Participants
Everyone recorded as present. Names follow the draft minutes and the June 17 board agenda. No public comment period was held.
| Name | Role | Participation |
|---|
| Candace Crawford | Board chair; Finance Subcommittee chair | Chaired; said she prefers to write the subcommittee’s minutes herself; recounted a Valley News interview on staffing; added audits as a non-agenda item; set the next meeting. |
| Heather Whitney | Board member; Finance Subcommittee | Explained the purpose-statement drafts; asked how the new direct-report structure will enforce procedures; reported on an NHSBA school-finance oversight webinar; proposed a Hanover-style public budget book; pointed to policy DB’s budget timeline. |
| Donald Lavalette | Board member; Finance Subcommittee | Reported the purpose statements went to the Policy Committee; asked about the Tech Center van repair; described removing an open-ended signing authority from a draft purchasing policy; will lead the CMS painting volunteers. |
| Matt Angell | Interim Business Administrator | Gave the year-end estimate, the capital needs list, a draft 2026–27 budget calendar and the forensic-audit retainer status. “Mr. Angel” in the transcript. |
| Dr. Timothy Broadrick | Incoming Superintendent (from July 1, 2026) | By phone, per the draft minutes. Warned of unclaimed federal grants and of liabilities incurred outside the business office; described the Constellations contract; will turn the capital list into a five-year plan. “Broderick” on the tape. |
| Kerry Kennedy | Interim Superintendent | Present per the draft minutes; no dialogue attributed to her. |
Named but not present: Amy Savage (incoming human resources director), Steve Holt (facilities director, author of the capital list), Nicole Boynton (new middle-school principal; “Nicole Blanton” in the transcript), auditor Michael Campo (“my campus” in the transcript), and Mark Manganiello of the Department of Education (webinar presenter). Every row of the dialogue file carries a named speaker.
Agenda
No agenda was posted in the district’s shares. The item list is reconstructed from the chair’s numbered transitions, with dispositions from the recording and the draft minutes.
| Taken up | Item | Agenda text / disposition |
|---|
| 0:00:39 | 1. Committee purpose and schedule statement | “our first item on the agenda is finalizing the committee purpose and schedule statement.” Held for the Policy Committee’s feedback after July 21 (0:08:05). No action. |
| 0:08:36 | 2. Budget update | Year-end deficit estimate under $1 million; grants; unrecorded liabilities; the Tech Center van. No action. |
| 0:31:49 | 3. Staffing budget for the upcoming year | “number three, the staffing budget for this year.” Deferred to Broadrick’s July 21 presentation. |
| 0:38:37 | 4. Capital improvements plan | The facilities director’s list is a needs list, not a plan; Broadrick to produce a five-year plan in 3–6 months. Volunteer painting at CMS discussed. |
| 0:48:20 | 5. Budget calendar for 2026–27 | “The number five is the calendar.” Angell’s draft reviewed; draft minutes: a draft to the committee by August 15, then attorney review. |
| 1:01:26 | Non-agenda: audits, including the forensic audit | “I did add another. This is a non agenda item.” Auditor asked to attend July 21; forensic firm to supply scope and schedule. |
| 1:05:43 | Non-agenda: NHSBA webinar; budget book | Whitney’s webinar summary for the goal-setting meeting; the Hanover budget document to an August follow-up. |
| 1:16:21 | Next meeting; adjournment | August 12 at 1:00 p.m., set tentatively at 1:17:12. No motion or vote to adjourn is audible; draft minutes: 2:15 p.m. |
Discussion timeline
Chronological topics. Quotations are from the dialogue transcript as transcribed; bracketed text is an insertion or correction.
