Participants
Everyone heard or addressed on the recording. There are no minutes to check spellings against, so names follow the recording and the project's 2015-2023 roster; where a name rests on a single transcribed mention or on the roster alone, the participation cell says so. Students are described by role, not named.
| Name | Role | Participation |
|---|
| Brian Rapp | Chair | Calls the meeting to order (0:00:10), answers the roll as "Brian Roth" [Rapp] (0:00:53), runs every item and calls each vote; addressed as "Mr. Chairman" (2:18:33). Adds the Maple Avenue traffic item. The dialogue file labels the adjournment call at 2:33:31 as Frank Sprague; it is the chair's function and this page treats it as Rapp's (see the method footer). |
| Chris Irish | Vice Chair | Questions the robotics team, speaks at length on adverse childhood experiences and support groups, asks for an itemized accounting of the camera estimate, and asks for graduate follow-up data. Identified by content: Adrian credits Chris with the support-group point (1:04:04). Vice chair per the project roster. |
| Frank Sprague | Member | Opens his turn with "Frank, just." (0:49:03); addressed as "Mr. Sprague" (2:19:38). Moves the amended agenda, the program of studies and the National Honor Society fundraiser; adds "With thanks and regret" to the resignations motion. |
| Rebecca Zullo | Member | The superintendent says "I agree with Rebecca" (0:48:13) after her remarks. Presses for district-wide training on trauma, asks what "door access" means, and argues teachers lack time for technology training. |
| Patrick Adrian | Member | Thanked for volunteering at the prom grand march (0:08:03); the technology integrationist answers "Patrick, to get to your question" (1:39:49). Asks for the trauma topic on the joint city-school agenda and questions the 27-credit diploma. |
| Michelle Pierce | Member | Answers the roll (0:00:53); recognized by the chair (0:56:36). Notes that other counselors accept state funding and insurance, and says the subject is personal to her family. Moves to come out of nonpublic session (1:20:54). |
| Michael Petrin | Member | The roll call includes Michael (0:00:53). This voice is assigned to Petrin by elimination only (low confidence, per the attribution report). Seconds the National Honor Society motion (2:33:03) and asks about the number of students involved. |
| Middleton McGoodwin | Superintendent, SAU 6 | Superintendent's report; proposes the agenda changes, introduces the trauma and special-education presentations, recommends the nonpublic session and the food-service meeting date, and presents the two resignations. |
| Cory LeClair | Assistant Superintendent, SAU 6 | Adds the National Honor Society item; describes the community film series, a grant the district did not win, and the System of Care grant; presents the fundraiser on the advisor's behalf. Title per the project roster. |
| Chris (surname not established) | Special education director | Presents the five-year comparison of out-of-district costs. Introduced by the superintendent as "Chris Bezos" (1:04:08) and earlier "Chris Bezel"; neither spelling is verified and this page does not adopt one. |
| Josh Malloy | Director of instructional technology | Introduced by the superintendent (1:21:27); answers the board's eight follow-up questions from May 3 on cameras, door access, spending and outcomes. |
| Charlie Gessner | Technology integrationist | Introduced with Malloy; describes the K-12 technology curriculum and staff training. Spelling of the surname is unverified. |
| Patricia (Pat) Barry | Principal, Stevens High School | Introduced as "Pat Barry, principal of Stephen [Stevens] High School" (1:55:47). Presents the 2017-18 program of studies. |
| Melanie Williams | Clinical supervisor, TLC Family Resource Center | Self-identified (0:34:50). Presents on adverse childhood experiences and trauma-informed practice. |
| Student representative (surname Lovett) | Student representative, Stevens High School | Gives the student report (0:04:01) and asks whether she may attend the nonpublic session (1:19:09). The dialogue file names her Mary Ann Lovett; the superintendent's words are transcribed Marion and Marianne, so the first-name spelling is not settled. |
| Rogue Robotics mentor and four students | Guests (SeaPerch team) | A mentor describes the club (0:12:39); four students present their underwater robot before the national competition. The students are minors and are not named here. |
| Unidentified | Various | 89 of 812 dialogue rows (11.0%): seconds, aye votes, the clerk's roll call and crosstalk. The roll caller is not named on the recording. |
Order of business (reconstructed)
No agenda survives. The superintendent says he "emailed the agenda last week" (1:56:03) and refers to item numbers ("Roman numerals six B", 0:31:13; "seven be", 2:18:33); the items below are reconstructed from the chair's transitions, in the order taken.
