| 0:02:03 | New city manager | McNutt toured Stevens High School with "Assistant Superintendent Corey LeClair" and praises its condition after the renovation: "you got a lot for your money". "I started here in February 1st. I live up here in Claremont now." (0:03:38) | |
| 0:04:20 | Hospital screening rates | The mayor reports that the hospital's pediatric office has been trained on screening one- and two-year-olds: "They've, I think, doubled their screening rates at this point." | |
| 0:05:18 | School lead-screening policy | Rapp: the board held the first read of its new screening policy, "the green sheet", and is "scheduled for our second read" (0:05:58). The superintendent: school nurses and Valley Regional's medical staff reviewed it, and the requirement now covers children "entering pre-kindergarten" as well as kindergarten (0:06:39). "According to the state, we are the first district in New Hampshire that is has a school district policy." (0:07:37) | POS |
| 0:08:54 | Paying for tests | The mayor: the Claremont Newport Healthy Homes Committee has funding that might cover the cost of tests at kindergarten or pre-K registration. | |
| 0:09:36 | Abatement grants and receivership | McNutt: HUD is releasing lead-abatement grants to states, and the city intends to partner with New Hampshire Housing Finance. On blighted property, he describes court-appointed receivers, a provision "we have not been able to identify in the RSA, this receivership provision that basically 49 other states have" (0:11:50), and thanks Representative Gauthier for working on legislation. | |
| 0:14:27 | SB 247 in the Senate | Cloutier: "the state Senate has passed a bill, Senate Bill 247, sponsored by Senator Fells [Feltes] of Concord". The mayor understands the Senate is hearing it that day; Cloutier: "I may be wrong." | |
| 0:15:42 | Southwestern Community Services | Thibeault: all Head Start children are tested, and the agency has run home rehabilitation, including lead abatement, for 20 years. "You know, less than 20% of children get tested." (0:17:28) He estimates "over 1000 children to get poisoned annually" statewide (0:17:51) and refers to the bill as "House Bill 247" [SB 247]. | |
| 0:20:35 | Who can get the money | To the question whether homeowners qualify, McNutt: "both residential homeowners are eligible as well as investor landlord owners"; an investor owner has "a 10% match, but it's still the chance to have 90% of the cost covered" (0:20:50). Applications can go to him or to Southwestern Community Services. | |
| 0:27:39 | Landlords' fear of liability | Irish asks what protects an owner who comes forward. Thibeault: there is generally no enforcement unless a poisoned child lives in the unit, and "It's probably less than $15,000 a unit to abate an apartment." (0:29:20) | |
| 0:30:24 | Certified contractors | Irish: of about 50 contractor friends he knows one who is certified (0:31:58). McNutt: his previous department in Massachusetts got "$3.2 million" and trained a pool of contractors; he plans a Claremont application in a later round (0:32:08). | |
| 0:33:34 | Valley Regional Hospital screening | Wright: a grant-funded point-of-care finger-stick device is in the pediatrics practice, with a second pending. "And 50% of the screenings in the trailing 12 months had been done in December and January" (0:36:27) after providers were retrained. He cannot release positive rates, which go to the state (0:37:06). | |
| 0:38:31 | SB 247 fiscal note | The mayor: "the Senate did pass the bill, SB 247 17 to 6", then referred it to Finance over a fiscal note of "$3 million in each year" (0:38:58). She urged the senator to keep at least universal testing: "less than 60% of one year olds are being tested, and less than 30% of two year olds are being tested." (0:39:32) | |
| 0:43:04 | Child care provider training | The mayor is planning a training day for child care providers on April 11 or 13 and will ask whether the Buckley Room is available. | |
| 0:44:13 | Reaching property owners | Adrian recalls city findings three years earlier about owners' misinformation. Wright and McNutt describe public-education campaigns and door-to-door canvassing of pre-1978 housing (0:48:25). | |
| 0:52:54 | Testing during city inspections | Rapp suggests testing older multifamily properties during city inspections, "If it could be done by ordinance, require that." (0:55:01). The mayor: unless state law changes, "the most you could do is it's for information purposes" (0:53:59), and the city could send letters with quarterly tax bills. McNutt: any language "should be more of the May instead of the shell" [may / shall] (0:57:03). | |
| 0:58:42 | Lead next steps | School board: second read of the policy. Council: possible ordinance language later, the child care training, and a June presentation on lead in garden soil by the county's natural resources director (1:02:23). The superintendent expects the pre-K program "fully operational within the next month" (1:00:54). | |
