Participants
Everyone heard or addressed on the recording. Spellings follow the agenda and approved minutes; where the dialogue file or the draft minutes differ, the difference is noted. Public speakers who did not give a name, or whose name the transcript lost, stay unidentified; the minutes list no public speakers. No student is named on this page.
| Name | Role | Participation |
|---|
| Michael Petrin | Vice chair, presiding | Reads the roll and amends the agenda to drop the staffing update (0:00:55, 0:01:37). Introduces Kerry Kennedy (0:26:41). Runs public comment and the vote (0:30:16, 1:53:42). Moves the manifest designations (2:05:45). Says the absences of Whitney and O'Hearn have "no hidden reason" (2:20:12). |
| Arlene Hawkins | Member; Policy subcommittee chair | Moves the closure-and-relocation motion (1:50:29). Describes the SAU 6 consulting contract (1:56:26). Nominates manifest signers and moves the Friday-noon manifest deadline (2:04:02, 2:08:34). Moves adoption of the policies (2:10:58). The minutes also credit her with the motion approving the September 3 and 10 minutes (0:02:14). |
| Candace Crawford | Member | "we don't have the the luxury of time" (1:39:23); "I want the schools to stay open for the year" (1:39:52). Seconds the relocation motion (minutes; Petrin says "Seconded by Kennedy" at 1:53:37, apparently the roll's Candy). Named a manifest signer. |
| William Madden | Member; timekeeper | Asks the audit's progress (1:34:18). Calls for a roll call on the closure vote (1:53:47). Named a manifest signer. Asks for executive summaries and for the overdue reports on the interns and whistleblowers (2:09:12, 2:18:42). |
| Loren Howard | Member | Moves support for proposal three; no second (1:42:23, 1:42:41). Votes no on the relocation; says three of the 19 teachers not ratified were special-education certified and five were from Bluff (1:51:06). Declines to be a manifest signer (2:04:23). Proposes future agenda items, including a restructuring committee (2:14:14). |
| Heather Whitney | Chair | Absent (minutes). |
| Kerry Kennedy | Interim superintendent; still principal of Claremont Middle School | "While I didn't create the situation we're in, I'm here to help get us out of this" (0:28:30). Supports the relocation plan; closure of Bluff is "more like when" (1:28:33, 1:32:51). Working with SREA and NHEA (1:41:47). |
| Matt Angell | Senior comptroller / business administrator | "I do see a path going forward financially" but not operationally (0:28:56). "This is about capacity." (1:26:05). Deficit work "60% of the way" (1:34:30). Manifest practice (2:02:25); SchoolCare and retirement paid up to date (2:13:29). |
| Melissa Lewis | Principal, Disnard Elementary | Presents for the three principals (0:03:30 to 0:26:19). Draft minutes: MARY LEWIS; approved minutes: Melissa Lewis. |
| Mark Blount; Dale Chenette | Principals, Maple Avenue and Bluff | Named in the approved minutes as part of the presenting team; not heard by name on the recording (Lewis refers to "Mr. Blunt" at 0:03:57). The draft minutes print "Mark Blood" and "Bluff Principal (name unintelligible)". |
| Unidentified | Public comment | First speaker: "Where are the checks and balances starting?" (0:33:38). |
| Unidentified | Public comment; parent working in the schools | On communication: "That's not transparency." (0:35:41). |
| Unidentified | Public comment, Ward 2 (as transcribed) | Bus radius, early drop-off, teachers forced out by non-renewal (0:38:48). |
| Unidentified speakers | Public comment | A donation idea for keeping Bluff open (0:42:02); "show your work" (0:43:51); a Ward 3 speaker asking which plan the principals recommend (0:44:53). |
| Sherry Williams | Public comment | Asks whether $60,000 matters against "5 million in debt, 1.8 million in deficit" and why last week's presenters were absent without explanation (0:46:32, 0:48:13). |
| Unidentified | Public comment; Bluff parent | Raises an unrelated personnel rumor, which the chair declines (0:49:58); asks how many special educators Bluff has (0:51:18); asks for proposal three (0:51:42). |
| Amanda Barton | Public comment, Ward 2 | Favors proposal three; asks about case-manager equity and compensation (0:55:41). |
| Unidentified | Public comment; Bluff teacher | "Please let us go with plan three." (0:58:40). |
| Unidentified | Public comment; former consultant | Urges board approval of any hiring of consultants or interns (1:02:52, 1:05:03). |
| Charlene Lovett | Public comment, Ward 2 | Transcript: "Charlene Leavitt, Ward two"; the dialogue file labels her Charlene Lovett. Supports plan three; asks about fundraising for substitutes (1:05:40). |
