Participants
Everyone the recording shows taking part. Names follow the project's dialogue file and the 2015 to 2023 roster; no minutes are online to check spellings against. Where the dialogue file says Unidentified, this page does too.
| Name | Role | Participation |
|---|
| Chris Irish | Vice chair, presiding in the chair's absence | Presided; relayed the absent chair's questions to the vendors; pressed on the director position and student opportunities; questioned the need for a school representative on the CCTV board and deferred the appointment. |
| Brian Rapp | Chair | Absent ("working tonight"); two questions he sent were asked on his behalf (0:37:23, 0:53:16). Named as a food service committee member. |
| Michelle Pierce | Member; food service committee member | Spoke under citizens' comments, as a citizen, about a personal family matter she had raised the previous week; asked both vendors about free meals, summer programs, the point-of-sale app and service ware. |
| Frank Sprague | Member (a former Stevens High School principal) | Asked about facility changes, participation rates and equipment investment; said the point of sale "is probably the deciding factor"; asked whether the CCTV seat requires a school person; moved adjournment. |
| Rebecca Zullo | Member (addressed as Becky; attribution medium) | Thanked the student representative; asked about labor projections and staff retention; said she would not be comfortable voting on the CCTV appointment without information. |
| Patrick Adrian | Member (attribution medium-low) | Asked about staff communications, charging policy, student data transfer and the point-of-sale system; asked that the CCTV nominee attend. |
| Michael Petrin | Member (2017 roster) | Not identified on the recording. |
| Unidentified | Board members not separable (dialogue file Role) | A member who asked how vendors handle a child without lunch money (0:39:33), and a voice on free and reduced lunch rates and a point-of-sale system (0:55:39). |
| Mary Ann Lovett | Student representative (name as in the dialogue file; the roster leaves the spelling unresolved) | Gave a farewell address criticizing board procedure, preparation and tardiness; asked the Abbey Group about utensils. |
| Middleton McGoodwin | Superintendent, SAU 6 (transcript Doctor McGovern, Doctor Goodwin) | Added the CCTV item; welcomed the student's criticism; set out the food service committee and process; flagged the meal-charging policy for summer work; reported emails from viewers. |
| Michael O'Neill | Business administrator, SAU 6 | Explained the 39-page RFP and its scoring; questioned both vendors on costs and menus. |
| Scott | Vice president of operations, the Abbey Group (surname not on the recording) | Presented the Abbey Group proposal: director position shared with other districts, point-of-sale system, local purchasing, charge policy practice. |
| Nina Hansen | School nutrition specialist, the Abbey Group | Described the company's transition, training, menus and student advisory committees. |
| Jason Hughes | Food service director, the Abbey Group | Described student kitchen programs and how the point-of-sale system records free meals. |
| Chris Farrow | Director of operations, Fresh Picks Cafe (Cafe Services) | Presented the Fresh Picks proposal: guaranteed $20,000 return, $40,000 equipment investment, summer programs, staff retention. |
| Matt Pearce | Executive chef, Fresh Picks Cafe (attribution medium-high) | Presented sample grab-and-go items and menu development. |
| Chris Cantillon | District manager, Fresh Picks Cafe (spelling unknown; attribution low, by elimination) | Spoke on baked goods, teacher preorders and metal silverware. |
| Unidentified | Citizens' comments, first name given as Gary (the acting chair then says Mary); ward not given | Reminded the board of Stevens High School alumni weekend. |
Order of business (reconstructed)
No agenda for this meeting is posted in any district share, so this list is reconstructed from the presiding officer's transitions (the superintendent refers to "the footnote on page two of your agenda" at 2:07:07). Hover over (or Tab to) a clipped entry for the full text.