| Taken up | Item | What was said and done |
|---|
| 0:00:10 | Call to order, pledge, roll call | Partial roll call: "Irish. Here." ... "Michelle Pierce here. Thanks, Greg [Frank]. Here." ... "And Brian Roth [Rapp] here." |
| 0:01:01 | Agenda | Floor amendments: the superintendent adds two resignations and moves the robotics, trauma, special-education and nonpublic items up (0:01:10); the chair adds Maple Avenue pick-up traffic (0:02:27); the assistant superintendent adds a National Honor Society fundraiser as an action item (0:02:53). Sprague: "I move, we accept the agenda as amended." (0:02:22). A second is heard (0:03:24); voice vote, no opposition heard. |
| 0:03:25 | Minutes of the previous meeting | Motion and second (the transcript reads "Accept a second.", 0:03:41); voice vote, no opposition heard. The date of the minutes is not stated. |
| 0:03:55 | Student representative's report | Stevens events, test results and awards. |
| 0:07:31 | Superintendent's report | Student events; the Abbey Group's tour of the schools ahead of the food-service decision; the trauma topic. |
| 0:11:57 | Citizens' comments | "Anybody for citizens comments." No one speaks; the chair closes the period (0:12:12). |
| 0:12:12 | Discussion: Rogue Robotics | SeaPerch team presentation before the national competition at Georgia Tech. |
| 0:31:11 | Discussion: adverse childhood experiences | Presentation by Melanie Williams of TLC; board discussion. No action. |
| 1:04:08 | Discussion: special education, out-of-district costs | Five-year comparison and capacity concerns. No action. |
| 1:15:37 | Nonpublic session | Recommended by the superintendent (1:15:40). Chair: "I'll take that motion. 91, a Roman numeral two. See?" [RSA 91-A:3, II(c)] (1:20:01); "Second roll call, please." (1:20:09); a series of Yes answers, individual voters not identifiable (1:20:18). Out of nonpublic on Pierce's motion and a voice vote (1:20:54, 1:20:59). |
| 1:21:27 | Instructional technology follow-up | Answers to the eight questions from the May 3 presentation. No action. |
| 1:55:45 | Action: Stevens High School program of studies, 2017-18 | Sprague: "that we accept the programing studies as presented." (2:18:15); second by an unidentified member (2:18:19); voice vote, no opposition heard (2:18:21). |
| 2:18:33 | Date for the food-service presentation | Set for Wednesday, May 31 at 6:30, subject to the business administrator's confirmation by email (2:21:44, 2:21:55). No formal vote. |
| 2:23:40 | Action: resignations | Two Stevens High School faculty: a mathematics teacher and a guidance counselor. An unidentified member: "We can accept the resolutions [resignations]." (2:24:14); Sprague: "With. With thanks and regret." (2:24:17); voice vote (2:24:20). |
| 2:24:25 | Maple Avenue traffic | Discussion; the superintendent will raise it with the police chief (2:25:58). No action. |
| 2:27:59 | Action: National Honor Society fundraiser | Sprague: "I move that, we approve of that." (2:33:01); Petrin: Second. (2:33:03); voice vote (2:33:07). |
| 2:33:22 | Adjournment | "No other business." Motion and second are fragmentary (2:33:27, 2:33:27); "All right, all in favor? I close." (2:33:31). |
Discussion timeline
Times are taken from the dialogue transcript (Dialogue/9098 SchoolBoard051717.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 |
|---|
| 0:04:01 | Student representative's report | Stevens events: a Saint-Gaudens art exhibit opening May 19, underclassmen awards May 22, a business-club fundraiser for its national convention, Shrek the Musical May 25-28, and the first student-led extended learning opportunity presentations. The student report lists individual students' scores and awards; they are not repeated here. | |
| 0:07:34 | Superintendent's report | Thanks Adrian and Pierce for representing the board at the prom grand march. "last week we had the Abbey group do a tour of our schools", ahead of a presentation "as we move forward to make a decision regarding food service for the 2017 2018 school year" (0:09:00, 0:09:28). Trauma is "a very, very important topic that we need to have in preparation for preparing the budget, as well as have publicly as well as privately and not public" (0:09:55). | OBS |
| 0:12:17 | Rogue Robotics SeaPerch team | The mentor: about 18 middle-school members plus a high-school Vex team; the trip needed about $3,000 and "we now have about 700 that we need to continue to fundraise" (0:16:07). The students describe the robot's design (sealed frame, adjustable syringes for buoyancy, motor fairings). "We beat out a Navy prep school and underwater robotics." (0:30:38). | |
| 0:31:24 | Adverse childhood experiences: the superintendent's framing | "we have a small number of children who have very important and specific needs"; "it's time to talk about this publicly" (0:32:41); "this is about tonight as one of the bricks that we are building as we develop future budgetary decisions" (0:33:12). He introduces Melanie Williams and Lisa Draper of TLC. | |
