Participants
Everyone the recording shows taking part, as named in the project's dialogue file. Where the dialogue file leaves a voice Unidentified, this page does too. Students other than the student representative are not named.
| Name | Role | Participation |
|---|
| Frank Sprague | Member, presiding | Called the meeting to order (0:00:08) and ran every item and vote; proposed revisiting the lead policy (0:15:09); suggested the superintendent act as intermediary with the scheduling committee (1:46:39); told Pierce "We have a quorum." (1:54:23). |
| Michelle Pierce | Member | Defended the lead policy's purpose to the commenter (0:07:49); asked what the scheduling committee needed from the board (1:39:55); moved the gift (1:56:26), the trips (2:12:58), the policy readings (2:16:32, 2:16:54) and adjournment (2:18:13). |
| Patrick Adrian | Member | Said he would move to revisit the lead policy language (0:15:51); moved to have the superintendent relax the memorandum of understanding (1:53:37); seconded the trips (2:13:07); moved the survey policy (2:17:54). |
| Rebecca Zullo | Member | Engaged the lead-policy commenter (0:09:02, 0:18:55); on bullying policy implementation (0:45:28); asked for highlighted changes in policy drafts (2:15:09); seconded the gift (1:56:31). Addressed as Becky (1:50:18). |
| Michael Petrin | Member | Spoke on the community's response to the August incident (0:39:49); cautioned against making the scheduling committee "too big" (1:54:24). Called on as Mister patron (0:39:47). |
| Brian Rapp; Chris Irish | Chair; vice chair | Apparently absent (see Board composition). Not heard on the recording. |
| Middleton McGoodwin | Superintendent, SAU 6 | Deferred his report into the discussion items (0:00:36); answered the lead-policy commenter (0:06:11); spoke on the late-August incident and the community response (0:22:12 to 0:37:02); food service, budget outlook and a congressional workforce panel (0:55:31 to 0:59:54); presented the policies (2:13:56, 2:15:33, 2:17:34). |
| Cory LeClair | Assistant Superintendent, SAU 6 | Explained the scheduling committee's origin in the memorandum of understanding and the request to expand it (1:36:03 to 1:37:02); introduced the National Honor Society gift (1:55:51). |
| Mary Woodman | School district clerk | Called the roll (0:01:34 to 0:01:41). |
| Lexi Grenier | Student representative (Stevens High School senior; National Honor Society president) | Introduced as the new student representative (0:19:32); student report (0:20:42 to 0:21:58); presented the $478 gift (1:55:10, 1:55:40). |
| Patricia Barry | Principal, Stevens High School | Explained the planned school visit by a touring performance group (0:47:28); presented the grade 9 Washington, D.C. trip (1:57:06 to 2:04:56). |
| Larissa Cahill | Theater arts teacher, scheduling committee | Introduced the committee and presented its beliefs and phases (1:01:16 to 1:25:19). |
| Christine Downey | Scheduling committee (high school curriculum) | Presented with Cahill (1:06:03 onward); said the committee's minutes are posted on the Stevens website (1:28:27); described the constraints of the memorandum (1:42:30, 1:42:52). |
| Scott (surname not stated) | Tech center teacher, scheduling committee | Spoke on opportunities at the tech center (1:26:06 to 1:26:48). |
| Robin (surname not stated) | Life science teacher, scheduling committee | Spoke on outdoor and partnership learning (1:27:34 to 1:28:18). |
| Charlie Gessner (spelling unverified) | Stevens High School staff, scheduling committee | On the effect of past schedule changes on world languages (1:44:16). |
| Unidentified | Citizens' comments; grandparent of a kindergartner | Objected to the lead screening policy and asked for a waiver (0:02:40 to 0:19:20). Asked to state name and ward (0:02:25); the name is not captured in the transcript. |
| Unidentified | National Honor Society advisor | Called Lexi Grenier and the assistant superintendent up for the gift (1:55:00). |
| Unidentified | Ninth-grade student | Spoke for the Washington, D.C. trip (2:05:30 to 2:06:47). |
| Unidentified | Stevens High School music teacher | Presented the Italy trip for band and choir students (2:07:23 to 2:12:31). |
Order of business (reconstructed)
No agenda for this meeting is posted online, though the board works from one ("We have an agenda in front of us.", 0:00:36). This outline is reconstructed from the presiding member's transitions. Hover over (or Tab to) a clipped entry for the full text.