| Taken up | Item | Agenda text / disposition |
|---|
| 0:01:45 | Call to order, pledge, roll call | Roll call not transcribed. See Board composition. |
| 0:03:13 | Agenda | Superintendent asks to add appointment of a representative to the CCTV board of directors; agenda approved by voice vote (a Second. is heard; mover not named). |
| 0:04:06 | Minutes | The acting chair first says "We don't have any minutes to approve tonight, do we?" then "So we need to approve the minutes"; a voice vote follows at 0:04:33. Which minutes, and the mover, are not audible. |
| 0:04:36 | Student representative's report | Farewell address; responses from Zullo and the superintendent. |
| 0:12:08 | Superintendent's report | End-of-year events; board participation at graduation. Informational. |
| 0:16:39 | Citizens' comments | Michelle Pierce, speaking as a citizen; an alumnus on alumni weekend. |
| 0:21:18 | Food service presentations | O'Neill on the RFP process; the Abbey Group (from 0:25:07); break; Fresh Picks Cafe (from 1:15:04). "Tonight it's not a decision time." No action. |
| 2:01:13 | CCTV board of directors representative | Reappointment of the tech center's representative requested; members asked for more information and for him to attend. Deferred: the transcript renders the acting chair's ruling as "Not on the next agenda and we'll talk about it. I'll do that." (2:04:24); the context and the members' requests indicate the item was to return on the next agenda. No vote. |
| 2:09:02 | Adjournment | Sprague moved; a second is heard; voice vote at 2:09:04. |
Discussion timeline
Chronological, from the dialogue CSV. Times are the start of the cited exchange, taken from the CSV's own second count. Hover over (or Tab to) a clipped cell for the full entry.
| Time | Topic | What was said | Flags |
|---|
| 0:02:14 | Quorum | Irish: "We only need four." "So we have a quorum, right? We're good." The roll call that follows is not transcribed; at 0:02:54: "Brian is working tonight, so he'll be watching us on television." | OBSERVATION |
| 0:03:22 | CCTV item added | McGoodwin asks to add "appoint representative for the cc TV board of directors"; the tech center's representative "has served on that position before. He'd like to serve again, and it requires board approval." | |
| 0:04:48 | Student farewell | Mary Ann Lovett, in her last meeting as student representative: "I have made a farewell address for the school board. There's extra copies on the table". At 0:06:50: "With debate comes a need for structure. At the school board, the structure is sometimes lacking." At 0:07:56: "Two to often I have heard questions ask that minor research or preparation would have answered". At 0:09:39 she asks that the student representative be included "in roll Call"; at 0:09:58: "regular tardiness without a reason is not acceptable of any member." | POSITIVE |
| 0:10:46 | Responses | Zullo: "that took a serious amount of courage". McGoodwin (0:11:12): a strong district "welcomes constructive criticism. It welcomes the student voice". | POSITIVE |
| 0:14:22 | Graduation | McGoodwin will ask the principal about board members speaking at graduation; Irish: "Or even if we're just up on the stage when the kids walk by." | |
| 0:16:59 | Citizens' comments: a board member as citizen | Pierce: "I speak not as a board member, but as a citizen." She apologized that "my emotions got the best of me" at the previous week's discussion, which touched her family, and thanked the community for its support. This page does not repeat the family details. | |
| 0:20:28 | Citizens' comments: alumni | An alumnus (first name heard as Gary) reminds the board of Stevens High School alumni weekend. Irish (0:20:59): "Just want to make sure the minutes get done right." | |
| 0:21:50 | Committee and process | McGoodwin: "after tonight's meeting, a food service committee is going to meet Michelle Pierce and Brian Rapp, represent the school board", with four faculty members; they will "come back with a recommendation. But the final decision will be the school boards" (0:22:21). | OBSERVATION |
| 0:23:06 | RFP | O'Neill: "we prepare a 39 page RFP"; the "financial budget piece, which is is is the number one item is 20 points. Obviously, that still leaves 80 points out there" (0:23:47). | POSITIVE |
| 0:26:17 | Abbey Group | Nina Hansen, school nutrition specialist: on transition, the district's employees "become our employees"; training; menus; monthly student advisory committees. | |
| 0:37:23 | Student opportunities | Irish relays the absent chair's question on educational opportunities; Jason Hughes (0:37:52) describes chef-led student cooking programs. | |
