Participants
Everyone heard or addressed on the recording. Names follow the speakers' own introductions and the project's 2015-2023 roster and attribution report; there are no minutes to check spellings against.
| Name | Role | Participation |
|---|
| Brian Rapp | Chair | Presides; answers the roll as Ryan here in the transcript (0:00:49). Asks about the survey format, the speed of placement reviews (1:00:27), and proposes passing the rental policy now with a new fee scale to follow (2:05:53). |
| Brent Ferland | Member | Called Brant by the chair and staff (1:46:32, 2:27:19). Moves the agenda, minutes, staff nominations and calendar and the nonpublic session; asks about military recruiting, Running Start, Chromebook cycling and the alternative-program proposal; raises a definition of transgender for policy (2:08:09). |
| Michelle Pierce | Member | Answers the roll by name (0:00:49). Presses for an in-district program for students now placed out of district (0:53:18, 1:03:27) and for higher rental charges for large events (1:56:12); moves the policies and seconds the Chromebook and nonpublic motions. |
| Frank Sprague | Member | Answers the roll by name (0:00:49). Asks about the SAT, college classes under the A/B schedule (0:31:28) and the cost of serving placed students in district (1:11:46); moves the Chromebook purchase (0:44:21). Credited by the minute taker with seconding the calendar (2:27:19). |
| Patrick Adrian | Member | Raises a middle-school team left without a bus (0:08:29), workforce data, rental fees for youth leagues (1:49:35) and an inter-district alternative program (1:34:51); seconds the policies. Says he is under the weather (0:44:09). |
| Chris Irish | Member, Absent | Not heard. Pierce: "I actually saw Chris Irish earlier" (0:37:23). |
| Rebecca (Becky) Ferland | Member, Absent | Not heard and not mentioned on the recording. |
| Middleton McGoodwin | Superintendent, SAU 6 | Gives the report, presents the policies, nominations and calendar, and describes district email and online posting of board materials (0:36:53, 0:38:39). |
| Michael O'Neill | Business administrator | Named by the superintendent (0:39:35). Speaks on printing costs, custodial charges for rentals and the out-of-district total. |
| Cory LeClair | SAU 6 administrator (title not stated on this recording) | Explains Chromebook management and log-ins, the property search (1:07:13) and community use of gyms (1:54:18); keeps minutes of the motions (2:27:19). |
| Chris (surname not established) | Special education director, SAU 6 | Thanked by name by the superintendent (0:49:44); says he came into the role on July 1 (0:51:18). Presents out-of-district costs and the alternative-program history. Transcribed once as "Chris Bezos". |
| Ben Nester | Stevens High School administrator, guidance and college planning (title not stated) | Introduced as "be nester" [Ben Nester] (0:16:25); presents the class of 2016 survey and SAT information. |
| Patricia (Pat) Barry | Principal, Stevens High School | Explains survey coverage, SAT participation and alternative-program models visited by staff (1:20:37); suggests a tiered rental form (1:58:27) and student-handbook language on restroom use (2:19:40). |
| Unidentified | Various | 65 of 839 dialogue rows (7.7%): roll-call answers, seconds, votes and short remarks. Two seconds the dialogue file gives to Brent Ferland are counted here (see method note). |
Order of business (reconstructed)
No agenda survives. The list below is reconstructed from the chair's transitions; the chair and staff refer to agenda items by these names.
