Participants
Everyone heard or recorded as present. Names, roles and roll follow the agenda and draft minutes; where the dialogue file labels a person differently, the label is noted. Row counts are of the 1,220 rows in the dialogue file.
| Name | Role | Participation |
|---|
| Heather Whitney | Board chair | Presided (306 rows). Read the proclamation to the girls’ soccer team; apologized for late agendas and minutes; asked whether the missing paraprofessionals are required by IEPs; objected to $80,000 intern salaries and stamped signatures; voted against the truancy officer and was the only vote against JLP. |
| Michael Petrin | Vice chair | Asked why the truancy post is “hybrid”, whether it is year-round and who it reports to; moved the Home Depot donation; opposed the head-lice revision; objected to KFD’s limit on who may use an AED. Rendered “Mr. Peterson” and “Mr. patron”. |
| Arlene Hawkins | Member; Policy Subcommittee chair | Moved the minutes off the consent agenda, “Only because I haven’t read them”; questioned the special-education staffing program by program; moved the truancy officer and declined the chair’s friendly amendment; presented and moved the policy block. 202 rows. |
| Candace Crawford | Member; Finance Subcommittee chair | Read the month-to-date budget report line by line: special-education salaries with $145,000 left against contracted services at −$701,000; Maple Avenue paraprofessionals $383,000 over. Seconded the truancy motion; voted for the head-lice revision. Rendered “Miss Cochran” once. |
| Frank Sprague | Member | Asked about the behavioral specialists’ training; asked where the pre-K money is; asked whether McKinney-Vento funding covers the transport cost; voted against the truancy officer while saying “I couldn’t agree more with the necessity of this”. |
| Loren Howard | Member; NHSBA delegate | Reported on the NHSBA Delegate Assembly; seconded the policy motions; explained the committee’s reliance on CDC guidance on head lice, then abstained; asked that a memorial tree at Bluff be saved. Rendered “Lauren Howard”. |
| William “Bill” Madden | Member | Absent (minutes; roll: “William Madden, not here”). Cited in absence for raising the $90,000 transport cost at the previous meeting. |
| Noelle Kronberg | School Board Clerk | Not at the table: the chair’s line is transcribed “This is unavailable this evening, so Mr. Angel has put on another half”, and Angell called the roll. The draft minutes are submitted in her name. The chair proposed extra compensation for her added duties (3:05:31). |
| Kerry Kennedy | Interim Superintendent | Gave the Ed 306 staffing review for Claremont Middle School and, with the acting student services director, the special-education program staffing; brought the truancy officer request. 192 rows; rendered “Carrie”/“Kari”. |
| Jessica MacLeod | Acting Director of Student Services (minutes) | Gave the counts for each self-contained program; explained the school psychology interns’ identification numbers and agreements; spoke for the truancy officer. Labeled “Jessica McCloud” in the dialogue file; the 11/19 minutes spell MacLeod, and other district documents differ. |
| Matt Angell | Senior Comptroller / Interim Business Administrator | Called the roll; gave the finance update (cash $307,000, loan repaid, deficit projection $1.7 million); asked to check the AED language with the district’s insurer; offered the board lists of offers and acceptances. Rendered “Mr. Angel”. |
| Dr. Michael Herrington | Principal, Stevens High School | Presented the draft Program of Studies; explained the Home Depot flooring project; spoke for the truancy post: “My hands are tied as a principal when it comes to truancy.” |
| Michelle Herrington | Sugar River Valley Regional Technical Center | Credited by Crawford with the career-pathways work; per the minutes, will ask Home Depot about flooring for the restaurant and medical-assistant rooms. Addressed as “Missus Harrington”. |
| Scott Maple | Former attendance / truancy officer | Gave the figures the truancy debate turned on: 400 home visits, 98 students on his list, 94 back in school “in one way or form”. |
| Mr. Chennette | School administrator (minutes) | Spoke after the vote for the post and for Maple. Labeled “Unidentified school administrator” in the dialogue file; named in the minutes. |
| Noel Beauchaine | Student (minutes) | Said the high school’s college credits will let her graduate college “a semester or a year early”. Labeled “Unidentified student”; named in the minutes. |
| Don Lavalette | Citizens’ comments — Ward 2 | Could not find the board’s signed ethics forms online; read policy BCA item ten and asked about Sprague’s reinstatement, “I just curious what changed”; announced his candidacy for March. Labeled “Unidentified public commenter”; self-identification transcribed “Donnell Ward two”; named in the minutes. |
| Hope Damon | Citizens’ comments — State Representative | Reported the Senate Education Committee’s 3–2 vote on an amendment to HB 292 creating a loan fund for districts in distress, and that about 200 of the 2026 filings relate to education. Rendered “Hope Daimon”. |
| Melissa Lewis | Citizens’ comments — Ward 1; educator | Thanked the PTOs for matching shirts for every elementary student and staff member. Rendered “Melissa Louis”. |
Named on the record but not present: Chelsea Weatherford (HR manager), Luke Webster (Drummond Woodsum) and Tara Gear (consultant), Sarah Freeman (counsel, named by the chair), Zack Thomas (entrepreneurship teacher), and the auditors. Fifty-two rows are labeled Unidentified, most of them during the proclamation and the voice votes.