| Tammy Yates | Public comment; union president (her words) | Speaks for Bluff students and, identifying herself as union president, supports proposal three (1:09:56, 1:10:28). Kennedy names her as an SREA contact (1:41:47). |
| Unidentified | Public comment, Ward 3 | Gives Medicaid reimbursement figures and asks about billing (1:11:05). Figures are the speaker's own and are not verified here. |
| Unidentified | Public comment, Ward 2 | "I don't know what the answer is" (1:13:18). |
| Unidentified | Public comment | Against closing before the audits are complete (1:15:23); asks how substitutes and consultants are funded and about whistleblowers (1:17:40, 1:19:14). |
| Hope Damon | Public comment; state representative | Describes pending building-aid and audit-oversight legislation (1:20:50). |
| Heather Dubrovsky | Public comment | Asks for regular updates on the audit and finances (1:24:02). |
| Unidentified | Public comment, Ward 1; former board member of 15 years | Says board members once signed vouchers twice a month and that it "stopped during Covid" (2:06:46, 2:07:14). The transcript renders the name as John and Nancy. |
| Chelsea Weatherford | SAU staff (named only) | Receives board questions for the candidates (1:55:10). |
| Applicants for the vacant seat | Named only | Approved minutes: David Putnam, Don Lavalette, Kevin Tyson, Jeffrey Glover, Bradley Molton (who rescinded in favor of Glover). Read aloud at 1:54:30. See the maintainer note in the footer. |
Agenda
Items from the posted agenda, with the time each was taken up and the disposition from the recording and the approved minutes.
| Taken up | Item | Agenda text / disposition |
|---|
| 6:00 p.m. (agenda) | I. Non-Public Meeting Session | Agenda: "Non-Public Meeting Session: RSA 91-A:3,I & II" with the text of II(a). Not on the recording; not mentioned in either version of the minutes. See flag 1. |
| 0:00:07 | I. Call to order and Pledge | Petrin presiding. |
| 0:00:55 | II. Roll call | "Our secretary is not here tonight, so, I guess I will take a roll call." Minutes: present Petrin, Hawkins, Crawford, Madden, Howard; absent Whitney, Kronberg. |
| 0:01:26 | II.a.1 Agenda | Petrin removes item 3, the staffing update: "we're just not ready for that tonight." (0:01:37). |
| 0:01:59 | II.a.2 Minutes 9.3.25 and 9.10.25 | Approved by voice vote (0:02:22). Minutes: Hawkins moved, Crawford seconded, all present in favor. |
| 0:02:30 | III.1 Presentation on Consolidation Plans (Discussion/Vote) | Principals' presentation (0:03:30); public comment; motion by Howard to support proposal three, no second (1:42:41); motion by Hawkins, seconded by Crawford (minutes), to move Bluff's classes intact to Disnard and Maple Avenue by October 20 pending fire inspection: carried 4–1 by show of hands, Madden, Crawford, Hawkins and Petrin for, Howard against (1:53:42, 1:53:57). |
| 0:30:16 | III.2 Citizens Comments | Three minutes each, name and ward; Madden keeps time. Opened at 0:30:51, closed at 1:25:46, about 55 minutes. |
| Removed | III.3 District Staffing Update | Removed from the agenda at the start (0:01:37). |
| 1:54:11 | III.4 Announcement of Candidates for Vacant School Board Seat | Five letters of intent read (1:54:30); board questions to Chelsea, answers at the next meeting (1:55:10). |
| 1:55:36 | III.5 Creation of School Board Facebook Page | Discussion; no motion (2:01:59). |
| 2:01:59 | III.6 Approve Manifests (Discussion/Action) | Motion (Petrin; second Howard, minutes) appointing Crawford and Madden to sign invoices and payroll vouchers: carried (2:08:24). Motion (Hawkins; second Petrin) requiring manifests by noon the Friday before: carried (2:10:32). |
| 2:10:32 | III.7 Subcommittee Reports | Policy only: adoption of GBCE, JFAA and BEDG (second read) and EH, EH-R(1), EH-F(1), EH-F(2), IHBI, AB, JICJ and DIH, moved by Hawkins, seconded by Petrin, voice vote, all in favor (2:12:43). |
| 2:13:40 | IV. Other Business | Howard's future items; Kennedy on an advisory council and notices to staff and families (2:16:08, 2:17:43); Madden on overdue reports (2:18:42). |
| 2:20:12 | V. Future Dates | The 9/24 candidate meeting "not set in stone" because of a City Council conflict; October 1 and 15 meetings (2:21:09, 2:21:32). |
| 2:23:39 | VI. Adjournment | Motion, second, voice vote. Minutes: Hawkins moved, Petrin seconded. |
Discussion timeline
Times are taken from the dialogue transcript (Dialogue/16857 SchoolBoard091725.mp4.CSV) and link into the recording. Timestamps link to the same moment in the Cablecast recording.
