Participants
Everyone the recording shows taking part. Names follow the project's dialogue file and its attribution report; no minutes are online to check spellings against, so non-member spellings are as the transcription heard them. About 18% of rows are Unidentified. Members first, then staff, candidates and the public.
| Name | Role | Participation |
|---|
| Brian Rapp | Chair | Presided; remembered a bus-garage employee whose funeral was that evening; set the interview order and had candidates wait outside; called for the nonpublic motion as "RSA 91 a three two"; asked "Would it be prudent to seal the minutes of nonpublic."; declined to make the appointment motion himself ("I share, I can't make the motion."). Answered the last candidate's question about how the board is doing. |
| Chris Irish | Vice Chair (dialogue file: medium confidence) | Asked interview questions; questioned whether the nonpublic session was needed ("I don't think we need to go in on public") and asked that the student representative join it; moved the appointment of "Alex" at 1:39:52. Pressed the business administrator on the fund-balance options and asked whether surplus could buy a special-education building. |
| Michelle Pierce | Board member | Answered the roll. Promoted Christmas in Claremont 2016 during citizens' comments, identifying herself as "Michelle Pierce, Ward one"; asked candidates about teacher reluctance to speak and time commitments; told the last candidate the board was doing "fair to Midland" and that teacher salaries need raised taxes. |
| Frank Sprague | Board member | Answered the roll; seconded the October 19 minutes; recalled asking the Stevens math department for essential skills when he was principal; moved the early-release change; asked the business administrator for a recommendation on the fund balance and explained why an in-district building would not end catastrophic special-education costs. |
| Patrick Adrian | Board member | Proposed skipping interview questions the opening statements covered; asked each candidate whether they would run in March; asked whether teachers would take leave on the early-release day; asked about the next city reassessment and whether the SAU budget was included. |
| Brent Ferland | Board member (dialogue file: low confidence, by elimination) | The voice the dialogue file assigns to him moved the amended agenda, asked candidates about the board's role and parental involvement, asked how the i-Ready reports work, suggested returning $395,000 and keeping the rest, and moved to adjourn. The truncated roll call does not name him; treat the identification as tentative. |
| Dr. Alex Herzog | Candidate; appointed and sworn in | Self-identified at 0:53:16: "I'm Doctor Alex Herzog." Vice president for student and community affairs at River Valley Community College, Army veteran, moved to Claremont in July, two children in the schools. Appointed on Irish's motion and sworn in by the clerk. |
| Mike Siri | Candidate; retired Claremont math teacher (surname spelling unverified) | Spoke first in citizens' comments about a tutoring student who could not do fractions; interviewed first ("I'm mike. Siri."). Named money as the district's most pressing problem and spoke of a perception that teachers are hesitant to speak out. |
| Richard Seaman | Candidate; former board member | Withdrew at the microphone at 1:07:36, citing his work at the Woodstock schools, and offered to stay involved in strategic planning. |
| Rebecca Zullo | Candidate | "My name is Rebecca Zullo." A former district employee who spoke from an occupational-therapy background; spoke about children's basic, emotional and developmental needs and teacher training in behavior; asked the board how it thought it was doing. |
| Marion | Student representative | Gave the student and school reports; asked each candidate about dedication; asked to join the nonpublic session and was admitted. The superintendent names her as Mary Ann Lovett at 1:36:29; the dialogue file gives only the first name (see the method note). |
| Middleton McGoodwin | Superintendent, SAU 6 | Proposed the agenda changes; reported on district goals, school nurses, wood-pellet heating and a cybersecurity calendar; introduced the candidates and the process; supported admitting the student representative; requested the early-release change. Rendered Doctor Goodwin and Mr. McGowan. |
| Cory LeClair | Assistant Superintendent, SAU 6 | Found the oath of office; explained the i-Ready parent reports and the late scheduling of training. |
| Michael O'Neill | Business Administrator, SAU 6 | Presented the FY16 DOE-25 and the school financial report, the fund balance, the retention options and their tax effects, and the catastrophic-aid shortfall; asked members to sign the report forms. Rendered Michael Neil. |
| Mary Woodman | School district clerk and recording secretary | Read the roll and administered the oaths to Dr. Herzog. |
Order of business (reconstructed)
No agenda for this meeting is posted in any district share, so this list is reconstructed from the chair's transitions on the recording. A written agenda existed: the superintendent refers to "Roman numeral eight be" and says the candidate process was set out on it. Hover over (or Tab to) a clipped entry for the full text.