Agenda
Items as posted in “CSB Agenda 11.19.25 (2).pdf”, with the time each was taken up and its disposition per the draft minutes, checked against the recording.
| Taken up | Item | Agenda text / disposition |
|---|
| 0:00:03 | I. Call to Order and Pledge | “I would like to call to order the November 19th, 2025 meeting of the Claremont School Board.” |
| 0:00:31 | II. Proclamation – Lady Cardinals | Minutes: “Heather Whitney read a statement and proclamation from the School Board to the SHS girls’ soccer team and presented them each with a rose and copy of the proclamation”. Taken before the roll. |
| 0:08:58 | III. Roll call | Called by Angell. Six present, Madden absent (minutes). |
| 0:09:13 | III.a Consent Agenda (vote required): agenda; minutes of 9/17, 10/1, 11/5; manifest | Minutes moved off by consent at 0:10:02 to the next meeting. The chair said the manifest would be approved “At the end of the meeting”; it was not taken up before adjournment, and no vote on the consent agenda or the board agenda is on the recording or in the minutes. See flag 5. |
| 0:10:24 | III.b Citizens Comments, per policy BEDH | Three speakers: Don Lavalette (Ward 2), Rep. Hope Damon, Melissa Lewis (Ward 1). |
| 0:17:37 | III.c Follow-Up Items | Agenda: “Professional Development”, “Behavioral Specialist Positions/Budget Impact”, “Grant Manager”, “Parent Information Center”, “Compensation Packages for Public Information”. Opened with the chair’s apology for late postings (0:18:04). Minutes: the grant manager post is “Posting internally with 1 potential candidate”; on compensation packages “Ms. Kennedy is awaiting final approval as to what information can legally be presented”. |
| 0:25:07 | III.d Superintendent’s Report | Agenda: “Posting of staff at CMS past/ current vs. industry and NH Ed. 306 minimum standard” (from 0:27:43); “Staffing: Life Skills, Visions, Camp, Academy, Pride” (from 0:42:04); National Honor Society inductees. Also HB765 on SAU structure, online tutoring, and Disnard and Maple Avenue recognized as schools in good standing (0:54:20). |
| 0:57:53 | III.e Finance Update | Tuition rates for the middle and elementary schools deferred again; tax rate not set; auditors begun; cash in the general ledger $307,000; loan repaid; deficit projection $1.7 million; available appropriation down $388,000 to $5.5 million. |
| 1:14:56 | III.1 SHS Program of Studies (Review/ Possible Vote or Revision) | Draft presented for correction; minutes: “the next copy will be voted on at the first meeting in December”. Career clusters, civics moved to freshman year, CTE level two carrying at least nine college credits. The packet’s Ed 306.22 file (high school curriculum) is listed under this item. |
| 1:41:53 | III.2 SAS Scores Review (Report) | Deferred to the next meeting at Kennedy’s request, “in deference of time”. |
| 1:43:19 | III.3 School Psychology Interns (Discussion/Possible vote) | No vote. Minutes: “Clerical error lead to the EIS number for the interns not being entered; that has been corrected and their intern agreements were finalized today”. See flag 4. |
| 1:54:58 | III.4 2025 NHSBA Annual Delegate Assembly (Report) | About ten resolutions; minutes: adopted resolutions include “Opposition to state mandated open enrollment” and support for a simple majority for bonds. |
| 1:57:50 | III.5 Truant Officer Hybrid Position (Discussion/Vote) | Hawkins moved at 2:19:38, Crawford seconded. Voice vote at 2:26:29; minutes: “In favor: Michael Petrin, Arlene Hawkins, Candace Crawford, Loren Howard”, “Opposed: Frank Sprague, Heather Whitney”. The chair’s friendly amendment was declined. |
| 2:29:22 | III.6 Home Depot Flooring Donation (Discussion/Vote) | Petrin moved at 2:32:02, Whitney seconded; carried unanimously at 2:32:51. With labor the value is over $2,500 and under $20,000, which is why the board voted. |
| 2:33:05 | III.7 Subcommittee Reports | Finance: two sessions on December 10 and 12 at 9 a.m. Policy from 2:34:20: nine policies on first read; EFA, IMBA, BCA, DAFB and KFA adopted together; JLCC failed 2–3 with one abstention; JLP adopted 5–1; KFD withdrawn; BBAA to a second read. Ad hoc search subcommittee: no report. |