| 1:03:29 | The Claremont lawsuit | Connair: "And March 1989, 28 years ago this month, the Claremont School Board voted to begin the process" (1:06:24). For every dollar Claremont raises, Lebanon would raise four and Waterville Valley "22 times that" (1:08:27). "So we spend $16,000 per roughly 16, 17 per student." (1:09:09) The 1993 decision held the state must "guarantee adequate funding" (1:11:11). | |
| 1:14:09 | State share of school costs | Connair: New Hampshire is "close to 50th in the nation in terms of state monies given to education". The state's adequacy amount: "we'll give you $3,600 and then maybe some extra" (1:23:15). A coalition of the four lawyers and the original districts is to meet again soon (1:23:49). | |
| 1:24:13 | Why a joint discussion | The mayor: school funding affects growth and the city's image. Rapp: city and school are "fighting over the same funding", and the state funds special education poorly: "I think we're getting 60% of what we're supposed to from the state." (1:26:14) | OBS |
| 1:27:57 | Superintendent: pay gaps and fixed costs | A smaller nearby district: "Their budget is $10 million more." (1:28:33) Starting pay in bordering communities is "6 to $10,000" higher (1:28:38). The district "receives $5.8 million in a grant from the state" that "is going to be reduced to $0" (1:30:03). Fixed-cost increases since 2012 of "approximately $590,000" against combined budgets that "have increased $64,000" from 2015-16 to 2016-17 (1:31:20). | OBS |
| 1:34:57 | HB 525 | The mayor: the bill "has been retained in committee and they're going to be studying it. Meanwhile, we're still losing 4%." (1:35:06) Gauthier: "I think that the legislature is in contempt of court." (1:35:22) | OBS |
| 1:36:43 | SB 193 voucher bill | The superintendent reads from his document: the "adequacy aid reduction to 4%, if left unchecked over the next 18 or so years, will take over $5 million". "Senate Bill 193 is a voucher bill" (1:37:14). He will testify "next Tuesday, April 4th" (1:37:47) and estimates 25,000 eligible students at "$3,000 each. That's $75 million." (1:38:17) | |
| 1:40:00 | Vouchers and the funding formula | Irish: "We are in serious trouble"; if the state had "fully funded the formula. We would have never had a Claremont lawsuit" (1:40:16); "It's not about education, it's about money" (1:42:26). | |
| 1:47:06 | Home-school oversight | Pope asks who certifies home schools. Damren: standards were lowered over the last five years (1:48:00). The superintendent: once the district is notified, "accountability is not there" (1:49:02). Pope asks whether a family that returns to public school keeps the money; the superintendent: "I can't answer." (1:49:49) | |
| 1:51:10 | Stabilization-grant phase-out | Adrian: when the state phased out the stabilization grants, "there wasn't any any legislative decision or any change in the law to my understanding" (1:52:05); "how is this not grounds for a lawsuit?" (1:52:50). Connair: "I have to spend more time looking" (1:53:03). | OBS |
| 1:54:27 | Connair on vouchers, taxes and court | "the voucher program initiative in itself isn't dangerous" but it would take "what little money we have here" (1:54:53). He argues an income tax "properly crafted and passed" could lower most residents' overall burden (1:56:12), calls the case "the Brown versus Board of Education on a state level" (1:59:05), and says the coalition will consider whether "to go back yet one more time" (2:01:11). | |
| 2:02:19 | Cloutier on aid bills | HB 597, to restore adequacy aid cut in 2011, "only failed by 21 votes a few weeks ago" (2:02:32); he also supports the retained bill. Jaffrey's rate against Claremont's: "We have $42 per thousand" (2:04:42). "I am absolutely opposed to Senate Bill 193." (2:04:59) | |
| 2:06:34 | Who cut the stabilization grant | The superintendent ties the change to a cap struck down in what "I believe it was called the Dover case" (2:07:06), "in September 2016" (2:07:37). Asked whom residents should write to, Connair lists board members, legislators, the council and the governor and agrees to draft language the bodies can reuse (2:11:28). | OBS |
| 2:12:46 | Coalitions and charter schools | Pope asks for an update on a letter from a Northfield and Franklin coalition sent in January, and distinguishes public from private charter schools (2:13:42). The mayor: the city will send Connair its HB 525 work. | |
| 2:15:00 | Testimony in Concord | The mayor and the superintendent testified on HB 525; he will testify on SB 193 on Tuesday, and residents may send him letters to submit (2:15:51). | |
| 2:20:21 | SB 247 passes | The mayor reads a note from Gail, the state lead program trainer: "SB 247 passed the Senate 15 to 7." The earlier report at 0:38:31 gave 17 to 6; the two tallies are not reconciled on the record. | |
| 2:21:28 | Next joint meeting | After weighing the last week of June, the bodies settle on Thursday, June 22 (2:22:22). The mayor: the June presentation "will be coming from judge" and "the topic will be childhood poverty and how it's affecting Claremont" (2:23:05). | |