| Taken up | Item | What was said and done |
|---|
| 0:00:10 | Call to order and Pledge of Allegiance | No agenda survives; the item list is reconstructed from the chair's transitions. |
| 0:00:32 | Roll call | Answers transcribed "Michelle Pierce, Frank Sprague here. And Ryan here." Five members present. |
| 0:00:58 | Agenda | Amended at the superintendent's request: four nominations added, one nonpublic item dropped, and an international exchange program added for information (0:01:04, 0:01:36). Motion Brent Ferland (0:02:17); the second (0:02:23) is labeled Ferland in the dialogue file and treated here as unidentified. Voice vote (0:02:25). |
| 0:02:33 | Approval of minutes | "Motion to approve the minutes as presented." The meeting date is not stated. Second unidentified (labeled Ferland, 0:02:40); voice vote (0:02:46). |
| 0:02:57 | Student representative | "We have no student up tonight." |
| 0:03:00 | Superintendent's report | Pops concert and a music teacher's retirement, class of 2016 events, graduation and alumni weekend, an article on poverty and schools. |
| 0:07:50 | Citizens' comments | No citizen speaks; a member's question to the superintendent about a middle-school bus is taken here (0:08:29). |
| 0:15:50 | Discussion: class of 2016 | Post-graduation survey and SAT; no action. |
| 0:36:45 | Catch the Wave update | "Yes. That's that's all. All set." |
| 0:36:52 | Email addresses | District email accounts issued to members; no action. |
| 0:38:02 | Chromebooks | Motion Sprague (0:44:21), second Pierce (0:44:32), passed by voice vote (0:47:25). |
| 0:47:34 | Joint meeting with the City Council | Tuesday, August 9 chosen over August 23 (0:48:48); time and place "To be announced." |
| 0:49:13 | Out-of-district special education expenses | Director's presentation and discussion; no action. |
| 1:41:37 | Teacher seniority list | Information; no action. |
| 1:48:40 | Policies, second read | Read by the chair as "KF and KF are gb a a BAA dash RGBA dash r2 and IHCA" [building rental and procedures, sexual harassment and its procedures, school violence, summer activities]. Motion Pierce (2:07:28), second Adrian (2:07:56), passed by voice vote (2:08:01); a revised rental fee scale to come back (2:05:53). |
| 2:08:09 | Floor discussion: transgender definition | Raised by a member; no action. The principal offers handbook language. |
| 2:20:49 | International student exchange | Information only. |
| 2:22:12 | Nominations | Four staff nominations. Motion Brent Ferland (2:23:56); no second heard; voice vote (2:25:25). |
| 2:25:31 | Revised 2016-17 calendar | April 21, 2017 becomes a full school day; last day June 12. Motion Brent Ferland (2:27:06), second unidentified (2:27:10) and later credited to Sprague by the minute taker (2:27:19); voice vote (2:27:10). |
| 2:27:33 | Nonpublic session | Motion Brent Ferland under RSA 91-A:3, II, letter transcribed day [read as J], second Pierce, roll call (2:27:47, 2:27:59). The recording ends at 2:28:16. |
Discussion timeline
Times are taken from the dialogue transcript (Dialogue/8433 SchoolBoard060116.mp4.CSV) and link into the recording. Quotations are as transcribed; bracketed words are corrections, with the transcript's wording kept where the correction changes sense.
Chronological topics with the most concrete material first.
| Time | Topic | What was said | Flags |
|---|
| 0:03:03 | Superintendent's report | The Stevens pops concert is "the final concert of Patricia Granter", music teacher for 21 years. Graduation moves to Thursday, June 9, to avoid conflict with the alumni parade (0:04:40). On an NHPR article about schools as safety nets: "Because poverty is not just about our students, it is about our city." He wants the joint meeting with the council to start on it. | |
| 0:08:29 | A team left without a bus | Adrian asks about a middle-school team stranded by a transportation miscommunication. The superintendent: "What we learned was it was a miscommunication. The adults own it." He is still gathering details; Adrian later says "I thought that it was well handled." | |
| 0:17:52 | Class of 2016 survey | Nester: "out of the 118 seniors that we have this year, 80 of completed the survey"; of those, 32 plan a four-year college, "25 students plan to attend a two year school." 21 are first-generation college students and 23 plan to join the workforce. Barry: "we don't have a single graduating senior going into the military". Pierce: "So we have 38 seniors that we don't know what they're doing pretty much." Barry answers that the graduation program lists every student's plans. | |
| 0:19:37 | SAT | Over 100 of 114 juniors took the SAT; state comparison data promised for May 18 has not arrived (0:19:37). Barry: students in the alternative program and absentees were missed, and next year's program contract will tie eligibility to test participation (0:26:28). The survey was on paper; Rapp asks why not online (0:35:02). | |
| 0:36:53 | District email | The superintendent: "So your personal email would not be a part of this process if, in fact, there was a right to know." Pierce has not yet got hers working. | POS |
