Participants
Everyone the recording shows taking part. Names follow the project's dialogue file and the 2015 to 2023 roster; no minutes exist online to check spellings against. Where the dialogue file says Unidentified, this page does too.
| Name | Role | Participation |
|---|
| Unidentified (the moderator) | School district moderator, presiding at the special district meeting | Read the rules, recognized the motion, called for speakers for and against, took the voice vote. Addressed as Madam moderator; not named on the recording. |
| Frank Sprague | Claremont School Board chair | Introduced the table; seconded the ratification motion and explained the DRA notice; chaired the board meeting; reported on school funding testimony in Concord; spoke on capital planning and SAU 6 policy work. |
| Carolyn Towle | Board member | Moved ratification at the district meeting; seconded the agenda and the Primex agreement; asked about liability for off-site activities; on the capital improvement subcommittee. |
| Rob Lovett Jr. | Board member | Moved the agenda, the May 1 minutes, the winter-program endorsement, the two nominations and adjournment; reported on the first capital improvement subcommittee meeting. |
| Heather Whitney | Board member | Seconded the winter program and the nominations; asked about Primex participation; reported on the NHSBA orientation; asked when the board would set goals for the new superintendent. |
| Michael Petrin | Board member; SAU 6 chair | Gave the superintendent-contract update; moved the Primex agreement; seconded adjournment. |
| Prescott Herzog | Student representative | Gave the schools report; spoke on his youth-in-government bills. |
| Cory LeClair | Acting Superintendent, SAU 6 | Superintendent's report, including her last Claremont meeting before becoming superintendent of Cornish and Plainfield; presented outdoor education, the winter program request, the Primex rate cap, two nominations and the PSIF affidavits. |
| Mary Woodman | District clerk (named by the chair for the district meeting) and board clerk | Called the board roll. |
| Ms. Chastain | Youth-in-government advisor, Stevens High School (spelling uncertain; also Chesney, Mrs. Jason) | Reported on the youth-in-government program. |
| Riley; Alicia Webster | Students | Riley described two bills that reached the floor; Webster described the caucus and a leadership conference in Chicago. |
| Melissa Lewis | Principal, Disnard Elementary | Introduced the outdoor education initiative (Melissa Lewis from dinner). |
| Lisa Holtz | Third grade teacher, Maple Avenue Elementary | Presented her class's outdoor learning with slides. |
| Michelle Bian | Parent, Ward 2 (spelling uncertain; introduced as Michelle beaten) | Proposed a five-to-six-week winter program for grades K to 5. |
| Unidentified | Elementary educators | A teacher addressed as Lisa who described Forest Fridays in Windsor; an elementary administrator; a third grade teacher at Maple and parent who spoke for the winter program. 30 of 414 rows (7.2%) are Unidentified, including the moderator's 10. |
| Named, not speaking | Others | Lara Bailey and Laura Grano (teacher nominees; spellings unverified); Rick Johnson and Nancy Lewis (departing teachers); Josh Malloy and maintenance director Steve (capital improvement subcommittee); Mark Boylan, Claremont Savings Bank Community Center; Michael Tempesta, incoming superintendent. |
Order of business (reconstructed)
No warrant or agenda for either meeting is posted in any district share, so this list is reconstructed from the moderator's and the chair's transitions on the recording. A written board agenda existed: "We have an agenda in front of us tonight." Hover over (or Tab to) a clipped entry for the full text.
