| 0:01:27 | Non-meeting with counsel requested | McGoodwin: "I'd like the board to go into a brief non meeting." "These kind of meetings do not have to follow the requirements of other meetings defined by the right to know, which means that they do not require public posting or minutes." Rapp: "No non meeting that would be and that's for negotiations." (0:02:07); McGoodwin: "Consultation with legal counsel." (0:02:11). | OBSERVATION |
| 0:02:42 | August 2 minutes corrected | Rapp: "I think the first paragraph, it made reference to vice chair wrap." An unidentified voice: "Just has been demoted." (0:02:53). Rapp: "I will abstain. I was not at the meeting." (0:03:20). | POSITIVE |
| 0:06:51 | Background-check law | McGoodwin: "Effective September 16th, 2017, House Bill 556 will go into effect and that going to provide school superintendents and only school superintendents, by the way, with much more details about the background of our candidates." (0:07:29); he said the law "actually started in Claremont three years ago" (0:08:23). Reported as the superintendent's account; the bill was not checked for this page. | |
| 0:16:37 | Summer curriculum work | LeClair: "We've done many more than five days." Later: "68 different educators" and "205 days this summer alone" (2:13:45, 2:13:58). | |
| 0:20:06 | Citizens' comments: a member's invitation | Pierce spoke about her own family and asked residents to write: "I've been on the board for almost two years, and I've received very few of, if any, from any citizens from Claremont." (0:21:48). Zullo: "What would be the best forum for people to answer your questions of ideas?" (0:21:41). | |
| 0:27:19 | Food service and lunch applications | McGoodwin: "the confidentiality of a family's personal finances. It's no one's business." (0:28:56); one SAU staff member to see applications (0:28:56); "no one will be able to identify a child on free reduced lunch" (0:34:16). O'Neill: "about 90% of the, the district employees have been hired by Abby." (0:36:58). | POSITIVE |
| 0:32:50 | Why families should apply | Adrian: "We actually lose funding when families who qualified don't fill out the information." (0:33:25). | |
| 0:37:18 | Finance presentation | McGoodwin: the presentation answers "several of the questions that are in your packet". O'Neill lists them: "what is the breakdown? How do these costs affect Claremont taxpayers?" (0:38:35) and "what is the feasibility of employing an outside agency to identify inefficiencies?" (0:38:53). | POSITIVE |
| 0:40:57 | Revenue sources | O'Neill: "The state average cost for student is funded 58.8% by local taxes, the state average. In Claremont, that number is 42.4% paid by local taxpayers." "we get 12.2% more equitable aid" (0:40:09). | |
| 0:45:48 | Property wealth | O'Neill: "that number is 398,009 20. That's 42.5% of the average." "the Claremont tax rate would have to be two and a half times higher to raise the same amount of money". | |
| 0:47:24 | Student-teacher ratio | "The average for New Hampshire is 11.8 students per teacher Claremont is 10.7." | |
| 0:52:39 | Administration share | McGoodwin: the administration figure "would be different if we had not added student services coordinators at the elementary school." | |
| 0:56:10 | Cost per pupil | Attendance "is 94.8. Claremont is 92.82%"; debt service interest "571 per student. The state average is 248" (0:56:36); "you adjusted cost per student is 15,488" (0:56:54); "We're not high. We're in the bottom one third or one quarter of the whole thing." (0:57:19). | |
| 0:57:31 | Adequacy | Irish: "The state gives us 3500 is educate your kids. It costs us 17." (0:58:38). Adrian: "Has anyone challenged them on the fact that there is not a school, public or private, that can operate on that?" (0:59:08). | |
| 1:03:00 | Board role and publication | Zullo asked when the board discusses student support services (1:03:11). McGoodwin: "This will be on our website." (1:04:35); "Every the minutes, the agendas, all this information you're looking at on our website." (1:04:43). | OBSERVATION |
| 1:09:56 | Counsel does not arrive | Rapp: "And I don't think legal counsel is coming." McGoodwin: "No, I agree, I agree with you." (1:09:58). | OBSERVATION |
| 1:10:22 | Elementary handbooks | Questions on the meal program section and the removed telephone section (1:11:02, 1:11:54); approved (1:12:48). | |
| 1:14:03 | High school handbook | Barry: updates aligned with "our core mission statement, our 21st century learning expectations". Approved (1:18:09). | |
| 1:19:50 | Owls and Alt history | Barry: Owls "was the ombudsman program. It was originally housed downtown. It was grant funded." It was absorbed "about 4 or 5 years ago" (1:20:11). Owls students need 13.5 credits (1:21:02). | |
| 1:24:03 | Restructuring and the math vacancy | "we are without a math teacher going into our school year", so an Owls teacher is reassigned to math "at least for the first semester"; "we have zero. We've gone through three rounds of hiring" (1:24:29). A new hire "who has a social studies special ed certification" (1:24:56); "about 15 students" in Owls (1:25:19); work study to become credit bearing (1:21:54, 1:28:27). | POSITIVE |
| 1:27:00 | Alternative education requirements | Barry: "the law says that we in, in providing alternative education, have to have a procedures for assessing and implementing the problem program." Reported as the principal's characterization; the provision was not identified or checked for this page. | |
| 1:39:12 | The physical education position | Adrian asked whether Stevens will have one physical education teacher (1:39:12). Barry: "we would use that staff position this year to fund what is the Social Studies Sped certified person" (1:39:55); "I'm I'm confident that we'll we'll be fine" with one physical education position (1:40:32). | |
| 1:44:48 | Owls and Alt approved | Pierce: "I'd like to make a motion to approve it." Adrian: "A second." (1:44:57). Zullo on the rubric (1:45:05 to 1:45:44). Voice vote (1:46:14). | POSITIVE |
| 1:46:56 | Athletic handbooks | Doug: "we had no coaching handbook" (1:49:54). Approved (1:52:56). | |
| 1:55:10 | Strategic action plan | LeClair: "the primary purpose of tonight is to ensure that the Claremont School Board approves the strategic action plan, which is currently in draft form." A consultant, "Mark Dolan", from "the New Hampshire School Boards Association" (1:59:20); community forums (2:00:41); a committee including "school board members, the superintendent, myself" (2:01:15). | |
| 2:04:36 | Fiscal responsibility in the plan | LeClair: "this isn't a strategic plan set out to, you know, jack up the tax rate." (2:05:41). Irish: "Fiscal responsibility could mean level fund to budget. It could mean cut budget." (2:29:41). | |
| 2:30:49 | Superintendent on the plan and the budget | "The reduction in funding from the state continues." "the Claremont taxpayer cannot absorb additional increases." A team to be assembled on facilities, academic structure and learning environments. | |
| 2:35:51 | Technical center | Irish: "we lost the high school by one vote" (2:36:13); "This needs to be treated as a separate entity in and of itself" (2:37:48). LeClair: "It's actually the only school specifically mentioned in the entire plan." (2:42:07). | |
| 2:48:01 | Principal on the plan | Barry: "this plan took a year of hard work." "we're not sending kids out into the potato and the blueberry fields anymore." (2:49:07). | |
| 2:54:41 | Strategic plan approved in draft | Irish: "my motion is to approve the draft and add it to the monthly agenda for the school board" (2:55:25). Voice vote (2:55:49). | |