| Time | Topic | What was said | Flags |
|---|
| 0:00:07 | Opening | Petrin presides and reads the roll in the clerk's absence (0:00:55). Staffing update removed; September 3 and 10 minutes approved by voice vote (0:02:22). No nonpublic session is mentioned. | MEDIUM |
| 0:03:30 | Plan 1 withdrawn | Lewis: "Sadly, we have had the resignation of three bus drivers. Transportation is simply not possible in that plan." (0:07:02). Problem statement: positions "open over the summer but didn't yield us any applicants" (0:07:50). | |
| 0:09:26 | Plan 2: move Bluff's classrooms intact | Each Bluff class moves "with their current teacher and their paraprofessional simply into new physical space"; Pre-K and K–3 to Maple Avenue, grades 4 and 5 to Disnard (0:09:26, 0:13:31, 0:13:52). "No positions would be eliminated in this process." (0:11:51). A contracted case-management provider is added "because we need to meet the legal obligations that are outlined in our IEPs" (0:14:22). Savings "approximately $60,000" (0:14:22). Target first day "October 20th, 2025" (0:20:09); 30-day notice to the teachers' association (0:18:59). | |
| 0:22:51 | Plan 3: redistribute case management | "as of today, there's one special educator for 46 students at Bluff Elementary School." (0:22:58). Disnard and Maple special educators and a contracted provider would take Bluff caseloads; "What financial gains are there to this proposal? There are none." (0:24:49). | |
| 0:26:41 | Interim superintendent introduced | Kennedy is "still sitting as a principal of Claremont Middle School"; the middle school still needs a nurse and a health teacher (0:27:16, 0:27:40). Angell: "I do see a path going forward financially," the problem is operational, and nearby districts "are starting to try to poach our teachers" (0:28:56, 0:29:23). | OBSERVATION |
| 0:30:16 | Public comment | About 55 minutes. Most speakers favor plan three. Sherry Williams asks whether $60,000 matters against "5 million in debt, 1.8 million in deficit" (0:46:32); a speaker gives Medicaid reimbursement figures and asks why billing lapsed (1:11:55); Hope Damon describes legislation to send audits to the Department of Education (1:22:35). A former member says voucher signing by board members "stopped during Covid" (2:07:14). | |
| 1:25:46 | Administration answers | Angell: "This is about capacity" and "It's not about the money. It's not about the $60,000." (1:26:05, 1:26:27). Kennedy: closing Bluff is "more like when" (1:28:33). Angell on substitutes: the problem is "finding substitute teachers" (1:30:34). | OBSERVATION |
| 1:34:18 | The deficit and the audits | Angell: "I'm 60% of the way to figuring out what the deficit is" (1:34:30); "the state is coming in and doing some audits" and "the Department of Revenue Administration has been calling me often" (1:34:55, 1:35:17). | OBSERVATION |
| 1:35:48 | Crawford | Enrollment decline; Stevens "used to be 15 1700. Now we're at 500." (1:37:40). "we don't have the the luxury of time." (1:39:23). | |
| 1:42:23 | Howard's motion fails for want of a second | "Make a motion of support for proposal number three. That's my motion." No second (1:42:41). He wants a cost for the contracted service (1:43:06) and calls the certainty claimed for plan two "a pretty disingenuous representation" (1:43:51). | |
| 1:44:52 | Kennedy for plan two | Under plan three "we are still short case managers" (1:47:56); "Is it better to do it now? Because we still could be faced with the decision in December?" (1:50:10). | |
| 1:50:29 | The relocation motion and vote | Hawkins: "we move the bluff students and faculty classrooms fully intact to Disney and Maple Avenue with a target date of October 20th, pending an inspection of the buildings by the fire department" (1:50:33). Howard: of the 19 teachers not ratified "three of these people were spent certified. Five of these people were from bluff specifically" (1:51:06), and "I was the only person who voted to ratify them" (1:51:45). Show of hands; Madden asks for a roll call (1:53:47); "Those opposed? Yeah. Lauren." "The motion passes." (1:53:50, 1:53:57). | OBSERVATION POSITIVE |
| 1:54:11 | Vacancy candidates | Five letters of intent read (1:54:30); questions via Chelsea; answers "on the 24th, I believe it is at our next meeting" (1:55:10). | |