| 0:34:50 | TLC presentation | Williams, a licensed clinical mental health counselor: "67% of people who were surveyed in this, a study had at least one adverse childhood experience" (0:35:51); more than 60 people attended a screening of the film Resilience; TLC and West Central offer trauma-informed services. | |
| 0:41:41 | Board response | Zullo: "I'm glad that our school district is actually starting to discuss it out in the open." Irish says he was conflicted about schools taking on social issues, then speaks of his own childhood experience (0:42:49). LeClair describes the district's community film series (0:45:50). Irish and Rapp ask whether the films can be streamed on the district website (0:47:44, 0:48:00). | |
| 0:49:03 | Who provides the help | Sprague: effective intervention requires "a specific skill set"; "I worry about relying too much on West Central. I've seen a lot of people whose particular insurance situations prevent them from accessing that." (0:51:13). LeClair: a technical-assistance grant was denied because the district needs "a multi-tiered system of support for behaviors" (0:52:06); a System of Care project manager has started and a social worker post will follow (0:54:01). | |
| 0:54:31 | Therapeutic schools and the joint meeting | Adrian: out-of-district schools "are really expensive. But sometimes they're better for those students." (0:56:08). He asks to put the topic "onto the agenda for the joint to the city and board" (1:02:27). | |
| 1:04:53 | Out-of-district special education costs | The special education director's five-year comparison: 2017 "estimated at this point to come in about 2.1 million as compared to last year at 2.5 million"; 2.1 million in 2015 and 2.2 million in 2014. About 25% of students, "about 400 kids", are identified for special education; "about 150, 200 of those kids were experiencing some sort of trauma" (1:07:30). Between 5 and 7 students are "extremely at risk" and placements are full statewide (1:08:44, 1:09:11). "what we're talking about here is containment versus education" (1:09:42). | OBS |
| 1:11:15 | District of liability and a shared program | Disputes with other districts over which is liable for students who move; the director reports "a pretty significant win" on a placement costing about $120,000 a year (1:13:31). Talks with Newport about a joint program for the fall (1:14:29); bringing a building "up to educational code" can cost "anywhere from a quarter million to a half million dollars" (1:17:51). Irish asks about working with Springfield, Vermont. | |
| 1:15:40 | Into nonpublic | The superintendent: "I would like to spend a few minutes in nonpublic with our building principals"; "we're not going to be talking about children's names with you"; the purpose includes "the direction that we anticipate heading in the near future through the budget process" (1:16:06). The student representative asks to attend (1:19:09); the superintendent: "it might be best if you not participate in that" (1:19:33). Motion citing RSA 91-A:3, II(c), roll call, and the board returns at 1:20:53. The chair: "this is going to be a conversation that that comes back" (1:20:59). | MED OBS |
| 1:21:27 | Technology follow-up: security plan | Malloy: phones and intercoms for "Dessner [Disnard] Maple Bluff" last year; "This building and the middle school" on this year's warrant article; cameras and door access for Stevens, the technical center and CMS in 2018-19 and the elementary schools in 2019-20 (1:22:22, 1:22:44). Irish: "I definitely would love to see a line item accounting for what that 166 is going to equal." (1:25:41). | |
| 1:26:12 | Camera wiring and the renovation | Irish: "all the wiring for new cameras and doors was supposed to be done during the renovation." (1:26:25). Malloy: "There's no cables going anywhere for cameras right now." (1:26:48). Rapp: "That doesn't sound right at all." (1:27:04). The superintendent recalls that "certain ticket items were compromised because of funding" and will report back (1:27:36). | OBS |
| 1:28:24 | Technology spending and outcomes | On the question "wears $1 million" [where is the $1 million]: "I looked really hard to find one year of $1 million of purchases, and I couldn't find that"; the asset list covers 2011-2016 (1:28:53). The district runs "900 laptops, desktops and servers all together, and 625 Chromebooks" (1:29:47). A staff survey in progress: 89.2% say technology enhances their teaching (1:33:19). | POS |
| 1:39:49 | Curriculum and staff training | Gessner: technology was not used across the curriculum "three to four years ago"; staff turnover means "It's like taking one step forward, two steps back sometimes" (1:50:18). Zullo on teachers' time; Gessner asks for training time inside the school day (1:53:06). | |