| Taken up | Item | Agenda text / disposition |
|---|
| 0:00:08 | Call to order; pledge | Sprague presiding. |
| 0:00:36 | Agenda changes | Superintendent's report folded into the discussion items; the Claremont Preschool Center progress report postponed (0:01:05). No vote on the agenda is heard. |
| 0:01:28 | Roll call | Garbled in the transcript (0:01:34 to 0:01:41). |
| 0:01:45 | Minutes of September 6, 2017 | Approved by voice vote (0:02:02); mover and seconder not identifiable. |
| 0:02:02 | Citizens' comments | One speaker on the lead screening policy; board agreed to revisit the policy, no vote (0:15:44 to 0:19:20). |
| 0:19:32 | Student representative's report | Lexi Grenier introduced and reported. |
| 0:22:07 | Discussion items | Opening of school and the late-August incident (0:22:12); food service (0:55:30); budget outlook and the congressional workforce panel (0:56:24, 0:57:13). No votes. |
| 1:00:11 | Action: Stevens High School schedule committee progress report | Presentation; motion Adrian that the board "designate the superintendent" to relax restrictive language of the memorandum (1:53:37 to 1:53:59), second (1:54:04), voice vote (1:54:30 to 1:54:31). |
| 1:54:34 | Action: gift from the National Honor Society | $478 for the One for All foundation (1:55:40); motion Pierce, second Zullo, voice vote (1:56:26 to 1:56:32). |
| 1:56:42 | Action: grade 9 trip to Washington, D.C.; music trip to Italy | Both approved together; motion Pierce, second Adrian, voice vote (2:12:58 to 2:13:12). |
| 2:13:51 | School board policies | First read: wellness and administering medication (JLCF, JLCD), moved to second read (2:16:38); seven second-read policies moved to third read (2:17:23); nonacademic surveys and questionnaires approved on final read (2:17:59). |
| 2:18:11 | Adjournment | Motion Pierce, seconded, voice vote (2:18:13 to 2:18:21). |
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 |
|---|
| 0:00:36 | Agenda changes | "I'm going to defer my superintendents report and make what I normally would say during my superintendent report in the discussion items." The preschool progress report: "We're going to postpone that." (0:01:05). | |
| 0:02:40 | Citizens' comments: lead screening | A grandparent asked "if there is any such thing as a waiver for the lead poisoning test" (0:03:03): "I've basically had a note saying if you don't comply, your child won't be allowed to stay in school." (0:04:28). McGoodwin: "The school district does not see the results of that." "The policy does not include waiver." (0:06:11); "I cannot indiscriminately adjust the policy without the board's prior prior approval." (0:06:37). | OBSERVATION |
| 0:12:57 | State position on lead testing | Commenter: "the state Board of Education only makes it as a recommendation, not as a mandate." McGoodwin: "State has tabled it and is in the committee. But the bill, they believe, had a $3 million price tag" (0:13:09); "We're the first school district in the state to do this." (0:14:00). | OBSERVATION |
| 0:15:09 | Revisit the policy | Sprague: "when the whole board is here, we have our chair and vice chair here, perhaps revisit the policy" (as transcribed; the sense is probably that they are not here tonight). Adrian: "I would like to motion that we do revisit, the language." (0:15:51); Zullo: "Agreed. 100%." (0:16:12). Commenter: "At the point in time you revisit it. I would like to be here when it happens." (0:19:20). | OBSERVATION |
| 0:19:32 | New student representative | Lexi Grenier introduced; report on a school assembly and filming on September 26, a community service day, homecoming (0:20:42 to 0:21:58). | |
| 0:22:12 | Late-August incident and community response | McGoodwin: the district had held back because "it was a matter of under police investigation" (0:28:35); a school messenger call, a September 12 community gathering and a reflection event (0:28:35, 0:29:06); "racism is not something of the past" (0:29:36). Members Adrian (0:37:12), Petrin (0:39:49), Pierce (0:42:05) and Zullo (0:45:28) responded; Zullo: "this district does have zero tolerance for bullying in place already". | |
| 0:46:35 | School assembly scope | The planned performance was to be "exclusively" for the high school; Barry explained how it came about (0:47:28 to 0:49:26); members asked for it to be as inclusive as possible (0:49:46 to 0:53:56). | |
| 0:55:31 | Food service; budget outlook | "it's going to take anywhere from 3 to 6 months to really iron out all the kinks." Budget: "status quo is is going to be difficult to maintain in the current financial economy, let alone the tax rate of Claremont or the decreasing revenue from the state." (0:56:48). | |
| 1:01:16 | Scheduling committee report | "We have five administrators and five teachers coming together to work on this project" (1:04:37); community input gathered at the Back to School festival (1:14:23); five phases through spring. Downey: "Everything that we do is public." "Our minutes are there, everything is there." (1:28:27). | POSITIVE |