| 1:55:36 | Facebook page; the SAU 6 consultants | Hawkins describes the TMSolution contract the SAU 6 board approved on September 11, including an operational review that "is not forensic. It is not criminal." (1:58:05); "that contract has been signed at the essay level" (1:59:08). Howard and Crawford doubt a board Facebook page; no motion (1:59:57, 2:01:10). | |
| 2:01:59 | Payment manifests | Angell: a standing review of manifests is normal, "That didn't actually happen," and "Right now, there are no members that are designated" (2:02:25, 2:03:00). Hawkins cites the policy approved in August (2:03:35). Crawford and Madden appointed (2:08:24); manifests due by Friday noon (2:10:32). | POSITIVE |
| 2:10:58 | Policies | "The policy subcommittee met this afternoon" (2:10:58). Eleven policies adopted, including EH (public access to records), BEDG (meeting minutes) and DIH; Petrin: "DIH is a fraud prevention and fiscal management policy." (2:12:31). | MEDIUM |
| 2:13:02 | Payables | Angell: "School care is paid up to date" and, as transcribed, "so is it. Names? Retirement." [NH Retirement] (2:13:29). | |
| 2:13:52 | Other business | Howard: metal detectors, NHSBA resolutions, job listings, and a restructuring committee of stakeholders (2:14:14, 2:15:03). Kennedy: notices to staff tonight and families tomorrow (2:17:43). Madden: "what happened to the report on the two interns?" and "It turns out we don't have a whistleblower policy." (2:18:42, 2:19:15). | |
| 2:20:12 | Future dates; adjournment | The candidate meeting may move to avoid the City Council; meetings return to the Technical Center (2:21:09, 2:21:32). Adjourned (2:23:39). | |
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 September 17, 2025, or is labeled an observation where no verified rule applies.
MEDIUM A 6:00 p.m. nonpublic session was noticed, and no record shows whether it was held
The agenda opens with "I . 6:00 PM Non-Public Meeting Session: RSA 91-A:3,I & II" followed by the text of exemption II(a). The recording begins with the 6:30 call to order (0:00:07) and never mentions a nonpublic session, and neither the draft nor the approved minutes records one: no motion, no roll call, no times, no nonpublic minutes, and no statement that it did not take place. If it was held, RSA 91-A:3, I(b) required a motion in public session stating the exemption and a roll-call vote, and RSA 91-A:3, III required minutes and disclosure of decisions within 72 hours unless sealed; if it was not held, the record should say so. The agenda's citation of paragraph I, which contains no exemptions, repeats a defect this project has recorded in other Claremont paperwork. Graded MEDIUM because the record cannot show whether a violation occurred, only that the session is unaccounted for.
Sources: RSA 91-A:3, I(b), II(a), III (nonpublic motion and roll call; minutes; 72 hours); CSB Agenda 9.17.25, item I
MEDIUM The minutes reached Drive 47 days after the meeting and omit the start time, end time and author that the law has required since August 22, 2025
RSA 91-A:2, II requires minutes open to inspection "not more than 5 business days after the meeting", which for this Wednesday meeting was September 24, 2025, and since 2025, 112:1 requires "the start time and end time of the meeting, and name of the person who produced the minutes." The draft, 08. draft CSB meeting minutes 9.17.25.pdf, was created on Drive on November 3, 2025; the approved Google Doc on January 3, 2026. Neither gives a start or end time or an author. The draft renders the principals as "Melissa Lewis (MARY LEWIS), Mark Blood, Bluff Principal (name unintelligible)", which suggests it was written from the recording; the approved version corrects the names. The minutes name no public speaker, summarizing about 55 minutes of comment in one sentence; RSA 91-A:2, II requires the names of "persons appearing before the public bodies", and whether that reaches citizens' comment is not settled by the text. Mitigation on the record: the clerk was absent (0:00:55), and the September 10 draft was posted the next morning, so the delay is specific to the clerk's absence. Graded MEDIUM, not HIGH, because the minutes exist, record movers, seconders and the names on the split vote, and were approved; the five-day deadline was nevertheless missed by about six weeks.