| 0:39:33 | Children without lunch money | A member asks how vendors handle a child with no money. Scott: "in no case that we're going to deny kids food without first working with the administration and also the parents" (0:40:07); Hansen: "we follow the board's direction on the charge policy" (0:41:18). | |
| 0:41:27 | Meal-charging policy | McGoodwin: "There is one that you'll be working on this summer. It's called meal charging. That's in response to a recent law that's been RSA in New Hampshire". O'Neill (0:42:20): the School Board Association "has developed a lengthy policy". | OBSERVATION |
| 0:44:11 | Director position | Irish questions a director whose cost is shared with other districts; Scott explains the Abbey Group budgets the full salary and shares it only if other districts contract. | |
| 0:49:39 | Local purchasing | Scott: "we've, we've guaranteed 30,000 to local purchases." | |
| 0:54:09 | Point of sale | Scott: new point-of-sale computers in every school, "owned by the district" at the end of the contract. An unidentified voice (0:55:39): one elementary school's free and reduced rate is 75% against a district rate of 50%; "I think that there's a stigma attached to that"; the rates bring in Title I and E-Rate money (0:56:39). | |
| 1:03:53 | Utensils | The student representative asks whether the utensils are plastic; Scott: "Our goal is to have everything as much as possible reusable." | |
| 1:09:43 | Time check | Irish: "we will have another bite at this apple between the the committee and coming back to us." | |
| 1:15:12 | Fresh Picks Cafe | Chris Farrow, director of operations, introduces the district manager and executive chef; samples are passed around; the company serves nearby districts including Cornish and Newport. | |
| 1:28:28 | Guaranteed return | Farrow: "if our revenues are $20,000 higher than the expenses we put out, that is money that belongs to the school district"; if not, "we will reduce our management fees by $20,000." | |
| 1:35:38 | Labor and retention | Zullo asks what "recommended hours in market wages" means; Farrow estimates retaining "Probably about 80%" of existing staff (1:38:26). | |
| 1:41:44 | Equipment | Farrow: "we have included $40,000 investment in our financial projection"; "It's basically a no interest loan." | |
| 1:58:23 | Deciding factor | Sprague: "the point of sale is probably the deciding factor." | |
| 2:00:02 | Viewer emails | McGoodwin reports emails "from people watching tonight's presentation"; "We're not supposed to communicate by emails, but I thought you'd like to see it after the meeting". | POSITIVE |
| 2:01:16 | CCTV representative | Irish: "I'm just honestly, I I'm I'm I'm honestly kind of at a loss to understand what the point would be." McGoodwin (2:02:39): the nominee "has asked that it'd be tonight". Adrian (2:03:09): "I'd like them to be here." Zullo (2:04:08): "I wouldn't feel comfortable voting on anything because I don't even know anything about anything of who he is". Deferred. | |
| 2:06:56 | Committee process | McGoodwin: the committee is in "the footnote on page two of your agenda"; "Then that information is going to come back to you as a board, and then the board will make a decision" (2:07:34). Irish (2:08:40): anyone "that has any questions or comments reach out to any one of us". | OBSERVATION POSITIVE |
| 2:09:02 | Adjournment | Sprague: "Motion to adjourn." A second is heard; voice vote. | |
Items flagged for review
Flags are a reviewer's aid generated by comparing the meeting against the law in force on May 31, 2017, cited as it then read. They are not findings of violation, and nothing here is legal advice. Where no verified rule applies, the flag says so and is recorded as an observation. 5 flags follow, ordered by severity.
OBSERVATION With the chair absent, the quorum was asserted rather than recorded on the tape, and no minutes of the meeting are online
The acting chair says "We only need four" and "So we have a quorum, right?" (0:02:14) before a roll call that the transcript does not capture. Five members (Irish, Pierce, Sprague, Zullo, Adrian) are identified speaking, which is a quorum of the seven-member board, so nothing suggests the board lacked one. The minutes item is also unclear on the tape (0:04:06 to 0:04:33). RSA 91-A:2, II as it read in 2017 required minutes naming the members present, open to inspection within five business days; the acting chair's concern "to make sure the minutes get done right" (0:20:59) shows minutes were being taken. None are in the district's online shares, which begin in 2022 (MAP.md section 34). Graded OBSERVATION under the project's missing-records rule: the gap is in online availability, and the recording shows no lapse.