| Time | Topic | What was said | Flags |
|---|
| 0:00:04 | Opening | “The Pledge of Allegiance for the Finance Subcommittee on June 1919, 1946 [June 19, 2026].” Lavalette leads the Pledge. | |
| 0:02:03 | Purpose statement | Crawford: “I am not ready to accept all of Heather’s edits.” Whitney at 0:05:50: the district “couldn’t seem to, with fidelity, manage to execute specific duties within a set time stamp”, so the drafts went to the Policy Committee. Held until after July 21. | |
| 0:07:30 | Who writes the minutes | Whitney: “with the new Owl system. Can Noel do the minutes so you don’t have to do them?” Crawford: “I prefer to do the minutes myself, and so that’s fine.” | MEDIUM |
| 0:08:45 | Year-end estimate | Angell: “at the last school board meeting, I gave, year to date expenditures through May 31st. As a 32,849,000 encumbrances were 2,582,000. And remaining appropriation was 4,283,000.” “So we worked a $5 million deficit down to less than 1 million.” At 0:14:40: the district’s “retained earnings” were “a deficit of $5 million”, now “just under $1 million.” Crawford at 0:14:06: “what we don’t know is what the starting balance is.” | OBSERVATION |
| 0:10:37 | Federal grants not yet claimable | Broadrick: “receiving roughly $2 million in federal entitlement grants through through the state of New Hampshire. If if we were to close out the year today, we would not receive that money. The good news is the deadline is not today.” At 0:11:03: “today this it’s not ready.” | MEDIUM |
| 0:11:29 | Liabilities incurred outside the business office | “they incur liabilities without necessarily, having purchase orders or contracts in place.” At 0:11:56: a liability “incurred last fall” surfaced “within the last four days”; Angell at 0:12:26: “It’s payroll.” Broadrick at 0:12:57: every payment should have a signed document in the personnel file, “that is absolutely not the case today.” | MEDIUM |
| 0:17:16 | Level-funded 2026–27 budget | Broadrick: after “coming in $4 million under budget this year”, with the budget level funded, “coming in a million under is going to be another very significant challenge.” (0:17:26). | |
| 0:20:41 | The Constellations contract | Asked where funding for the behavioral-services contract came from, special-education administrators “did not know”; “I’m talking about a 350 to $400,000 liability” (0:21:08). “And there were no purchase orders.” (0:21:55). The renewal came to him for signature; he will “negotiate a contract before you take advantage of their services” (0:26:33). | MEDIUM |
| 0:22:43 | “Groundhog Day” | Whitney: the administration reviewed the 2023 fiscal monitoring report and said the district complied (0:23:08); “a massive amounts of information is being concealed from decision makers” (0:24:07). Crawford: “We do have the procedures for the policies and procedures in place. We don’t have compliance.” (0:24:31). | MEDIUM |
| 0:25:00 | Who may sign contracts | Broadrick: “Nobody signs a contract on behalf of the school district whose title is in [isn’t] business administrator or superintendent.” Lavalette at 0:27:29: a draft purchasing policy listed signers ending in “etc.”, which he asked the Policy Committee to strike. | POSITIVE |
| 0:29:08 | Tech Center van | Crawford: “It was bought second hand even though they were told it was a brand new right.” Angell at 0:30:02: the engine is “like $19,000 to replace”; the warranty company will pay “a large portion”. Vehicles will be kept at the bus garage (0:30:30). | |
| 0:31:49 | Staffing | Deferred to July 21. Broadrick at 0:32:39: “it’s just difficult to rationalize some of the contracts that are in place.” At 0:33:29: “we did hire five middle school teachers yesterday.” Crawford recounts a Valley News call (0:33:56): an HR director from the Hanover district starts July 1. | |
| 0:39:17 | Capital needs list | The facilities director’s list, including CMS kitchen tile needing specialized removal. Broadrick at 0:40:48: “a work list or a list or opposed to a countable plan”, to become “a five year plus beyond plan”. Crawford at 0:41:33: “I’m going to put in in the minutes I’m saying that this is a needs list, not a capital plan.” | |
| 0:44:45 | Volunteer painting | Angell has scheduled two weeks at the end of July and start of August; a volunteer form is needed (0:45:06). Whitney will ask a local store about donated paint (0:46:43). | |
| 0:48:40 | Budget calendar | Angell: “any budget calendar has to be approved by our attorney before the calendar is approved by the school board” (0:49:33). At 0:50:42: “the Doe 25 is at the school board … It’s due September 1st. I’ve never been late. Okay. Here. I may be late.” Building budgets October 14, software October 21, superintendent’s budget November 4, round-robin sessions November 18, written questions November 20, answers and deliberation December 2 (0:52:18–0:54:42). Whitney at 0:51:22: policy DB carries budget timeline targets. | OBSERVATION |