| Taken up | Item | Agenda text / disposition |
|---|
| 0:00:11 | District meeting: introductions and rules | Board chair introduces the table; moderator reads the rules of procedure at 0:00:53. |
| 0:01:42 | District meeting: ratification of the March 12, 2019 annual meeting | Towle moved at 0:02:02; Sprague seconded; Sprague explained at 0:02:45; no speakers for or against; voice vote at 0:03:52, the ayes have it. See flags 1 to 3. |
| 0:05:00 | Board: call to order, roll call | Pledge not repeated. |
| 0:05:41 | Agenda | Amended: summer program overview removed; PSIF affidavits added under other business. Lovett moved, Towle seconded; voice vote at 0:06:20. |
| 0:06:20 | Minutes of May 1, 2019 | Lovett moved at 0:06:38; seconded by an unidentified voice; voice vote at 0:06:46. |
| 0:06:46 | Student representative's report | Prescott Herzog. |
| 0:10:45 | Superintendent's report | LeClair's last Claremont board meeting. |
| 0:12:47 | Citizens' comments | None. |
| 0:12:53 | Student council and youth in government | Report. Informational. |
| 0:23:23 | Superintendent update | Petrin on the Tempesta contract. Informational. |
| 0:25:37 | Outdoor education and winter program | Presentations; Lovett moved full backing for the winter program at 0:47:15, Whitney seconded, voice vote at 0:47:26. |
| 0:47:53 | School funding update | Sprague. Informational. |
| 0:50:38 | Primex contribution assurance program | Petrin moved at 0:55:27; Towle seconded; voice vote at 0:56:59. |
| 0:57:47 | Board subcommittee updates | Capital improvement program; SAU 6 policy committee; NHSBA orientation; letters from bargaining units. |
| 1:05:48 | Nominations and resignations | Lara Bailey (math) and Laura Grano (social studies), Stevens High School: Lovett moved at 1:07:07, Whitney seconded, voice vote at 1:07:27. Resignations circulated, not read aloud. See flags 4 and 5. |
| 1:08:35 | Future agenda items | No June 5 meeting; summer schedule left open pending Mr. Tempesta. |
| 1:12:45 | Other business: PSIF affidavits | Members asked to sign affidavits for the public school infrastructure fund match. |
| 1:13:36 | Adjournment | Lovett moved; Petrin seconded; voice vote at 1:13:54. |
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 |
|---|
| 0:00:53 | District meeting rules | Moderator: "The person making a motion will be given five minutes to speak. First debate will then be limited to two minutes per speaker." At 0:01:42: "The purpose of this evening's meeting is to discuss and take action on a procedural defect regarding the results of the match. 12th Annual Meeting." | |
| 0:02:02 | Ratification motion | Towle: "Madam moderator I make a motion that the district ratify the results of the March 12th Annual Meeting. Even though the posting requirements were not met." Sprague seconded at 0:02:11. | OBSERVATION |
| 0:02:45 | The DRA notice | Sprague: "On April 9th, 2019, the Claremont School District received a notice from the the State of New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration informing us that the default budget form miss 26, budget, form and warrant were not posted in accordance with the with RSA 32 colon five." "Therefore, the February 6th, 2019 and the March 12th, 2019 meetings were procedurally defective and invalid." At 0:03:16: "This was brought to the attention of the Secretary's office by a concerned citizen." | MEDIUM POSITIVE |
| 0:03:36 | Vote | "Is there anyone wishing to speak against this motion?" and, at 0:03:46, in favor: none. At 0:03:52: "Those in favor signify by saying I. I oppose. Nay, the ayes have it." The meeting closes: "remind you that a regular school board meeting will immediately follow this meeting." | OBSERVATION |
| 0:05:00 | Board meeting opens | Sprague: "Like to bring this meeting of the Claremont School Board on May 15th, 2019 to order." LeClair at 0:05:51 removes "The summer program overview from the agenda at this time" and asks "the board to sign the public school infrastructure fund affidavits so that we can submit those for reimbursement." Sprague at 0:06:34: "We don't have Jason here tonight, so the people have got to step up." | |
| 0:07:02 | Student report | Herzog: Fox News arrives to set up a Sunday broadcast (the location is garbled as the car audits) and a May 19 town hall with a presidential candidate; a senator's visit on the Gear Up grant; The Lion King Junior; a robotics team headed to nationals in Maryland. | |
| 0:09:27 | Senior luncheon | Sprague, Towle and Benware met seniors on what went well and what could improve. LeClair at 0:10:18: the results "will be shared with the school board for the school board to use in their decision making". | |
| 0:11:42 | LeClair's farewell | "I want to say this is my last Claremont School board meeting." She will "move on to the role of superintendent and Cornish and Plainfield." The last student day is June 14. | |