| 1:36:03 | The memorandum of understanding | LeClair: "this committee exists because there's a memorandum of understanding between the Claremont School Board and the sugar River Education Association, SRA, which is the teachers union in town." "the school board was able to appoint five individuals and the teachers union was able to appoint five individuals." "we'd like to have, your support as a board in expanding what that membership looks like." (1:36:37). | OBSERVATION |
| 1:41:29 | Superintendent on the memorandum | "The contract is not driving this." (1:41:56); "the memorandum of agreement back in January 2017 was written at a very different time" (1:51:24); "that document has been outdated" (1:51:49). Pierce: "I want to see the timeline kind of stay within." (1:48:05). | OBSERVATION |
| 1:53:20 | Motion on the memorandum | Adrian: "I would like to motion that we that we designate the superintendent and, Doctor Goodwin to." Sprague: Relax. (1:53:51); "to relax some of the, some of the stipulations." (1:53:53); "Restrictive language of the." (1:53:58). Pierce: "should we be doing this kind of thing when Kristen and." (1:54:14); Sprague: "We have a quorum." (1:54:23). Carried by voice vote (1:54:30). | OBSERVATION |
| 1:55:10 | National Honor Society gift | "We ended up raising $478, and we would like to present that to the one for all foundation." (1:55:40). Accepted (1:56:32). | |
| 1:57:06 | Washington, D.C. and Italy trips | Barry: "It's a four night overnight." "There's a 10 to 1 chaperon." (2:01:12); costs "on the students until we can build something significant or, you know, stable into the budget as a line item." (2:03:01). Italy: "a 1 to 6 chaperon ratio being far away." (2:07:43). Both approved (2:13:12). | |
| 2:13:56 | Policies | Wellness and medication policies: "We need to add insulin" (2:13:56). Zullo asked for changes to be highlighted: "there's like 56 pages that I've been trying to go through" (2:15:09). McGoodwin: "These are all the result of changes in the law." (2:15:33). | |
| 2:17:34 | Survey policy adopted | "The last policy that legally went into effect five days ago. Nonacademic surveys and questionnaires due to legislation." Sprague: "It would be official after this." (2:17:45). Adrian moved, Pierce seconded, approved (2:17:54 to 2:17:59). | POSITIVE |
Items flagged for review
Flags are a reviewer's aid generated by comparing the meeting against the law in force on September 20, 2017. They are not findings of violation, and nothing here is legal advice. Each flag names the rule it rests on; where no verified rule applies, it is recorded as an observation. Ordered by severity.
OBSERVATION No agenda, packet or minutes for this meeting are available online
The board works from an agenda (0:00:36) and a packet (the scheduling committee's norms were "included in your board packet", 1:28:53), but neither is posted online, and neither are the minutes. The district's Drive shares begin in 2022 and 2023 (MAP.md section 40), so this is a finding about what the district publishes online, not evidence that records were never kept. The law then in force required minutes to be open to public inspection within five business days. Severity: OBSERVATION, because nothing on the recording itself shows a lapse.
Sources: RSA 91-A:2, II (2016 codification; source note ends 2016, 29:1, eff. Jan. 1, 2017, so the text in force throughout 2017): minutes "open to public inspection not more than 5 business days after the meeting".
OBSERVATION The board authorized the superintendent to loosen an agreement with the teachers' union on a motion whose terms are not stated on the record
The scheduling committee exists under a January 2017 memorandum of understanding between the board and the teachers' association that fixed its membership at five board appointees and five union appointees (1:36:03). The administration asked for support to add members (1:36:37), and the superintendent called the memorandum "outdated" (1:51:49). The motion was assembled at the table: Adrian moved that the board "designate the superintendent" (1:53:37), with the presiding member supplying Relax. (1:53:51) and "Restrictive language of the." (1:53:58); the recording has no statement of which provisions change, whether the union must agree, or how the change will be written down. A member asked whether to act with the chair and vice chair away, and the presiding member answered that there was a quorum (1:54:14, 1:54:23); five of seven members were present. No statute verified for this page governs the amendment of such a memorandum, and the memorandum itself is not available. Recorded because the delegation is open-ended and its terms will exist only in whatever the minutes or a later document say.