Sources: RSA 91-A:2, II (2016 codification, the text in force for all of 2017).
OBSERVATION A food service committee with two board members was to meet "after tonight's meeting"; its meetings carried their own public-body duties
The superintendent announced that the committee (board members Pierce and Rapp and four faculty members, listed in "the footnote on page two of your agenda") would meet after the meeting, review the proposals and bring a recommendation back to the board (0:21:50, 2:07:07). Under RSA 91-A:1-a, VI(d) a public body includes "any committee, subcommittee, or subordinate body thereof, or advisory committee thereto", so the committee's meetings needed notice and minutes of their own. The announcement of its members and role in open session is a point in the district's favor; the observation is that no notice or minutes of the committee's meetings are online, and its recommendation reached the board on June 21 (show 9171), the chair reporting then that the committee had met beforehand.
Sources: RSA 91-A:1-a, VI(d) (source note ends 2008, 354:1, so the same text governed in 2017); RSA 91-A:2, II (2016 codification).
OBSERVATION The meal-charge policy was scheduled for "this summer", after the federal July 1, 2017 date for a written policy
Asked how vendors handle a child without lunch money, the superintendent said the board would be "working on this summer" a meal-charging policy "in response to a recent law" (0:41:27). State law already required a meal payment policy that ensures "all students have access to a healthy school lunch" (RSA 189:11-a, VIII, in force since July 2, 2016), and the U.S. Department of Agriculture required every school food authority to have a written meal-charge policy "No later than July 1, 2017". Both vendors said they follow the district's charge policy and do not deny meals (0:40:07, 0:41:18). This page records the timing only; the board's handling of the deadline at the June 21 meeting is graded there (show 9171, flag 1).
Sources: USDA Food and Nutrition Service, Unpaid Meal Charges: Local Charge Policy Requirement; RSA 189:11-a, VIII (2017 codification; eff. July 2, 2016).
POSITIVE The student representative's critical farewell address was heard in full, distributed in print, and welcomed
The student representative used her report to criticize the board's procedure, preparation and punctuality and to ask that student representatives be included in the roll call and more often in nonpublic sessions (0:04:48 to 0:09:58), with printed copies on the table for the public. She was not interrupted. A member thanked her for "positive and negative feedback" and the superintendent said a strong district "welcomes constructive criticism" (0:10:46, 0:11:12). No rule requires this; it is noted as good practice.
Sources: the recording at the times cited.
POSITIVE The food service procurement was presented in public before any decision, with the scoring criteria and the path to a decision explained
Both bidders presented and took members' questions in open session, televised, "not a decision time" but a "learning time" (0:22:21). The business administrator explained the 39-page RFP and that the financial piece carries 20 of 100 points (0:23:06, 0:23:47); the superintendent stated that the committee would recommend and "the board will make a decision" (2:07:34); the acting chair invited viewers to send questions to any member (2:08:40); and the superintendent reported viewer emails, noting that members are "not supposed to communicate by emails" among themselves and holding them for discussion at a meeting (2:00:02). The award followed on June 21 on scored evaluations (show 9171).
Sources: the recording at the times cited.
Appendix: source files
Official and public sources
- Cablecast show 9128, "SCHOOL BOARD MEETING 5-31-17": Claremont Community Television. Every timestamp on this page links into this recording.
- No Drive material: neither the Claremont nor the SAU 6 share holds a year folder older than 2022, and the Meeting Minutes share starts at 2023 (MAP.md section 34, checked 9/26/26).
- Related recordings (pages named by recording): the June 21, 2017 meeting at which the food service contract was awarded and the meal-charge policy was read (show 9171); the June 22, 2017 joint meeting with the City Council (show 9170).
Project files
Working files this page was built from. The dialogue file is linked; the others are not published with the page.
Dialogue/9128 SchoolBoard053117.mp4.CSV (701 attributed rows; the basis of this page)Input/Videos/9128 SchoolBoard053117.mp4Input/Transcripts/9128 SchoolBoard053117.mp4.jsonScripts/attribution_reports_2015_2023/9128 SchoolBoard053117.mp4.mdInput/SupportingDocuments/MAP.md, section 34
Laws and rules cited on this page