| 0:13:38 | Youth in government | Chastain at 0:14:31: "we had 26 bills written and submitted to youth in government." Herzog at 0:16:29: "I wrote for bills this year." Sprague at 0:18:49: "I was there last Tuesday testifying in front of the Senate and Senate Finance Committee". | |
| 0:24:03 | Superintendent contract | Petrin: "I've heard some rumors and see some comments about the length of time that it took to get a signed contract." At 0:24:55: "when you have to get a full board back together to vote and approve these changes, it doesn't happen overnight." Sprague at 0:25:15: "clarifying sort of language that existed in multiple contracts". | |
| 0:26:06 | Outdoor education | Lewis: "We have a real push for outdoor education." At 0:26:58: "We've increased recess time. We've added an afternoon recess." Holtz at 0:28:32 presents her class's outdoor learning since about 2014. | |
| 0:37:35 | Winter program proposal | Bian: "My name is Michelle Bian, and I'm a resident of War two." The parents are "proposing a five to 5 to 6 week winter program for elementary school children in Claremont with possible activities including snowshoeing, skiing, ice skating, and use of the community center, possibly swimming." At 0:39:33: "The Maple Avenue PTO has offered financial support". | |
| 0:44:11 | What approval is asked | LeClair: "Outdoor education in general does not require your approval in any way. Winter program. However, it is a change in what our current practice is". At 0:44:35: "I expect that the cost of this would be nil for the district at least the first year or so". Towle at 0:45:22: "how does the liability affect if they're outside of the school zone?" LeClair at 0:45:49 describes a Primex site review for a path between Maple Avenue School and Moody Park. | |
| 0:47:15 | Winter program endorsed | Lovett: "I make a motion that the school board not only accepts, but gives our full backing to winter programing." Whitney seconded at 0:47:24; voice vote at 0:47:26. | |
| 0:48:09 | School funding | Sprague on being quoted: "that the schools are a canary in the coal mine for the community". | |
| 0:50:50 | Primex rate cap | LeClair: "Prime X stands for public risk Management Exchange." Property and liability "from fiscal year 16 to 17, the increase was 20%." At 0:51:20: "From 17 to 18, it was 8%, 18 to 19 it went down 16%. And then 19 to next year, 20 down 13%." At 0:51:35: "there are no fees associated with cap." At 0:52:05: "if you terminate your agreement prior to that time period being up, then you pay the difference between the 7% cap and whatever your rate would be." Petrin at 0:55:27: "I'll make a motion to enter into this cap agreement." Lovett at 0:56:57: "I fail to see a downside." | |
| 0:57:55 | Capital improvement subcommittee | Lovett: "rather than every 20 years smacking the taxpayers with a large warrant. We would like to instead set up a fund annually that is attributed to that need." At 0:59:49: "The members of the committee are Carolyn Tol, myself, Rob Lovett, Heather, Heather Whitney, Josh Malloy, and then the director of maintenance, Steve." Sprague at 1:00:03: "some years we have fairly substantial fund balances". | |
| 1:01:45 | SAU policy; NHSBA; bargaining units | Sprague: "Heather and I are on the policy committee for the, saw". Whitney at 1:02:58 on the NHSBA: "It was explained to me that they provide legal counsel." Sprague at 1:05:18: "I've got a letter here from the one of the bargaining units". | |
| 1:06:12 | Two teachers elected | LeClair: "So we have a Lara Bailey, a math teacher at Stevens High School. She'll be replacing Rick Johnson. And we have Laura Grano, a social studies teacher at Stevens High School who will be replacing Nancy Lewis." Lovett at 1:07:07: "Says the Lord Bailey and Laura Grano for the positions listed on this form." Voice vote at 1:07:27. | POSITIVE |
| 1:08:18 | Resignations not read aloud | LeClair: "I don't know if all of their students and colleagues are aware of their decisions, so I would rather them tell their students and colleagues and have it be announced." | |
| 1:08:47 | Summer meetings | LeClair: "June 5th. There is no board meeting." At 1:09:01: "we have an say six school board meeting tomorrow night here at 630." Sprague at 1:09:36: "We can actually, give the superintendent the right to hire without without our approval." | OBSERVATION |
| 1:12:45 | PSIF affidavits | LeClair at 1:12:52: "Recently to accept this as unanticipated revenue. This is the matching money for the security upgrades that we've done in different buildings across the district." At 1:13:17: "And it's I think the total is north of $400,000." | |
| 1:13:36 | Adjournment | Lovett: "It is with great sadness and great appreciation that we make a motion to adjourn". Petrin seconded at 1:13:53. | |
Items flagged for review
Flags are a reviewer's aid generated by comparing the meetings against the law in force on May 15, 2019 (and, for the annual-meeting defect, in February and March 2019), 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. Six flags follow, ordered by severity.