| 0:38:06 | Chromebooks for members | About $350 each, "about $2,500" for the board. Materials are already online the Friday before (0:38:39). The business administrator puts printing at nine cents a page (0:42:21). Sprague wants the devices available to others when the board is not using them (0:40:33). Motion passed. | POS |
| 0:47:34 | Joint meeting date | The mayor offered two Tuesdays; members pick August 9 because August 23 is "crunch time" before school opens. Start time and place to be announced. | |
| 0:50:20 | Out-of-district placements: costs | The director: four students budgeted plus four move-ins already placed, for which "we become the district of liability": "well over $500,000 in costs". An average placement runs "anywhere from 60 to $80,000". The total: "$2.7 million is what is being spent right now for children to be outside the district." | OBS |
| 0:54:10 | District of liability | Where the state child-welfare agency moves a child between towns, "it is the last district that had that student who ultimately becomes the district of liability all the way through"; the district's special education attorney researched one such case. | |
| 0:57:30 | A cap on court placements | O'Neill: "the court caps it at 50 grand" and "that's the only cap on any of this stuff that exists". See flag 3. | OBS |
| 1:00:27 | How fast a student can come back | Rapp asks how quickly a placement can change; the director: a review starts on arrival, and with family and IEP team agreement "it can move that quickly", within about two weeks. | |
| 1:03:27 | An alternative program and a building | A vendor proposal for a complete program cost "about $750,000". Staff have looked at the house next to the high school, the technical center, a foreclosed property at $50,000 and others; the cost is in bringing a building to code (1:06:09). LeClair lists 169 Main Street, the former GCSI building, the JSL and residential properties, and possible CDBG funding (1:07:13). The superintendent: "I would expect a real estate shingle to be on the saw six building". | |
| 1:12:36 | The program on the third floor | The high school's alternative program "has prevented, two kiddos from going to out of district placement" this year. Sprague asks what serving the eight placed students in district would cost; the answer: "More than what we're spending." Barry describes programs visited in other districts and a modular-building option (1:20:37, 1:23:50). | |
| 1:29:39 | Not unique to Claremont | Manchester "is spending $6.5 million to place 87 kids outside of the district". About 25% of Claremont students are identified for special education, K-12 (1:39:51). | |
| 1:41:38 | Teacher seniority list | The superintendent expects "a large number of faculty retiring at the end of the 1617 school year". Members discuss teachers leaving after three or four years; Rapp: the lower steps "Made it more conducive for teachers to come in and get some experience and head somewhere else to get better pay". | |
| 1:48:43 | Rental fees and a campaign event | The rental policy "is 11 years old". Adrian asks about fees for youth leagues; LeClair says the community center used elementary gyms all year without charge (1:54:18). The superintendent: the invoice to the Trump campaign under the policy was $240. Pierce wants larger events charged more; Brent Ferland: "who decides who pays more? Who pays less?" Barry proposes a tiered rental form (1:58:27). Second read passed with a new scale to follow. | |
| 2:08:09 | Defining transgender in policy | Brent Ferland asks whether the board should adopt a definition. The superintendent: the administration handles it "by dealing with it on a case by case basis" and "it's working". Barry points to single-entry restrooms and suggests student-handbook language on expectations (2:19:40); the superintendent: "And legally a student handbook really is policy." No action. | |
| 2:22:15 | Staff nominations | Four nominations: a Stevens High School teacher (transcribed "Carol English, teacher at Stevens High School"), Brian Thomas (grade 3, Bluff), Dawn Cummings (special education, Bluff) and Tyler Cederberg (guidance, replacing Rebecca Roseman). Sprague asks about drug testing; the superintendent says criminal record checks under Senate Bill 152 take effect "60 days after it was passed", and "in July that will go into effect". That matches 2016, 117:1, effective July 19, 2016 (RSA 189:13-a, source note). | OBS |
| 2:25:31 | Calendar revision | April 21, 2017 becomes a regular school day instead of a conference day because "the collective bargaining agreement specifies one parent teacher conference"; the last day of school moves to June 12 (2:26:07). | OBS |
| 2:27:33 | Nonpublic session | Roll call answers include "Frank Sprague. Yes." The superintendent: "We could do it in the hall. Very brief." | MED OBS |
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 June 1, 2016, or is labeled an observation where no verified rule applies.