| 3:05:31 | IV. Other Business | Clerk compensation; student representatives; a metal-detector policy to come; the Bluff building and memorial tree; a public hearing to receive $134,000 from a trust fund (3:08:56); no sports use of Bluff (3:09:31). |
| 3:09:54 | V. Future Dates / VI. Adjournment | Next meetings 12/3/2025 and 12/17/2025. Minutes: “Consent adjournment”. |
Discussion timeline
Chronological topics with the moment each is taken up. Timestamps link to the same moment in the Cablecast recording.
Discussion timeline, November 19, 2025
| Time | Topic | What was said | Flags |
|---|
| 0:09:36 | Minutes off the consent agenda, unread | Hawkins: “That we move the approval of the minutes out of the consent agenda. Only because I haven’t read them.” At 0:09:54: “We got them very late and it’s not a reflection on anyone because there have been many changes, but I haven’t had a chance to read them.” The chair at 0:10:02: “We also have an approval of manifest that we will do this evening as well. At the end of the meeting.” | MEDIUM MEDIUM |
| 0:10:40 | Citizens’ comments: ethics forms and a reinstatement | Lavalette read policy BCA back to the board, that members “will take no private action that will compromise the board”, then at 0:11:49: “the last meeting it was mentioned that there were extraordinary circumstances surrounding Frank as a former supporter of Frank, I’m wondering why that account is so different.” At 0:12:18: “I just curious what changed.” No board member responded. | |
| 0:13:14 | A state loan fund for districts in distress | Rep. Damon: “yesterday the Senate Education Committee voted 3 to 2 on the amendment to HB 292. That is attempting to create a loan fund.” “It is not specific to Claremont only”. | |
| 0:18:04 | The chair’s apology for late postings | “we did have some real issues with getting our meetings together. We’ve been stumbling along, trying to get our agendas posted in a timely manner. And we do apologize if items are not posted as they should. We did lose our clerk to maternity leave”. At 0:18:34: “We don’t have access to the web. So the board is kind of at the mercy of people who do this great work for us.” | MEDIUM |
| 0:22:42 | Behavioral specialists: training promised | Sprague at 0:24:18: “when Ben was here, he had promised that people would receive the training. So I think that that if we’re going to call them a behavioral specialist is actually a term for someone with a master’s degree.” Minutes: “They have SafeCare training/certification” and are on letters of agreement while the union is consulted. | |
| 0:27:43 | The middle school against the minimum standards | “So with Ed three and policy 306 [Ed 306] for the New Hampshire standards, there’s a list of folks that are required by the state”. The music teacher resigned. At 0:28:23: “The health and wellness education teacher, we had one. Unfortunately that was one of the staff members that was riffed [RIF’d]. And unfortunately that is legally required for the state.” At 0:29:01: “computer science is something that we will need to look for”. At 0:41:25: “that sub isn’t necessarily, a certified teacher”. | MEDIUM |
| 0:30:17 | Counselors, and no nurse | “We had one per grade level. This year we have one and a half for the three grade levels.” At 0:30:57: “other folks are having to assume the nurse responsibilities”; “So we do need a nurse at the middle school.” Whitney at 0:39:18: the nurse post is “in the CBA agreement. So for a registered nurse right now, the salary is 70 to 80,000.” Kennedy: “that’s a top step teacher.” | MEDIUM |
| 0:36:26 | “On paper there may look like there’s some supports” | “the eighth graders started off already a little bit behind without having a special educator.” At 0:37:44: “we’re looking for paraprofessionals. I put signs out today at the Dow office.” At 0:38:02: “even though on paper there may look like there’s some supports, it’s still lacking in the day to day”. Whitney at 0:41:50: “And the paraprofessionals. Are they required by their IEP there? Yes they are.” | HIGH |
