic at 728." (0:04:31). The chair moves "to seal the minutes for five years." (0:04:47); Petrin seconds; roll call, all yes (0:04:59). | MEDIUM |
| 0:05:04 | Retiree notifications | O'Hearn: "I have three retirees to present" (0:05:11), including a Bluff teacher of about 35 years who served on the negotiating committee. Crawford moves acceptance (0:05:54); carried (0:06:14). | |
| 0:06:30 | $14,000 Byrne Foundation donation | "And the dollar amount would be $14,000 for the eighth grade field trip." Sprague asks whether a hearing is needed (0:06:58); the chair: "We did pump it way up to prevent a lot of public hearings." (0:07:08). Petrin moves (0:07:19), Miles seconds; carried (0:07:33). | OBSERVATION MEDIUM |
| 0:08:20 | Communication matrix presented | Sprague: the matrix is meant to "Really kind of brighten the lines between what's district communication and what's board communication." It lists means, audience, purpose, frequency and internal or external use (0:08:54). | MEDIUM |
| 0:09:30 | Who owns subcommittee work | Crawford: "It seems like that's the school board purview to own our subcommittee work, not the school district" (0:09:50). Sprague: "we could simply just change the D under owner to B." (0:10:29). | |
| 0:10:45 | Voting-day publicity, first pass | Miles raises turnout and school-bus signs; Sprague says the matrix covers the budget process (CCTV, the public hearing and the deliberative session) and voting-day signs can be handled separately (0:12:58). | |
| 0:13:50 | Where the matrix should live | The chair asks where future boards will find it and describes a first-year handbook she compiled (0:13:50, 0:14:25). Crawford: "This should be in the School Board handbook." Sprague suggests the beginning-of-term retreat (0:15:07). | |
| 0:16:09 | Matrix adopted; ad hoc committee | Petrin: "Unfortunately, I think that ends the ad hoc subcommittee for communication." Sprague moves "that we accept this communication matrix with the correction that Miss Crawford made." (0:16:31); Petrin seconds (0:16:46); carried (0:16:49). | OBSERVATION |
| 0:17:08 | Other business: voting day | Miles: "I think I wanted to talk more about really getting the word out," asks for police message boards and city announcements, and reports the city's listing showed two seats without terms (0:18:10). Discussion of newspaper ads (paid), robocalls and social media (0:20:53). Petrin: "So I think we've done our duty to get the word out there." (0:21:39). | |
| 0:21:50 | NH Listens candidate forum | "It's going to be March 4th, at 6 p.m.." in the meeting room, with small-group breakouts that make it hard to televise (0:22:22); the chair suggests CCTV one-on-one interviews again (0:22:36). Refreshments and setup volunteers (0:23:57). "We currently have three candidates." (0:24:29), two named as William Madden and Lauren [Loren] Howard; the third name is garbled in the transcript. | POSITIVE |
| 0:24:42 | Adjournment | "If there's no objection, I'd like to adjourn." | |
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 February 5, 2025, or is labeled an observation where no verified rule applies.
MEDIUM The motion to enter nonpublic session states no exemption on the recording; the minutes say it cited RSA 91-A:3, II(c)
The agenda noticed the session under RSA 91-A:3, II(c) (reputation), and the board voted to move it to the top of the agenda (0:01:27). When the chair called for it she asked only, "Can I have a motion to move into nonpublic?" (0:02:22), and Bonnie Miles replied, "I can make a motion to move into nonpublic." (0:02:42). Frank Sprague seconded and the roll was called (0:02:51). No exemption is spoken in the motion, the second or the roll call. The approved minutes record the same motion as made "under RSA 91-A:3 ©" (the district's rendering of (c)).
RSA 91-A:3, I(b) requires that the motion "state on its face the specific exemption under paragraph II" and be decided by roll call. The board's own by-laws (Appendix D) say "It is vital that a specific reference to one of these grounds be made on the record before entering a non-public session." The roll call and the agenda notice satisfy part of the rule; the motion as heard does not. Graded MEDIUM rather than HIGH because the agenda the board was working from names the exemption and the minutes record it, so the ground is on the written record, though not in the motion as spoken. (Whether that agenda was posted online before the meeting cannot be shown from Drive; see flag 3.)