MEDIUM No agenda, packet or minutes for this meeting survive in any district share
MAP.md records no Drive material: the district's shares hold no year folder older than 2022, and the Meeting Minutes share starts at 2023. The recording shows the records existed. The superintendent told the board "We have the we have our, minutes, our agenda, our backup information on, on the website." and that "generally it's on the website the Friday before" (0:38:39). Cory LeClair was keeping minutes of the motions and said so: "I'm sorry. I'm not good at minutes. Brant, you made the motion." (2:27:19). Members also worked from green, pink and nomination handouts (0:17:24, 2:25:31, 0:01:04). None of it is public now.
RSA 91-A:2, II, in the text in force in 2016, required minutes with "names of members, persons appearing before the public bodies, and a brief description of the subject matter discussed and final decisions", open to inspection "not more than 5 business days after the meeting"; nonpublic minutes fell under RSA 91-A:3, III's 72-hour rule unless sealed by a recorded two-thirds vote. This page applies the MEDIUM limb of the project's severity rule because the recording itself shows the minutes being kept and the documents being posted at the time; what is missing is a surviving public copy.
Sources: RSA 91-A:2, II (2015 codification; in force through 2016); RSA 91-A:3, III (2015 codification)
OBSERVATION Nonpublic session under RSA 91-A:3, II(j), a ground that in 2016 reached only adjudicative proceedings
Amending the agenda, the superintendent dropped one of two planned nonpublic items: "You're not going to need to go into nonpublic for RSA 91 A three, two C only three to J." (0:01:04). At the end the chair asked "Did you have a quick nonpublic, RSA 91832 J." and Brent Ferland moved "pursuant to RSA 91 a three two day" (2:27:33, 2:27:47), which this page reads as II(j) in light of the agenda change; Pierce seconded and members answered a roll call (2:27:53, 2:27:59 to 2:28:06). The recording ends seconds later.
As it read on June 1, 2016, II(j) covered "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." Nothing on the recording identifies an adjudicative proceeding before the board, and the subject is never stated. II(d) (acquisition, sale or lease of property) would have fit the property search discussed earlier that evening, but no one cites it. The motion stated a letter on its face and the vote was by roll call, as I(b) requires; whether II(j) fit the matter cannot be judged without the minutes, which do not survive.
Sources: RSA 91-A:3, I(b), II(d), II(j), III (2015 codification; source note ends 2015, 270:2 and 105:1, eff. Jan. 1, 2016; the next amendment took effect June 21, 2016)
OBSERVATION The board was told the only cap on placement costs applies to court placements; the chapter cited governs insurance
On out-of-district special education costs (0:51:18 to 1:11:44), the director reported that four budgeted placements plus four students who moved in already placed put the district "well over $500,000 in costs", and that total out-of-district spending was $2.7 million (1:11:35, 1:11:38). The business administrator then said that for court placements "the court caps it at 50 grand, so that if it's more than that, the state takes over under under under RSA 402" and "that's the only cap on any of this stuff that exists" (0:57:30, 0:57:52).
Two problems for a reviewer. RSA chapter 402 is "Insurance Companies and Agents", so the citation is either a transcription error or a misstatement; this page did not identify the provision he meant. And the three-and-a-half-times figure he used matches RSA 186-C:18, III, which in 2016 made the state liable for 80 percent of any child's special education costs above 3 1/2 times the state average per-pupil expenditure, up to 10 times, prorated when the appropriation fell short. That catastrophic aid is not limited to court placements, and the superintendent had described it to the board two weeks earlier (May 18, 2016 page). The board left this discussion with an incomplete account of the state's share.