| 0:42:22 | Pride, Camp and Academy | Pride, moved from Bluff to Maple Avenue: a teacher, two paraprofessionals, “We’ve still have an open position for a pair within that classroom”; six of a maximum 12 students. Academy at the high school at 0:46:07: two paraprofessionals, both leaving. Camp at CMS at 0:46:47: “You have to have a special educator, and with any program automatically have to have a parent [para] to keep that program open.” Hawkins at 0:47:18: “So we don’t have a special educator there as of right now.” Kennedy at 0:47:27: “There’s somebody doing specialized services.” MacLeod at 0:47:49: “But there should be because you have to have a parent [para].” | HIGH |
| 0:47:56 | Early Education, grades 2–3 and Visions: one-to-one gaps | K–1 at 0:49:08: “There’s five pairs [paras] and those are 1 to 1.” “so we are one pair of short. We’ve been engaging with contracting services to try to fill that position.” Grades 2–3 at 0:50:21: “Eight students. There’s seven paras, seven. One to ones right now. And so we are one short”. Visions, grades 4–5, at 0:51:24: “Visions does not have a teacher right now.” Kennedy at 0:51:59: “Seven pairs. Four are filled.” MacLeod at 0:52:13: “for one to ones I believe we’re missing three three pairs for that program.” | HIGH |
| 0:57:53 | Tuition rates forgotten; tax rate unset; auditors begun | “I forgot to ask you for middle school and the elementary school. I’ve actually had a school ask us what next year’s rates are going to be.” At 0:58:47: “the tax rate has not yet been set. The DRA is looking for some information and it’s not from the school district.” At 0:59:15: “The auditors have begun.” | OBSERVATION |
| 1:00:58 | Deficit projection cut to $1.7 million | “I’ve also adjusted down my projection for the deficit at year end to 1.7 million. The reduction is because we’re not able to hire people into these contracted services fast enough.” At 1:01:48: available appropriation “declined by $388,000. And so it’s now, $5.5 million.” At 1:02:22: $151,000 transportation repairs, $90,000 special-education tuition, $34,000 heating pellets, $12,000 software, and “$5,300 for interest payments towards, the the $4 million loan that we, we borrowed from Claremont Savings Bank.” | |
| 1:03:04 | Crawford reads the budget report | “we actually got a month to date actual to budget report, which I appreciate.” Bluff still in the budget: “we have a data problem” (1:03:57). At 1:05:43: special-education salaries “have 145,000 left in the budget for them. However contracted services are a -701,000.” At 1:06:23: “it’s more costly to use contracted services. Am I understanding that correctly?” Angell: “Yes.” At 1:06:35: “special ed pears at Maple are 383,000 over why.” Angell at 1:09:18: “We need to do a deeper dive in how these allocations are done.” | POSITIVE |
| 1:12:13 | Where is the pre-K money? | Sprague: “where are the pre-K expenses?” Angell: “I don’t believe there’s a pre-K program.” Minutes: “There will be a presentation on the PreK program/budgeting in a future meeting”. | |
| 1:15:11 | The draft Program of Studies | Career clusters; civics moved to freshman year at 1:23:27; at 1:25:41: “All tech programs, if you’re a level two, you get at least nine college credits for free”. Honor roll by GPA would put “173 students on honor roll” of 429 (1:31:03). A student at 1:36:43: enough credits “to be able to graduate college a semester or a year early”. | |
| 1:43:37 | The interns: numbers never entered | “the school psych interns, we as a district, had not, taken their educational identification numbers and entered them into the role of school psychologist. So that was just a clerical error.” At 1:44:06: “that was finalized today, and their intern authorization was delivered to us this afternoon.” Whitney at 1:44:36: “we had not been aware that these positions had been filled, by interns.” Counsel “has confirmed that we are obligated to maintain the salaries as signed by the agreement.” | MEDIUM |
| 1:50:50 | “$80,000 is a no go for me” | At 1:51:16: “the board was not aware that we were hiring individuals that were outside of what was being posted or what was in our budget as being approved with appropriations.” At 1:51:44: “So I would never have agreed to appropriate $80,000 for an intern.” “a lot of these contracts had a rubber stamp, that the signature was a stamp.” Kennedy at 1:52:11: “I don’t have a rubber stamp and I’m citing [signing] everything.” Angell at 1:52:46: the board will get lists “of those that were offered, the letter of employment.” | MEDIUM |