MEDIUM The 2019 budget and default budget were not posted as the Municipal Budget Law required, so the deliberative session and the March 12 vote were defective
The board chair told the district meeting that on April 9, 2019 the district received a notice from the Department of Revenue Administration that "the default budget form miss 26, budget, form and warrant were not posted in accordance with the with RSA 32 colon five", and that "the February 6th, 2019 and the March 12th, 2019 meetings were procedurally defective and invalid" (0:02:45). The ratification motion itself states "the posting requirements were not met" (0:02:02). RSA 32:5, VII, in the codification in force for the 2019 annual meeting, required the governing body to "post certified copies of the budget with the warrant", and in official ballot districts under RSA 40:13 to "post certified copies of the default budget form or any amended default budget form with the proposed operating budget and the warrant". The district thus conceded on the record the lapse of a binding posting rule affecting its whole budget cycle. The grade is MEDIUM rather than HIGH because the district used the statutory cure (flag 2) and because the DRA notice itself was not located, so the exact defect is known only as the chair described it (his miss 26 is unexplained).
Sources: RSA 32:5, VII(a)-(b) (2018 codification; source note ends 2018, 246:1, eff. Aug. 11, 2018; next amended 2021): posting of the budget and default budget form with the warrant.
OBSERVATION The curing meeting met the 21-day rule; its hearing, notice and required majority cannot be checked from the record
An official ballot district may call a single-session special meeting "for the exclusive purpose of curing such defect according to RSA 31:5-b" (RSA 40:16). Section 31:5-b, II, as it read in 2019, requires that the meeting be at least 21 calendar days after the original vote; that the governing body hold a public hearing at least 7 calendar days before it, at which the reasons are explained; that all statutory notice requirements for special meetings be met; and that the majority needed to cure be "the same as the majority as required for passage of the original article". The meeting was 64 days after March 12, so the first condition is met. The recording does not mention a hearing or the warrant's posting, and no notice, warrant or hearing minutes are online. The single motion ratified "the results" of the whole annual meeting (0:02:02) and carried on a voice vote with no count and no speakers for or against (0:03:36, 0:03:52); whether any ratified article had needed more than a simple majority (a bond or a special majority article) cannot be told. The moderator is not named, and the number of voters present is not stated. The motion ratified the March 12 results; the chair said the February 6 deliberative session was also defective, and how the cure reached the deliberative session's amendments is not explained on the recording.
Sources: RSA 40:16 (2019 codification; source 1999, 86:4): special meeting in an official ballot subdivision to cure a defect; RSA 31:5-b, I and II(a)-(e) (2019 codification; source note ends 1989, 287:1): conditions for a curing meeting.
OBSERVATION No warrant, agenda or minutes for either meeting are online
MAP.md section 102 records that neither district Drive share holds anything older than 2022 (checked 9/26/26). That is a limit of what the district posts online, not by itself evidence that records were never made, so the project's missing-records rule is applied on its online-availability limb. Two different records are in question. For the district meeting, RSA 197:20 required the district clerk to "keep a true record of all the doings of each meeting", and the chair named the district clerk for this portion (0:00:11). For the board meeting, RSA 91-A:2, II required minutes open to inspection within five business days. Neither record, the warrant for the special meeting, the notice of the 31:5-b hearing, nor the DRA letter was located online, and no approval of the board minutes is on any recording in the project's map. The board roll as transcribed omits Petrin, who was present (0:05:27).