| 1:01:26 | Audits | Crawford wants the auditors at July 21 “to explain why it is taking so long” (1:02:09); “it’s taken so darn long because it’s hard to find the records.” (1:03:06). | MEDIUM |
| 1:03:36 | Forensic audit | Angell: “I need to get them a $10,000 check.” Crawford: “I’m pretty sure we authorized up to 50,000.” Whitney at 1:04:09: “what is it forensic audit entail? What’s the first step?” At 1:04:33: the regular audits in Claremont are “best guess estimates”. | MEDIUM |
| 1:05:43 | NHSBA finance-oversight webinar | Whitney: Mark Manganiello of the Department of Education spoke (1:06:53); “there was almost nobody on the webinar” (1:07:45). At 1:11:08: “if, if, if you’re given anything in Excel, throw it away.” A ten-point summary for the goal-setting meeting. | |
| 1:12:31 | A public budget book | Whitney has sent every superintendent and business administrator the Hanover district’s budget document: “Line by line, why they’re asking for this change.” (1:13:21). Angell: “it’s not heavy lifting” (1:15:16). To an August follow-up. | POSITIVE |
| 1:17:12 | Next meeting | “let’s tentatively set for August 12th, 1 p.m. for our next meeting.” At 1:17:32: “I’ll turn 215.” The draft minutes record adjournment at 2:15 p.m. | |
Items flagged for review
These flags are a reviewer’s aid. They are not findings of violation and not legal advice. Each flag cites the rule it rests on; an Observation rests on no confirmed rule.
MEDIUM No agenda, notice or minutes for this subcommittee meeting are posted in any district share
A committee or subcommittee of a school board is a public body under RSA 91-A:1-a, VI(d), and RSA 91-A:2, II requires its minutes to be open to inspection within five business days, which here meant by June 26. No agenda, packet or minutes for this meeting exist in the district’s packet archive or its 2026 Meeting Minutes folder (searched 2026-09-25), and MAP.md records that no finance-committee folder has ever been posted there. The only public announcements located are the June 17 board agenda’s “June 19: Finance Sub-Committee meeting” and the chair’s spoken “1 p.m.” at that meeting; neither gives a place. The chair said here she prefers to write the minutes herself (0:07:41). Graded MEDIUM on the mitigated limb: a draft headed “DRAFT” exists (the project holds a copy; it records attendance, a 1 p.m. start and 2:15 p.m. end, but not who produced it), and the meeting was recorded and broadcast in full.
Sources: RSA 91-A:1-a, VI(d) (committees and subcommittees of a school district are public bodies); RSA 91-A:2, II (minutes within 5 business days; start and end times; person who produced them; 2025, 112:1, eff. Aug. 22, 2025; text read 2026-09-25); 6.17.26 CSB Meeting Agenda.
MEDIUM Staff committed the district to a $350,000–$400,000 services contract and to payroll liabilities without purchase orders or a known funding source
The incoming superintendent described “systemic practices” in which schools “incur liabilities without necessarily, having purchase orders or contracts in place” (0:11:29), a payroll liability from the fall surfacing that week (0:11:56–0:12:26), and a behavioral-services contract, largely for special-education services in students’ IEPs, whose administrators did not know its funding source (0:21:08–0:21:55). RSA 32:8 bars a school board from agreeing to pay or incurring a liability for a purpose with no appropriation; federal rules require effective internal control over federal awards. The record does not show that no appropriation existed, only that the people committing the money did not know which one applied. Mitigation: the renewal was stopped for review before signing (0:26:00–0:26:33); the draft minutes record the new rule that “No one but the Superintendent and/or the Business Administrator signs a contract”; and the business office issued written procedures in April (0:12:51).
Sources: RSA 32:8 (1993, 332:1; unamended); 2 CFR 200.303; draft minutes.
MEDIUM About $2 million in 2025–26 federal entitlement grants could not yet be claimed
Broadrick repeated his June 17 warning: “If if we were to close out the year today, we would not receive that money” (0:10:37). Crawford tied it to the deficit history: the reimbursements are built into the system as revenue and “will happen after June 30th” (0:16:18). Federal rules require effective internal control over federal awards. Mitigation: “the deadline is not today”, formula funds remain available one additional year, and the administration committed to monthly claiming. Graded as on the June 17 page.
Sources: 2 CFR 200.303; 20 U.S.C. §1225(b).