| 1:57:57 | The truancy officer: the case | Kennedy at 1:58:16: “every day a student is not in attendance. It is actually affecting our adequacy aid.” Angell at 2:01:15: “$90,000 a year to pick up a homeless student that cost. Yeah, we are splitting the cost”. | OBSERVATION |
| 2:03:28 | McKinney-Vento: duty without a grant | Sprague: “Doesn’t make any Vento [McKinney-Vento] pick up the transportation cost.” Angell: “Can’t you vendo [McKinney-Vento] requires us to go and pick them up.” Kennedy at 2:03:42: “There was some funding through some McKinney Vento grants.” Angell: “we don’t have any right now.” “We don’t have a grant writer.” Sprague at 2:04:02: “So I don’t want to pay for something that a grant will pay for”. | OBSERVATION |
| 2:06:25 | The former truancy officer’s numbers | “I made 400 home visits. I had almost 100 students on my truancy list”. At 2:07:26: “out of the 400 home visits and 98 students that I had, 94 of them returned to school at in one way or form.” MacLeod at 2:13:48: “he’s able to get paperwork that I can’t get when parents are not reachable.” Herrington at 2:15:27: “My hands are tied as a principal when it comes to truancy.” | POSITIVE |
| 2:19:38 | Truancy officer reinstated, 4–2 | “I move that we reinstate the position of true wins [truancy] officer as a hybrid position to include transportation under McKinney.” At 2:19:54: policy JH puts truancy on “either the principal or the true officer”. Sprague at 2:20:19: “I couldn’t agree more with the necessity of this”; at 2:20:53: “It’s going to fix little, I’m afraid, but it’ll help some kids.” Hawkins declined the friendly amendment at 2:25:30. Voted at 2:26:29; 4–2 per the minutes. | POSITIVE |
| 2:34:20 | Nine policies, “last minute because of the transition” | “I hope you had a chance to read through the policies. They were last minute because of the transition.” Five adopted together at 2:42:04: “Seeing no opposition policies adopted.” | MEDIUM |
| 2:42:17 | Head lice: the nurses’ revision defeated | Petrin at 2:45:33: “You’re seriously putting that decision on an eight year old kid, whether they want to stay in school or if they want to go home.” Whitney at 2:46:31: “we actually had a board member who ran for the board because of this policy”; at 2:47:20: “It was a collective punishment for an individual”. At 2:50:13: “One abstention. Policy warming [remaining] as is.” | OBSERVATION |
| 2:50:24 | JLP parental notification adopted, Whitney opposed | Whitney at 2:51:28: “if you are concerned that a child is going to be abused, then you need a mandatory reporter.” Hawkins at 2:53:57: “It doesn’t mean you sit back and do nothing, but it just says you don’t put a child in danger.” Sprague at 2:54:51: “I think we just have to trust our personnel on this one.” Adopted at 2:56:26; 5–1 per the minutes. | |
| 2:56:36 | AED policy held back for the insurer | Petrin at 2:57:32: “I think the ad [AED] should be approved to be used by anybody if I’m on the ground.” Angell at 2:58:40: “Can I run it by Prime X [Primex], our insurance company?” and “I don’t want to go down a road and then have to back up.” Hawkins at 2:59:09: “I withdraw the motion.” | POSITIVE |
| 2:59:30 | BBAA: speaking as a member, and quorums online | Hawkins at 3:01:40: “As long as you indicate you’re not speaking on behalf of the board.” At 3:02:39: “If you’re sitting anywhere and you have four people together, it’s a quorum.” Sent back for a second read; motion withdrawn at 3:04:19. | POSITIVE |
| 3:05:31 | Other business: clerk, Bluff, trust funds | A stipend or “small, baseline salary, like maybe $100 a month” for the clerk (3:06:29). Howard at 3:08:25 on the memorial tree at Bluff. Angell at 3:08:56: “We need to have a public hearing to receive a from a trust fund, $134,000.” On sports use of Bluff at 3:09:31: “Absolutely not. It is a hard no.” | |
Items flagged for review
These are a reviewer’s aid, not findings of violation and not legal advice. Each rule-based flag names the provision it rests on and links to the primary source; where no verified rule applies, the item is labelled an observation. Verify against the recording and the primary sources before relying on any of it.