Sources: RSA 91-A:3, I(b) and III (motion states the exemption; sealing needs a recorded 2/3 vote and a determination); Claremont School Board By-Laws, adopted June 5, 2024 (Exhibit E of the June 5, 2024 packet) (Appendix D, entering non-public session); CSB Agenda 2.5.25.pdf; 16. Approved CSB meeting minutes 2.5.25
MEDIUM Nonpublic minutes sealed for five years without the determination RSA 91-A:3, III requires
After the board came out of nonpublic ("we're out of nonpublic at 728", 0:04:31), the chair moved: "I would like to make a motion to seal the minutes for five years." (0:04:47). Michael Petrin seconded and the roll was called; every member present voted yes (0:04:59 to 0:05:03). Five members were present, so the two-thirds vote was met. Neither the motion nor the approved minutes ("Heather Whitney made a motion to seal the minutes for 5 years") states any of the statutory grounds.
RSA 91-A:3, III lets a body withhold nonpublic minutes only where, "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 board's by-laws (Appendix D) add: "The decision to seal minutes of non-public sessions must affirmatively state one of the statutory bases listed above." The vote is recorded; the determination is not. A fixed five-year term is the board's choice: the statute itself withholds only "until, in the opinion of a majority of members, the aforesaid circumstances no longer apply."
Sources: RSA 91-A:3, I(b) and III (motion states the exemption; sealing needs a recorded 2/3 vote and a determination); Claremont School Board By-Laws, adopted June 5, 2024 (Exhibit E of the June 5, 2024 packet) (Appendix D, sealing minutes); 16. Approved CSB meeting minutes 2.5.25
MEDIUM Neither exhibit the agenda cites (the $14,000 donation and the communication matrix the board adopted) is in the public packet, and the folder was created after the meeting
The agenda lists "Exhibit A" for the Jack and Dorothy Byrne Foundation donation and "Exhibit B" for the "Presentation of the Communication Matrix". The board accepted the donation (0:07:33) and adopted the matrix with an amendment (0:16:49), so the document that now records board communication responsibilities was voted on without a public copy. The folder 14. CSB 2.5.25 holds three files: the agenda and two sets of earlier draft minutes. Drive metadata shows the folder was created on February 14, 2025, nine days after the meeting, and all three files on August 22, 2025. Neither exhibit was found in that folder or in the February 19 folder (checked 2026-10-03 by file metadata; a Drive search alone is not proof of absence).
The board's by-laws make it a duty, delegated to the SAU executive assistant, to "Post online any and all agenda materials not-exempt from public dissemination by RSA 91-A in conjunction with the posting of any board or committee agendas" (rule 4.03(d)). RSA 91-A:2, II requires 24 hours' posted notice of the meeting, which can be met in places other than Drive, so the late Drive dates do not by themselves show a notice failure. The missing exhibits are the finding.
Sources: Claremont School Board By-Laws, adopted June 5, 2024 (Exhibit E of the June 5, 2024 packet) (rule 4.03(d), clerk's duties); CSB Agenda 2.5.25.pdf; Drive folder: 14. CSB 2.5.25
OBSERVATION The draft minutes reached the public share on the seventh business day
RSA 91-A:2, II requires minutes to be "open to public inspection not more than 5 business days after the meeting". For a Wednesday, February 5 meeting that is Wednesday, February 12. The draft 2.5.25 DRAFT CSB meeting mintues.pdf was created in the February 19 packet folder on Friday, February 14 at about 7:00 a.m. Eastern (its own modified stamp is one minute earlier, an upload artifact). Drive dates show when the public could see the file online, not whether the draft was available for inspection at the SAU office earlier, so this is recorded as an observation. The approved version was created on March 3, 2025.
Sources: RSA 91-A:2, II (2024 codification; minutes contents and five business days); 2.5.25 DRAFT CSB meeting mintues.pdf; 16. Approved CSB meeting minutes 2.5.25
OBSERVATION The FY2021 audit presentation was postponed; at this meeting the district's audits were still years behind
The agenda set "Results of FY 2021 Audit and FY 2022, FY 2023 Audit Progress Update" with Plodzik & Sanderson attending virtually. The chair removed it: "Unfortunately, the presenter had a family emergency that had to be attended to." (0:00:48). Candace Crawford asked "I would really like to know when the report audit report is going to be rescheduled." (0:01:45); the chair answered "Next meeting" (the approved minutes agree). It was not on the February 19 agenda and was heard on March 5. A fiscal year 2021 audit still unreported to the board in February 2025 is far outside the federal single-audit window (nine months after year end, 2 CFR 200.512(a)(1)) if the district expended $750,000 or more in federal awards that year. That threshold is not established on this record, so no rule-based grade is given here; see the March 5, 2025 page.