| 1:55:47 | Program of studies, 2017-18 | Barry: a new cover statement says that if the handbook conflicts with policy "the Claremont School policy will govern and the administration reserves the right to revise the handbook program of studies at any time without notice" (1:56:49). Three diplomas: 20, 23 and 27 credits (1:58:09); social studies reduced from four credits to 3.5, "We did reduce our social studies staff by one this year" (1:58:36). AP exams are now "expecting" rather than required; the fee is "now up to 92" (2:03:13). | OBS |
| 2:07:36 | Why 27 credits | Adrian compares Lebanon's program of studies. Barry: the 27-credit diploma "is not for everybody" (2:10:49). Irish asks for follow-up data on whether graduates were prepared (2:12:40). | |
| 2:18:15 | Program of studies accepted | Motion by Sprague, second, voice vote. | |
| 2:18:39 | Food-service presentation date | Two vendors, "Abby Group and one is Fresh Pix Cafe"; Fresh Picks "didn't see the need to come in again" (2:22:38). Sprague: "The bidding closes on the 23rd." (2:21:16). Settled on May 31 at 6:30 (2:21:55). | |
| 2:23:44 | Two resignations | A Stevens mathematics teacher ("having a change in career") and "one of our three guidance counselors" (2:23:58). Accepted with thanks and regret. | |
| 2:24:29 | Maple Avenue pick-up traffic | Rapp: parents in the pick-up line speed down Sims Street; "A little girl two houses down has almost been hit a couple times." (2:25:42). Irish: speed control falls "under the city, the traffic committee's jurisdiction more than the school" (2:26:55). The superintendent will call the police chief and report back (2:26:42). | |
| 2:28:03 | National Honor Society shantytown fundraiser | An overnight homelessness-awareness fundraiser, now with service at the Claremont Soup Kitchen; "the money raised will be split between the National Honor Society and our one for all space" so it goes "back to our students and families" (2:28:42, 2:29:09). Staff on duty and police surveillance overnight (2:31:17). Approved. | |
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 May 17, 2017, or is labeled an observation where no verified rule applies.
MEDIUM No agenda, packet, minutes or nonpublic 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 is the only public account of the program-of-studies approval, the two resignations and the special-education figures, and it carries no record at all of the nonpublic session. RSA 91-A:2, II, in the text in force in 2017, required minutes including "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". RSA 91-A:3, III required minutes of a nonpublic session to be kept and disclosed "within 72 hours of the meeting" unless sealed by a recorded two-thirds vote in public session; no such vote is heard on the tape.
This page applies the MEDIUM limb of the project's severity rule because the record mitigates the gap: the board approves the previous meeting's minutes on tape (0:03:25), the superintendent says he emailed the agenda (1:56:03), and members work from a packet (1:21:27). Minutes and agendas were being produced in 2017. The 2017 statute required them to be open to inspection, not posted online; what is missing is any public copy now.
Sources: RSA 91-A:2, II (2016 codification, in force for 2017; source note ends 2016, 29:1, eff. Jan. 1, 2017); RSA 91-A:3, III (2016 codification: 72-hour disclosure; two-thirds vote to withhold)
OBSERVATION The stated purpose of the nonpublic session reached past the exemption the motion cited
The motion cited RSA 91-A:3, II(c) (1:20:01), and a roll-call vote followed (1:20:18), which is what paragraph I(b) requires. II(c) covers "Matters which, if discussed in public, would likely affect adversely the reputation of any person, other than a member of the public body itself". The superintendent's stated reason fits part of that: building principals would describe situations in their schools, and "Because of the size of the community" students could be recognized (1:15:40). He also said the session would cover "the direction that we anticipate heading in the near future through the budget process" (1:16:06), and earlier described the topic as one to take up "publicly as well as privately and not public" in preparation for the budget (0:09:55). Budget direction is not a II(c) matter, and paragraph I(c) confines nonpublic discussion "to the matters set out in the motion".
What was said behind closed doors is not on the recording and no nonpublic minutes survive, so the page cannot say whether the discussion stayed within II(c). The chair's report on returning (1:20:59) describes no decision. This is an observation about a stated purpose, not a finding about the session.