HIGH District officers stated that one-to-one supports prescribed by students’ IEPs are unstaffed in several special-education programs
34 CFR 300.323(c)(2) requires each public agency to ensure that “special education and related services are made available to the child in accordance with the child’s IEP.” Asked at 0:41:50 whether the missing paraprofessionals are required by students’ IEPs, the answer on the recording is “Yes they are.” Program by program (0:42:22 to 0:52:13; minutes, “Student Services Staffing”): the K–1 room has five of six one-to-one paraprofessionals, “prescribed by IEPs, still need 1 more” (minutes); the grades 2–3 room has seven of eight; Visions has “7 paras needed, 4 filled” (minutes) and no teacher; Camp at the middle school has no special educator on staff and no paraprofessional, though the acting director said a self-contained program must have both; Academy’s two paraprofessionals are both leaving; Pride has an open post. The finance report shows the effect: contracted services at −$701,000 against $145,000 of unspent special-education salary (1:05:43). Limits: the record shows vacancies against prescribed supports on one date. It does not show that any student went without services; staff described contracted help being sought (0:49:08), a behavior analyst supporting one room, and specialized instruction pushed in where a post is empty. HIGH because the district’s own officers stated on the record that IEP-prescribed supports are not staffed, across several programs at once.
Sources: 34 CFR 300.323(c)(2) (services made available in accordance with the IEP; read on eCFR 2026-09-25); RSA ch. 186-C (special education; cited at chapter level); 11.19.25 DRAFT CSB Minutes.
MEDIUM Draft minutes of three autumn meetings entered the public share weeks after the five-business-day deadline, and the chair apologized for it
RSA 91-A:2, II: minutes “promptly recorded and open to public inspection not more than 5 business days after the meeting.” The statute governs availability, not approval, so the deferral at 0:10:02 is ordinary. Availability is the question. Drive metadata (read 2026-09-25, Eastern time) gives: the earliest posted draft of the 9/17/25 minutes created November 3, about six weeks after a deadline of about September 24; the 10/1/25 draft created the evening of November 12, about five weeks late; the 10/15/25 draft created November 25, also about five weeks late. The 11/5/25 draft, created the morning of November 13, is within the window once the Veterans Day holiday is excluded. The chair gave the cause at 0:18:04: the clerk’s maternity leave and the reassignment of the staff member who posts board material, and board members have no web access. Hawkins said the policies were “last minute because of the transition” (2:34:20). Graded MEDIUM, not HIGH as on this page’s earlier version: under the user’s missing-records rule the record mitigates (the drafts exist and the cause was stated on the record), and a Drive creation time shows when a file entered the share, not whether a draft was open to inspection at the SAU office sooner.
Sources: RSA 91-A:2, II; drafts: 08. draft CSB meeting minutes 9.17.25.pdf; draft CSB Meeting Minutes 10.1.25.docx.pdf; 10.15.25 DRAFT CSB Meeting Minutes.docx.pdf; draft CSB meeting minutes 11.5.25.pdf.
MEDIUM Subjects and services required at the middle school are unstaffed against the state minimum standards
From 0:27:43 the interim superintendent walked through Claremont Middle School against Ed 306. Music: the teacher resigned; a substitute. Health and wellness: the teacher was laid off, “And unfortunately that is legally required for the state” (0:28:23), with a substitute who “isn’t necessarily, a certified teacher” (0:41:25). Computer science: not yet staffed. No school nurse; minutes: the post “is part of the CBA and limited to a teacher’s salary (nurse pay is higher than teacher pay)”. Counseling cut from one per grade to 1.5 across three grades for 331 students. Asked how many openings are needed to meet Ed 306, the minutes record “Para positions required by IEPs” and “Computer Science/Digital Literacy”. Ed 306 is a binding rule (readopted eff. 12-13-24). MEDIUM, not HIGH, because this page cites Ed 306 at the part level and cannot show which subsection is unmet or on what timetable, and each post is described as posted and being recruited.