Sources: RSA 197:20 (2019 codification; source note ends 1963, 120:5): the district clerk keeps a true record of each meeting; RSA 91-A:2, II (2019 codification): board minutes within 5 business days; Input/SupportingDocuments/MAP.md section 102.
OBSERVATION The chair said the board could let the superintendent hire over the summer "without our approval"; the statute says school boards elect teachers
Discussing summer meetings, the chair said: "We can actually, give the superintendent the right to hire without without our approval." (1:09:36). RSA 189:39, unamended since 1971, provides that "Superintendents shall nominate and school boards elect all teachers employed in the schools". No provision letting a board delegate the election of teachers was verified for this page. The same meeting shows the statute being followed: two teachers were nominated by the acting superintendent and elected by the board (flag 6). The Claremont board's practice later that summer, when a large batch of nominations was brought to the board on August 21, 2019, suggests summer hires were brought back for a vote, but that is outside this recording. Recorded as an observation because only a statement, not a delegation, is on the tape.
Sources: RSA 189:39 (2019 codification; source note ends 1971, 371:2): superintendents nominate and school boards elect all teachers; Claremont School Board, August 21, 2019.
POSITIVE The district told its voters plainly what went wrong, who found it, and put the cure to a public vote
Rather than treating the DRA notice as a paperwork matter, the district convened its voters, stated the defect in the motion itself ("Even though the posting requirements were not met", 0:02:02), had the board chair read the substance of the DRA notice, including that it invalidated both the deliberative session and the March vote, and credited the discovery to "a concerned citizen" (0:02:45, 0:03:16). The moderator read the rules of debate aloud and called for speakers on both sides (0:00:53, 0:03:36). The curing route used is the one RSA 40:16 and RSA 31:5-b provide.
Sources: RSA 40:16 (2019 codification); RSA 31:5-b (2019 codification).
POSITIVE Two teachers were nominated by the superintendent and elected by the board in open session, by name and position
The acting superintendent named each nominee, subject and school, and whom each replaced (1:06:12); a member moved them, another seconded, and the board voted (1:07:07, 1:07:16, 1:07:27). That is the procedure RSA 189:39 prescribes. The acting superintendent also declined to read departing teachers' names aloud so they could tell their students and colleagues first (1:08:18), while circulating the list to the board.
Sources: RSA 189:39 (2019 codification): superintendents nominate, school boards elect teachers.
Appendix: source files
Official and public sources
- Cablecast show 10374, "SCHOOL BOARD MEETING 5-15-19 (proceeded by "Special Precedural Defect" meeting)": 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, checked 9/26/26). No warrant, agenda, packet, minutes or DRA notice for these meetings was located.
- Related pages: SAU 6 Board, May 16, 2019 (Tempesta introduced; LeClair's resignation); Claremont School Board, July 30, 2019 (next Claremont recording).
Project files
Working files this page was built from. The dialogue file is linked; the others are not published with the page.
Dialogue/10374 SchoolBoardSpecial051519.mp4.CSV (414 attributed rows; the basis of this page)Input/Videos/10374 SchoolBoardSpecial051519.mp4Input/Transcripts/10374 SchoolBoardSpecial051519.mp4.jsonScripts/attribution_reports_2015_2023/10374 SchoolBoardSpecial051519.mp4.mdInput/SupportingDocuments/MAP.md, section 102
Laws and rules cited on this page
- New Hampshire statutes, as in force in February to May 2019. RSA 32:5, VII (posting the budget and default budget; 2018 codification). RSA 40:16 (curing meeting in an official ballot subdivision). RSA 31:5-b (legalization of meetings). RSA 197:20 (district clerk's record). RSA 91-A:2, II (board minutes). RSA 189:39 (election of teachers).