Sources: 2 CFR 200.512(a)(1), 2020 annual edition (single-audit due date); CSB Agenda 2.5.25.pdf
OBSERVATION The $14,000 donation was accepted without a hearing; the $20,000 hearing threshold is the statute's, not the policy committee's
Frank Sprague asked, "Isn't that a public hearing?" (0:06:58). The chair replied that the policy committee had changed the amount ("We changed the amount for a policy committee.", 0:07:03) and added "We did pump it way up to prevent a lot of public hearings." (0:07:08). The approved minutes put it as the policy committee having "recently adjusted the amount for donations that need to go to public hearing (under $20,000)".
The $20,000 figure is set by RSA 198:20-b, III(a), as amended by 2023, 38:1 (effective July 18, 2023): at $20,000 or more the board must hold a prior public hearing with seven days' newspaper notice. Below it, the board "shall post notice of the funds in the agenda and shall include notice in the minutes," which this board did (the agenda names the foundation and the amount; the minutes record the acceptance). A board may set a lower notice amount, not a higher one. The acceptance itself appears to comply; the explanation given on the record misplaces the source of the threshold. RSA 198:20-b, I also conditions the board's authority on a district meeting article; that article was not checked for this page.
Sources: RSA 198:20-b, I and III (unanticipated funds; $20,000 hearing threshold; notice in agenda and minutes below it); CSB Agenda 2.5.25.pdf; 16. Approved CSB meeting minutes 2.5.25
OBSERVATION The Ad Hoc Communications Committee was declared finished without a vote to dissolve it
After the matrix was presented, Michael Petrin said "Unfortunately, I think that ends the ad hoc subcommittee for communication." (0:16:10). The motion that followed accepted the matrix only (0:16:31); no motion addressed the committee. The approved minutes record that "the ad hoc committee should dissolve" as Petrin's remark. Whether the committee still exists after this meeting is therefore not settled by any recorded action. No rule was verified for this page that requires a vote to end an ad hoc committee, so this is an observation.
Sources: 16. Approved CSB meeting minutes 2.5.25
POSITIVE The candidate forum was handed to a neutral facilitator that writes its own questions
The chair reported that NH Listens would run a forum for the school board candidates on March 4 at 6 p.m. in the meeting room (0:21:50), and stressed that "the thing that we have to know is that New Hampshire listens, generates the questions, the forum, the discussion." (0:22:57) and "We don't play a part in that." With three candidates seeking two seats, a sitting board organizing its own candidates' forum invites questions about fairness; handing the format and questions to an outside facilitator goes beyond anything the law requires. The chair also suggested CCTV repeat its one-on-one candidate interviews so the forum is not the only record (0:22:36).
Sources: 16. Approved CSB meeting minutes 2.5.25
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/16322 School Board 020525.mp4.CSV (251 attributed rows; the basis of this page)Input/Videos/16322 School Board 020525.mp4Input/Transcripts/16322 School Board 020525.mp4.jsonInput/SupportingDocuments/MAP.md, section 256
Laws and rules cited on this page
- RSA 91-A:3, I(b), II(c) and III (current text; last amended 2023, 189:1, eff. Oct. 3, 2023, so in force on this date): motion states the exemption on its face; roll call; sealing requires a recorded 2/3 vote and a statutory determination
- RSA 91-A:2, II, 2024 codification (source note ends 2023, 188:1): minutes contents; five business days
- RSA 198:20-b, I and III (2023, 38:1, eff. July 18, 2023): unanticipated funds; $20,000 hearing threshold; agenda and minutes notice below it
- 2 CFR 200.512(a)(1), 2020 annual edition: single-audit reporting package due nine months after year end
- Claremont School Board By-Laws, adopted June 5, 2024 (Exhibit E of the June 5, 2024 packet): rule 4.03(d) (posting agenda materials); Appendix D (entering nonpublic session; sealing minutes)