Sources: N.H. Code Admin. R. Ed 306 (minimum standards; part page, no subsection asserted); 11.19.25 DRAFT CSB Minutes; RSA ch. 273-A (the nurse pay limit is a CBA term; chapter level).
MEDIUM School psychology posts were filled by interns without the board’s knowledge, outside the appropriation, and missing from state educator data until that day
The chair: “we had not been aware that these positions had been filled, by interns” (1:44:36) and “I would never have agreed to appropriate $80,000 for an intern” (1:51:44), extending it to “many positions in the past budget” (1:51:16). RSA 189:39: superintendents nominate and school boards elect all teachers. The interns’ identification numbers had not been entered in the school psychologist role, “just a clerical error”, with the authorization “delivered to us this afternoon” (1:43:37, 1:44:06). RSA 189:28 requires the statistical reports the department prescribes and allows aid to be withheld until complete and accurate information is submitted. The chair also objected to stamped signatures on contracts. Mitigations: counsel confirmed the contracted salaries must be honored; the chair checked with Plymouth State and the department that supervised interns may provide the services; Angell promised lists of offers and acceptances and a staffing map. MEDIUM because whether an intern is a “teacher” under RSA 189:39 is not settled here, and no withheld aid is shown.
Sources: RSA 189:39; RSA 189:28; 11.19.25 DRAFT CSB Minutes, “Information on School Psychology Interns”.
MEDIUM The consent agenda, marked “vote required”, was never voted, and the manifest deferred to the end of the meeting was never taken up
The agenda lists “Consent Agenda (vote required)”: board agenda, minutes and “Approval of Manifest”. After the minutes were removed by consent, the chair said at 0:10:02: “We also have an approval of manifest that we will do this evening as well. At the end of the meeting.” The meeting ended at 3:09:54 with “Meeting adjourned” and no manifest vote; the recording is complete to that point. The draft minutes list “Approval of Manifest” with no disposition and record no vote on the consent agenda or the board agenda. RSA 197:23-a lets the treasurer pay out “only upon orders of the school board or upon orders of the 2 or more members of the school board empowered by the school board as a whole to authorize payments.” Whether payments on this manifest were authorized by empowered members outside the meeting is not in the record, so no unauthorized payment is asserted. The gap is procedural and was not noticed at the table.
Sources: RSA 197:23-a (treasurer pays only on orders of the board or its empowered members); CSB Agenda 11.19.25 (2).pdf; 11.19.25 DRAFT CSB Minutes.
OBSERVATION The district owes McKinney-Vento transportation, pays about $90,000 a year for one student, and has no grant and no grant writer
42 U.S.C. §11432(g)(1)(J)(iii) requires transportation of a homeless student to the school of origin, with the district bearing the cost in the circumstances it describes. Angell said so at 2:03:33, and that the district is paying “$90,000 a year to pick up a homeless student”, cost-shared with another district (2:01:15). The grant funding has lapsed and “We don’t have a grant writer” (2:03:48); the grant manager post is only posted internally (minutes). The reinstated truancy post is meant partly to absorb this cost, but no saving was costed. The district is meeting the obligation; this is recorded as a funding gap, not a breach.
Sources: 42 U.S.C. §11432(g)(1)(J)(iii). The $90,000 figure is Angell’s statement; no document is in the packet.
OBSERVATION Tuition rates half set, the tax rate unset, and the audits only begun
Angell had forgotten the middle and elementary tuition rates at the previous meeting, another district was already asking, and the item was deferred again (0:57:53). The tax rate was not set, and “it’s not from the school district” (0:58:47; restated by Crawford at 0:59:01). On the audits the whole report was “The auditors have begun” (0:59:15); the minutes say “Mr. Angell still meeting with auditors”. No verified rule fixes a date for non-resident tuition rates, and nothing here shows a missed filing by the district. Recorded as threads to follow.
Sources: the recording as cited; 11.19.25 DRAFT CSB Minutes, “Finance Update”. No verified rule identified.