Sources: RSA 91-A:3, I(b), I(c), II(c) (2016 codification, in force for 2017)
OBSERVATION Members believed the Stevens renovation included interior camera wiring; the technology director found none
Irish said the wiring "for new cameras and doors was supposed to be done during the renovation" (1:26:25) and Rapp, who was "here for the this whole conversation", understood that "everything was going to be wired" (1:27:04). The technology director reported "There's no cables going anywhere for cameras right now" (1:26:48). The superintendent recalled that some items "were compromised because of funding" and undertook to come back with specifics (1:27:36). Meanwhile the security plan puts cameras and door access for Stevens in 2018-19, and Irish asked for a line-item accounting of a figure he called "that 166" (1:25:41). Whether the renovation's scope was reduced, and whether the board was told, would be in the renovation records and later minutes, neither of which is available. No rule is engaged; this is a question the record leaves open.
Sources: Cablecast: SCHOOL BOARD MEETING 5-17-17; Dialogue/9098 SchoolBoard051717.mp4.CSV (rows 349 to 374)
OBSERVATION The special education director told the board some students were being "contained" rather than educated
Describing 5 to 7 students the district considers "extremely at risk", the director said "what we're talking about here is containment versus education. And so for a lot of these students, we're we're containing them, but we're not we're not educating them" (1:09:42), and that out-of-district placements across the state are full (1:08:44). Federal law requires that "A free appropriate public education is available to all children with disabilities" in the state, and that children with disabilities be educated with nondisabled children "To the maximum extent appropriate". The director's account is a candid description of capacity, not an admission tied to any particular child, and the board was told the district was planning a shared program with Newport (1:14:29). It is flagged because it is the district's own statement that its current arrangements fall short of educating some students, made in the same meeting in which out-of-district spending was presented as falling (2.1 million estimated for 2017 against 2.5 million the year before, 1:04:53).
Sources: 20 U.S.C. §1412(a)(1)(A) (free appropriate public education) and §1412(a)(5)(A) (least restrictive environment)
OBSERVATION The approved program of studies reserves to the administration a right to revise it "at any time without notice"
The board accepted the 2017-18 program of studies "as presented" (2:18:15). Its new cover statement, read by the principal, provides that the district's policy governs any conflict and that "the administration reserves the right to revise the handbook program of studies at any time without notice" (1:56:49). The principal explained the purpose as keeping the document current when policies change (1:57:16). The effect is that the document the board approved in public may later differ from the one in force, without a further board vote or public notice. No statute verified for this page governs program-of-studies approval, so this is an observation. Board policy on handbook approval, if any, would settle it.
Sources: Cablecast: SCHOOL BOARD MEETING 5-17-17; Dialogue/9098 SchoolBoard051717.mp4.CSV (rows 498, 499 and 583)
POSITIVE Staff came back with written answers to every question members raised two weeks earlier
The superintendent put in the packet "eight items that came from the May 3rd presentation", the board's own questions and comments, and brought the technology director back to answer them (1:21:27). The director answered each in turn, including a plain negative on the board's "$1 million" premise (1:28:24). No rule requires a follow-up of this kind; it is the practice that lets a board check what it was told.
Sources: Cablecast: SCHOOL BOARD MEETING 5-17-17
Appendix: source files
Official and public sources
- Cablecast: SCHOOL BOARD MEETING 5-17-17 (show 9098; 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/9098 SchoolBoard051717.mp4.CSV (812 attributed rows; the basis of this page)Input/Videos/9098 SchoolBoard051717.mp4Input/Transcripts/9098 SchoolBoard051717.mp4.jsonInput/SupportingDocuments/MAP.md, section 33Scripts/attribution_reports_2015_2023/9098 SchoolBoard051717.mp4.md (speaker attribution report)
Laws and rules cited on this page
- RSA 91-A:2, II, 2016 codification (source note ends 2016, 29:1, eff. Jan. 1, 2017; the text in force for 2017): notice, minutes content, five-business-day inspection
- RSA 91-A:3, I(b), I(c), II(c), III, 2016 codification (source note ends 2016, 30:1, eff. Jan. 1, 2017; 280:1): nonpublic motion and roll call, confinement to the motion, reputation exemption, 72-hour disclosure
- 20 U.S.C. §1412(a)(1)(A) and (a)(5)(A) (IDEA state eligibility: free appropriate public education; least restrictive environment)