Sources: RSA 186-C:18, III (2016 codification; source note ends 2011, 224:227); RSA chapter 402 (Insurance Companies and Agents), table of contents
OBSERVATION Seconds credited to the mover, missing, or fixed after the vote
On the agenda and the minutes the dialogue file gives the second to the member who made the motion (0:02:17 and 0:02:23; 0:02:34 and 0:02:40); a member cannot second his own motion, and the project's corrections ledger marks both seconds as Unidentified. On the four staff nominations no second is heard at all between the motion (2:23:56) and the vote (2:25:25). On the calendar, the seconder was settled after the vote by the staff member keeping minutes (2:27:19).
In 2016 RSA 91-A:2, II did not yet require minutes to name the mover and seconder (that sentence took effect January 1, 2019), so no statute is engaged. The point is the reliability of the record: with no minutes surviving, the recording is the only source, and on three motions it does not settle who seconded.
Sources: RSA 91-A:2, II (2015 codification; minutes content without a mover/seconder requirement)
POSITIVE Meeting materials posted online before meetings, and district email accounts for members
The superintendent described agenda, minutes and backup material as normally posted on the website the Friday before each meeting (0:38:39), and members had just been given district email accounts at the chair's suggestion of May 18, so that "your personal email would not be a part of this process if, in fact, there was a right to know" (0:36:53). RSA 91-A:2, II in 2016 required minutes to be open to inspection, not posted online; the website-posting paragraph did not yet exist. Posting in advance went beyond the minimum.
One qualification. RSA 91-A:1-a, III defines governmental records as "any information created, accepted, or obtained by, or on behalf of, any public body", and IV reaches information "in whatever physical form kept or maintained". Board business conducted on a personal account is still a governmental record. District accounts make those records easier to find and produce; they keep personal email out of a request only if members stop using it for board business.
Sources: RSA 91-A:2, II (2015 codification); RSA 91-A:1-a, III and IV (2015 codification; source note ends 2008, 354:1)
Appendix: source files
Official and public sources
- Cablecast: SCHOOL BOARD MEETING 6-1-16 (show 8433; run time from the Cablecast API not retrieved, the API returned 403 on 2026-10-02)
- Google Drive: no packet folder, agenda or minutes. MAP.md: "neither share holds a year folder older than 2022, and the Meeting Minutes share starts at 2023 (checked 9/26/26)." Not searched again for this page, per the run instructions for meetings with no Drive material.
Project files
Working files this page was built from. The dialogue file is linked; the others are not published with the page.
Dialogue/8433 SchoolBoard060116.mp4.CSV (839 attributed rows; the basis of this page)Input/Videos/8433 SchoolBoard060116.mp4Input/Transcripts/8433 SchoolBoard060116.mp4.jsonInput/SupportingDocuments/MAP.md, section 10Scripts/attribution_reports_2015_2023/8433 SchoolBoard060116.mp4.md (speaker attribution report)Scripts/csv_corrections_2015_2023.md (corrections ledger; entry for rows 12 and 18)
Laws and rules cited on this page
- RSA 91-A:1-a, III and IV, 2015 codification (source note ends 2008, 354:1): definitions of governmental records and information
- RSA 91-A:2, II, 2015 codification (source note ends 2008, 303:4; in force until Jan. 1, 2017): minutes content and five-business-day inspection; no mover/seconder or website-posting requirement
- RSA 91-A:3, I(b), II(d), II(j), III, 2015 codification (in force until the June 21, 2016 amendment): nonpublic motion and roll call; property and adjudicative-proceeding grounds; 72-hour disclosure
- RSA 186-C:18, III, 2016 codification (source note ends 2011, 224:227): catastrophic special education aid
- RSA 189:13-a, 2016 codification (source note ends 2016, 117:1, eff. July 19, 2016): criminal history records checks
- RSA chapter 402: Insurance Companies and Agents (cited on the recording; table of contents only)