| Taken up | Item | Agenda text / disposition |
|---|
| 0:00:42 | Call to order, pledge, roll call | Roll read by the clerk; the transcript keeps only Pierce, Sprague and the chair. |
| 0:01:21 | Agenda amendments | Add a return to the 2016-17 calendar and the business administrator's budget report after the action items. Approved at 0:03:14 on the motion of the voice the dialogue file assigns to Brent Ferland. |
| 0:03:28 | Minutes of October 19 | Sprague: "The minutes is written and presented."; approved by voice vote. |
| 0:04:51 | Student representative report | Informational. |
| 0:12:53 | Superintendent's report | Informational. |
| 0:25:00 | Citizens' comments | Mike Siri; Michelle Pierce for Christmas in Claremont. Closed at 0:33:45. |
| 0:33:54 | Vacancy: candidate interviews | Four applicants; Siri (0:38:27), Herzog (0:53:07), Seaman withdrew (1:07:12), Zullo (1:09:21). The same written questions put to each. |
| 1:34:49 | Nonpublic session | Motion for "RSA 91 a three two", seconded; roll call partly audible. Student representative admitted. Came out at 1:38:31 by voice vote; minutes sealed by voice vote at 1:38:57. |
| 1:39:52 | Appointment to the vacancy | Irish moved to appoint Alex Herzog; voice vote, no audible dissent. Oath administered by the clerk from 1:40:42. |
| 1:43:15 | Discussion: strategic plan forum | The forum the next evening. |
| 1:44:11 | 2016-17 calendar: early release | Move the i-Ready early-release day from November 3 to Tuesday, November 22. Sprague moved; approved by voice vote at 1:54:36. |
| 1:54:45 | Policies | Postponed at the superintendent's request; no vote heard. |
| 1:55:26 | Budget: FY16 financial reports and fund balance | DOE-25 and school financial report presented; consensus on returning about half the surplus; members asked to sign the report forms. No vote. |
| 2:22:34 | Adjournment | Motion by the voice assigned to Brent Ferland; voice vote. |
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 |
|---|
| 0:01:14 | Roll call | "Michelle Pierce here. Frank Sprague here. And Brian here." The rest of the roll is not in the transcript. | |
| 0:01:26 | Agenda changes | Superintendent: return to the 2016-17 calendar because of the early-release day, and let the business administrator discuss the budget after the action items. LeClair at 0:02:26: "I believe Mike O'Neill is working currently on the annual, report, the Miss document". | MEDIUM |
| 0:03:42 | Remembrance; soccer | The chair acknowledged the death of a bus-garage employee whose service was under way, and the boys' soccer team's 3 to 2 playoff win. | |
| 0:04:51 | Student and school reports | Football playoff; CTE and academic teachers' project-based learning training; Key Club UNICEF drive; early college applications ("18% of the class that has submitted"); Disnard, Bluff and Middle School news, including an eighth-grade bake sale for children in foster care. | |
| 0:12:55 | Superintendent's report | Attendance at Stevens "about 92%" against a 93% goal; state figures that "99% of all jobs created after the 2008 financial recession" required post-secondary training; he meets the school nurses quarterly because "we don't have a central nurse leader position"; wood pellets cut greenhouse gases "by 54% compared to all" [oil]; the 2013 vote for "a $12.5 million renovation with zero state aid". | |
| 0:25:04 | Citizens' comments | Mike Siri on a tutoring student who knew the quadratic formula but not fractions; Sprague recalled that fractions were on the math department's essential-skills list. Michelle Pierce, speaking as a Heart of Claremont volunteer, asked for help and money for Christmas in Claremont ("we're looking to raise at least 2000"). | |
| 0:33:56 | Vacancy process | Superintendent introduced four residents who applied "in filling the open seat" through March 2017; after the interviews "the board would go into nonpublic and the RSA is listed", decide, and announce in public. The oath text had not been found; LeClair found it at 1:06:53. Chair at 0:37:31: the other candidates would wait outside so "you don't hear the questions". | POSITIVE |
| 0:38:29 | Interview: Mike Siri | Resident since 1988, retired in June after teaching in Claremont middle and high schools. Most pressing problem: "I would have to say money." On parental involvement: "there is a perception that teachers feel very hesitant to speak out." Three qualities: transparency, positivity, intelligence. | POSITIVE |
| 0:53:08 | Interview: Dr. Alex Herzog | "I'm Doctor Alex Herzog." Twenty years in higher education, an Army veteran, two children in the schools. Pressing problems: individual student needs and truancy. On running in March: "Should I be like Donald Trump and say, I'm not sure" and then that he had a real interest. | POSITIVE |
| 1:07:12 | Richard Seaman withdraws | "What I'd like to do, if I could is actually withdraw my application for this." He welcomed four applicants for one seat, recalling times when open positions drew none. | |
| 1:09:32 | Interview: Rebecca Zullo | "My name is Rebecca Zullo." Pressing problem: the whole child; "We have kids who aren't eating." Wants behavior training for teachers and a real conversation between board and community. Asked at 1:27:27: "how do you guys think you're doing as a school board?" Pierce, Adrian, Sprague and the chair answered. | POSITIVE |
| 1:34:49 | Motion to enter nonpublic session | Chair: "So we need a motion for RSA 91 a three two." A second and a call for the roll follow; the answers are partly audible ("Yes. Yes and yes."). Irish: "I don't think we need to go in on public". The student representative asked to join; the superintendent at 1:36:29: "It's not about Mary Ann Lovett. It's about students." She was admitted. | MEDIUM |