MEDIUM Three fiscal years remain unaudited and the forensic audit had not started
The committee asked the auditor to explain at the July 21 board meeting “why it is taking so long” (1:02:09); Whitney described the district’s regular audits as “best guess estimates” (1:04:33); the forensic firm’s first $10,000 had not been paid (1:03:36). As the June 17 page sets out, fiscal 2023–2025 are unaudited, so the federal single-audit dates for those years (nine months after year end, at the $750,000 threshold) have passed; the threshold is inferred from the roughly $2 million in federal grants the administration reports for 2025–26 alone. Graded MEDIUM for the same reasons: the threshold is inferred and remediation is under way. For context only, since it took effect after this meeting: 2026 N.H. Laws ch. 272 (SB 586), approved July 2, 2026, eff. July 1, 2026, repealed and reenacted RSA 198:4-d. Its ¶VIII requires the audit report for the last completed fiscal year “within 9 months of the end of the fiscal year” (for fiscal 2026, March 31, 2027) and provides that the commissioner “shall withhold state grant funding, not including RSA 198:40-a funding” from a non-compliant district.
Sources: 2 CFR 200.501; 2 CFR 200.512(a)(1); 2026 N.H. Laws ch. 272 (SB 586), chaptered text.
Corrected 2026-09-25. An earlier version of this page gave SB 586 a six-month filing deadline and withholding of all state funding. Those terms came from the Senate-passed text (amendment 2026-0772s), not the enacted law. The chaptered text sets 9 months in RSA 198:4-d, VIII and excludes RSA 198:40-a funding from withholding. See Data Quality Report C1.156.
OBSERVATION The figures described as those given “at the last school board meeting” differ from the ones given and minuted on June 17
Here Angell put expenditures through May 31 at 32,849,000, encumbrances at 2,582,000 and remaining appropriation at 4,283,000 (0:08:45). On June 17 he gave, and the minutes record, $30,020,932.89, $5,459,619.74 and $4,234,011.37. Both sets total about $39.714 million, so the difference is in the split: about $2.83 million more spent, $2.88 million less encumbered, and $49,000 more unspent. The later set may reflect encumbrances paid out in June, but it was presented as the May figures already reported. The year-end estimate, a deficit under $1 million, is the same in both.
Sources: the recording at 0:08:45–0:09:19; 6.17.26 Approved CSB Meeting Minutes.
OBSERVATION The business administrator said the September 1 DOE-25 report may be late
“It’s due September 1st. I’ve never been late. Okay. Here. I may be late.” (0:50:42). RSA 198:4-d, as in force on this date (2025, 141:401), requires the annual financial report “on or before September 1 of each year” and contains no extension provision for it. The draft 2026–27 budget calendar was not yet reviewed by the superintendent or the district’s attorney, and Whitney noted policy DB already sets budget timeline targets (0:51:22).
Sources: RSA 198:4-d (financial report by September 1).
POSITIVE The subcommittee was recorded for broadcast, adopted a single-signer rule for contracts, and asked for a line-by-line public budget book
This is a subcommittee meeting recorded and aired in full, as Howard undertook on June 17; RSA 91-A requires minutes, not video. The incoming superintendent stated that only the superintendent or business administrator will sign contracts (0:25:00), and Lavalette moved to strike an open-ended signer list from a draft purchasing policy (0:27:29). Whitney asked the administration to publish budget documentation of the kind the Hanover district posts, “Line by line, why they’re asking for this change” (1:13:21), and the business administrator agreed to look at it.
Sources: the recording at the timestamps above; RSA 91-A:2, II (the minimum these practices exceed); June 17 page.
Appendix — source files
Official and public sources
Project files
Working files this page was built from. The dialogue file is linked; the others are not published with the page.
Laws and rules cited on this page
- Right-to-Know: RSA 91-A:1-a, VI(d); RSA 91-A:2, II (2025, 112:1, eff. Aug. 22, 2025)
- School money and reporting: RSA 32:8; RSA 198:4-d (as amended 2025, 141:401, in force on this date)
- Session law, after this meeting: 2026 N.H. Laws ch. 272 (SB 586), approved July 2, 2026, eff. July 1, 2026 (RSA 198:4-d, VIII: audit report within 9 months; state grant funding other than RSA 198:40-a withheld while noncompliant)
- Federal: 2 CFR 200.303; 2 CFR 200.501; 2 CFR 200.512(a)(1); 20 U.S.C. §1225(b)