Sources: No verified rule; recorded as an observation.
OBSERVATION A grandparent's objection to the lead screening policy was heard at length; the board agreed to revisit the policy but took no vote, and the State's position was described without a source
The commenter said the family had been told a child "won't be allowed to stay in school" without the documentation (0:04:28) and asked for a waiver (0:03:03). The superintendent said the district does not see results, that the policy has no waiver, and that he could not change it without the board (0:06:11, 0:06:37). He also said the State had tabled a bill because of a "$3 million price tag" (0:13:09) and that Claremont was "the first school district in the state to do this" (0:14:00); neither statement is checked here. Adrian said he would move to revisit the language (0:15:51) and Zullo agreed (0:16:12), but no motion was seconded or voted on this recording; the presiding member suggested waiting until "the whole board is here" (0:15:09). The October 18, 2017 recording shows a rewrite of the policy with an opt-out adopted that night (see the October 18, 2017 page), so the undertaking was kept. The exchange was courteous and members engaged the commenter directly, which is to the board's credit.
Sources: No verified rule for the state lead-testing position described; recorded as an observation.
POSITIVE The scheduling committee, set up under a board agreement, said it posts its minutes and materials on the high school website
A committee member told the board "Everything that we do is public" and that its folder on the Stevens High School website holds its minutes: "Our minutes are there, everything is there." (1:28:27). The committee is formed under an agreement to which the board is a party, with half its members appointed by the board (1:36:03), and reports to the board. The law then in force made "any committee, subcommittee, or subordinate body" of a public body, "or advisory committee thereto", a public body in its own right; whether this committee falls within that definition is not settled here, but posting minutes is the practice the definition would require. The website folder itself could not be inspected for 2017.
Sources: RSA 91-A:1-a, VI(d) (2019 codification; source note ends 2008, 354:1, so in force throughout 2017): public body includes "any committee, subcommittee, or subordinate body thereof, or advisory committee thereto".
POSITIVE The nonacademic survey policy was adopted within days of the statutory amendment taking effect
The superintendent introduced the survey policy as one "that legally went into effect five days ago" (2:17:34), and the board approved it on final read (2:17:54 to 2:17:59). The 2017 codification of the governing section carries amendments effective September 16, 2017, four days before this meeting, and requires written parental consent before a student takes a non-academic survey, with an exception for the CDC youth risk behavior survey and a parental opt-out from it. The board had moved the policy to third read on September 6 (see the September 6, 2017 page). Which 2017 chapter made the change is not verified here.
Sources: RSA 186:11, IX-d (2017 codification; source note ends 2017, 9:1; 22:2; 251:1, eff. Sept. 16, 2017): district policy must provide that no student shall be required to take a non-academic survey "without written consent of a parent or legal guardian", with an exception for "the youth risk behavior survey developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention".
Appendix: source files
Official and public sources
- Cablecast show 9328, "SCHOOL BOARD MEETING 9/20": Claremont Community TV. 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 40, checked 9/26/26). The agenda, packet, trip itineraries, policy drafts, the memorandum of understanding and the minutes were not located.
- Related pages: September 6, 2017 (the minutes approved tonight; the survey policy's second read); October 18, 2017 (lead screening policy rewrite adopted).
Project files
Working files this page was built from. The dialogue file is linked; the others are not published with the page.
Dialogue/9328 SchoolBoard092017.mp4.CSV (652 attributed rows; the basis of this page)Input/Videos/9328 SchoolBoard092017.mp4Input/Transcripts/9328 SchoolBoard092017.mp4.jsonScripts/attribution_reports_2015_2023/9328 SchoolBoard092017.mp4.mdInput/SupportingDocuments/MAP.md, section 40
Laws and rules cited on this page
- RSA 91-A:2, II (2016 codification, text in force during 2017): minutes within five business days.
- RSA 91-A:1-a, VI(d) (unamended since 2008): committees and advisory committees as public bodies.
- RSA 186:11, IX-d (2017 codification, amendments effective September 16, 2017): non-academic surveys, written parental consent, youth risk behavior survey exception.