OBSERVATION A head-lice revision the nurses asked for, following CDC guidance, failed on the board’s memory of a past controversy
JLCC would have changed the day-of-diagnosis rule from students “will not remain in class” to “may” remain (Hawkins at 2:34:20). Hawkins: “the nurses are in favor of the CDC guidelines”; Howard said the committee followed CDC guidance. Petrin objected to leaving the choice to a child (2:45:33); the chair recalled a former member elected on this issue and called the old practice “a collective punishment for an individual” (2:47:20). Defeated 2–3 with Howard abstaining (minutes: in favor Hawkins and Crawford; opposed Petrin, Sprague, Whitney). No verified rule requires a policy to follow CDC guidance; recorded because the professional advice on the record ran one way and the vote the other.
Sources: 11.19.25 DRAFT CSB Minutes (vote by name); First Read Policies. No verified rule identified.
POSITIVE The truancy decision was made in public, on evidence, and the split was recorded by name
Sprague asked for evidence: “I would find the argument far more compelling if we saw data that showed the efficacy of, of this as an intervention” (2:04:21). The board then heard the former post-holder’s figures (2:06:25, 2:07:26), the acting student services director on paperwork and special-education deadlines (2:13:48), and the principal (2:15:27). Petrin pressed on hours, reporting line and accountability. The chair’s friendly amendment was declined and the motion was put as moved; the minutes record each member’s vote on the 4–2 result, as RSA 91-A:2, II’s final-decisions and mover/seconder requirements contemplate. The chair separated person from post at 2:29:04: “We’ve we’ve heard nothing about anything negative about your work ethic.”
Sources: 11.19.25 DRAFT CSB Minutes; RSA 91-A:2, II.
POSITIVE A month-to-date actual-to-budget report, used in public line by line
No statute requires a monthly actual-to-budget report to the board. Crawford told the public the board now had one and that “I think I can rely on the numbers to be accurate” (1:03:04), then used it: Bluff still carried as an open school because staff had not been moved in the software; contracted special-education services $701,000 over; Maple Avenue paraprofessionals $383,000 over after the Bluff transfer; electricity over-funded at two schools. Sprague added the athletics lines and the missing pre-K line. The figures were stated, not summarized: cash $307,000, loan repaid, deficit projection $1.7 million, available appropriation down $388,000 to $5.5 million, and new costs down to $5,300 of loan interest (1:00:58 to 1:02:22).
Sources: the recording from 0:57:53 to 1:14:36; 11.19.25 DRAFT CSB Minutes, “Finance Update”.
POSITIVE Two policies were held back to check with the insurer and with counsel
On KFD, when Petrin objected that the draft limits AED use to designated employees, Angell asked to “run it by Prime X [Primex], our insurance company” before the language changed (2:58:40), and Hawkins withdrew her own motion (2:59:09). On BBAA, the question of members speaking online and what makes a quorum went to a second read and to counsel rather than being settled on the floor (2:59:30 to 3:04:19). Consultation with legal counsel is outside the definition of a meeting under RSA 91-A:2, I, so the referral raises no notice question.
Sources: RSA 91-A:2, I(b) (consultation with legal counsel); 11.19.25 DRAFT CSB Minutes, “Policy Subcommittee”.
Appendix — source files
Official and public sources
- Cablecast: Claremont School Board 11/19/26 (show 16982; 3:10:02; the title’s year is wrong)
- Drive folder: 12. CSB 11.19.25, 8 items (two are subfolders)
- CSB Agenda 11.19.25 (2).pdf
- Subfolders: First Read Policies; NH School Board Association Delegate Assembly
- H3408-156560 Quote (1).pdf (Home Depot flooring quote)
- ed-306.22-2026-standard-regulation.pdf: Ed 306.22, High School Curriculum, Credits, and Cocurricular Programs, listed under the Program of Studies item
- Earlier minutes deferred at this meeting, filed here: draft CSB meeting minutes 9.17.25.docx.pdf; draft CSB Meeting Minutes 10.1.25.docx.pdf; draft CSB meeting minutes 11.5.25.pdf the “.docx.pdf” extensions are the district’s
- Minutes: 11.19.25 DRAFT CSB Minutes (draft; live Google Doc)
- Linked from the minutes, not in the folder: CMS staffing vs. Ed 306; Student Services Staffing; SHS Program of Studies; intern contracts; Truancy Officer Job Description
- Not located: an approved version of these minutes; any record of the manifest approval.
- Related pages: October 1, 2025; October 15, 2025; November 5, 2025 (Sprague reinstated; the $90,000 transport cost first raised); SAU 6, November 13, 2025
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