Sources: RSA 91-A:2, II (five business days; contents, as amended by 2025, 112:1, eff. Aug. 22, 2025); 08. draft CSB meeting minutes 9.17.25.pdf (createdTime 2025-11-03); 9.17.25 Approved CSB meeting minutes (createdTime 2026-01-03)
MEDIUM The Policy subcommittee met the afternoon of the meeting; no notice or minutes of that session were found
Hawkins: "The policy subcommittee met this afternoon" (2:10:58), and the board then adopted eleven policies on her motion. A subcommittee of a school board is a public body under RSA 91-A:1-a, VI(d), which ends "or any committee, subcommittee, or subordinate body thereof, or advisory committee thereto", so it needed 24 hours' notice and minutes under RSA 91-A:2, II. No notice or minutes were found in the September 17 packet or by Drive search; a negative from search alone does not prove none exists. Graded MEDIUM because the subcommittee's product, the policies, was presented and adopted in public session, and the policies themselves had been in members' packets the week before.
Sources: RSA 91-A:1-a, VI(d) (subcommittees are public bodies); RSA 91-A:2, II (notice and minutes)
OBSERVATION Two accounts of the 19 teachers not ratified in August contradict each other
On September 10 the acting superintendent said "only one was a special educator" of the 19 (show 16831, 0:49:21). Here Howard says three were special-education certified, five were from Bluff and two were elementary counselors, that the 19 "were brought to us in bulk to ratify" and the board was "encouraged to not go one by one", and that he alone voted to ratify (1:51:06, 1:51:28, 1:51:45). The approved minutes record his figures ("3 were special education certified and 5 were from Bluff"). Neither account is backed by a list in the packet. The difference matters because the case for moving Bluff rests on special-education staffing.
Sources: 9.17.25 Approved CSB meeting minutes, item III.1; Claremont School Board, September 10, 2025
OBSERVATION The relocation was voted on capacity grounds while the deficit was still being counted and state reviews were under way
Angell called the decision "about capacity" and "not about the $60,000" (1:26:05, 1:26:27), said he was "60% of the way" to a deficit figure (1:34:30), and reported state program audits and frequent calls from the Department of Revenue Administration (1:34:55, 1:35:17). Kennedy said Bluff's closure is "more like when" (1:28:33). The principals' presentation, which carried the plans' figures, was placed on Drive at 4:01 p.m. the day of the meeting. No rule is cited; the observation is that the board decided on staffing-capacity grounds, with the financial picture explicitly incomplete, and the record says so plainly.
Sources: 09_17_25 School Board Presentation (createdTime 2025-09-17, 20:01 UTC)
POSITIVE The board restored member sign-off on payment manifests
Angell told the board that the manifest review he considers standard "didn't actually happen" and that "there are no members that are designated" (2:02:25, 2:03:00). RSA 197:23-a lets the treasurer pay "only upon orders of the school board or upon orders of the 2 or more members of the school board empowered by the school board as a whole to authorize payments." The board empowered Crawford and Madden and required manifests by noon the Friday before each authorization (2:08:24, 2:10:32), restoring a control a former member says lapsed during Covid (2:07:14).
Sources: RSA 197:23-a (treasurer pays on board orders or two empowered members)
POSITIVE The board heard the principals' alternatives it asked for, and the minutes name every vote on the outcome
The September 10 motion directed the administration to work with the building principals; this meeting opened with the principals' two plans, each with transportation, staffing, special-education caseloads, timeline and family notification (0:09:26, 0:22:51). On the 4–1 vote taken by show of hands, the approved minutes record "In favor: Bill Madden, Candace Crawford, Arlene Hawkins, Michael Petrin" and "Opposed: Loren Howard", and record that Howard's motion for plan three failed without a second.
Sources: 9.17.25 Approved CSB meeting minutes, item III.1
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/16857 SchoolBoard091725.mp4.CSV (654 attributed rows; the basis of this page)Input/Videos/16857 SchoolBoard091725.mp4Input/Transcripts/16857 SchoolBoard091725.mp4.jsonInput/SupportingDocuments/MAP.md, section 278
Laws and rules cited on this page
- RSA 91-A:1-a, VI(d): public bodies include subcommittees
- RSA 91-A:2, II (source note ends 2025, 112:1, eff. Aug. 22, 2025): notice; minutes within five business days; contents including start and end time and producer
- RSA 91-A:3, I(b), II(a), III (source note ends 2023, 189:1): nonpublic motion and roll call; minutes; 72-hour disclosure
- RSA 197:23-a: treasurer pays on orders of the board or two empowered members