| 1:38:31 | Out of nonpublic; minutes sealed | "Doesn't need to be roll call to come out does it." Voice vote. Chair at 1:38:57: "Would it be prudent to seal the minutes of nonpublic." A voice: "Yes. Yes. So moved." Seconded; "Any further discussion? All in favor?" and Aye. No reason for sealing is stated. | MEDIUM |
| 1:39:52 | Herzog appointed and sworn in | Irish: "it was a really hard choice" and "I'll make the motion that we appoint, Alex to fill the seat until March 2nd." Voice vote with no audible dissent. The clerk administered two oaths from 1:40:42. | POSITIVE |
| 1:44:11 | Early-release day moved | Superintendent: the i-Ready trainers confirmed too late to give parents notice, so "I would request that we change that day from November 3rd to Tuesday, November 22nd." On teacher leave that day, the collective bargaining agreement "notifies staff that is not acceptable to put in a personal leave personal day to extend a vacation." LeClair: "disappointed with the training company for the, lack of timely response". Approved on Sprague's motion. | |
| 1:54:45 | Policies postponed | "I would recommend with the board to prove that we postpone the policy discussion." (They were taken up on November 16.) | |
| 1:55:26 | FY16 DOE-25 and fund balance | O'Neill: "what I'm supposed to discuss is the error results for 1516." Unassigned fund balance: "The amount is $651,329." Driven by a final $500,000 health-trust refund. "We have the ability to carry over up to 402,800." and "basically every $450,000 is another dollar on the tax rate." | OBSERVATION |
| 2:01:26 | What retained money may be used for | O'Neill: the voters authorized "carryover up to 2.5% of fund balance. The specific purposes of that carryover are unexpected, catastrophic special education expenses or unexpected catastrophic building failure expenses, or to help stabilize the tax rate." He added "we have no catastrophic special ed trust fund." Later, at 2:13:36: "it can only be spent under expenditure over expenditures under RSA 32. 11 ought to be used as revenue source to reduce the tax rate." | OBSERVATION |
| 2:03:03 | Adequacy loss | O'Neill: the recalculated adequacy aid is about $400,000 lower, and the FY2012 stabilization grant will be taken away "over 20, 25 years at 4% per year". See the November 15 joint-meeting page for the statute. | |
| 2:04:20 | Half and half | "That's why I would suggest like a half and half where we give back. 325 we keep 325." At 2:10:50: "If we kept the most we could keep, it would be $1.72 up. If we keep half and half it's $1.61. If we give it all back it's $1.14." Irish asked whether the money could buy a building for in-district special education; O'Neill said it could not. | OBSERVATION |
| 2:17:15 | Catastrophic special-education aid | O'Neill: "the calculation of catastrophic aid that Claremont was entitled to for the current fiscal year is 740,000 844, but because the state's only paying at 69%, we're only going to get five, 13, 104." At 2:17:48: "The RSA says they'll pay 100%. And they're basically going to pay 69%." | OBSERVATION |
| 2:18:54 | No vote; signatures | O'Neill: "I don't really need anything from the board." and "I'm the person who signs the miss 24". At 2:20:51: "signature forms for the school financial report, which is the 2025 and then the D 25. So I need you guys to sign two of those." At 2:21:17: "I was working on it for 12 hours today trying to get it done." | MEDIUM OBSERVATION |
| 2:22:34 | Adjournment | Motion, second and voice vote. | |
Items flagged for review
Flags are a reviewer's aid generated by comparing the meeting against the law in force on November 2, 2016. Several provisions cited below were later amended, and each flag cites the text 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. Flags are ordered by severity.
MEDIUM The motion to go into nonpublic session named no specific exemption, and a member doubted a session was needed
At 1:34:49 the chair asked for "a motion for RSA 91 a three two"; a second and a roll call followed, with the answers only partly audible. No paragraph II ground was stated, although the superintendent had said "the RSA is listed" on the agenda (0:34:55). RSA 91-A:3, I(b), in the same words in 2015 and 2016, required that "Any motion to enter nonpublic session shall state on its face the specific exemption under paragraph II which is relied upon". The purpose on the record was to deliberate among three candidates for appointment to the board. The grounds that might be argued are II(b), "The hiring of any person as a public employee", and II(c), matters likely to "affect adversely the reputation of any person, other than a member of the public body itself"; whether an appointment to an elected board fits either is exactly what a stated ground would have let the public judge. Irish said on the record, "I don't think we need to go in on public" (1:35:17).
The limb applied is MEDIUM rather than HIGH because a roll-call vote was taken, the agenda may have named the ground (it is not available to check), and the decision itself was made and announced in public. The board also admitted the student representative to the session; the statute does not bar the body from admitting others.
Sources: RSA 91-A:3, I(b), II(b), II(c) (2016 codification; the same text as the 2015 codification on these passages): motion must state the specific exemption; roll call.
MEDIUM The nonpublic minutes were sealed by voice vote with no statutory determination stated
At 1:38:57 the chair asked "Would it be prudent to seal the minutes of nonpublic." A member moved it, it was seconded, and it passed on "All in favor?" with an audible Aye. and no stated reason. Under RSA 91-A:3, III as it then read, minutes and decisions of a nonpublic session "shall be publicly disclosed within 72 hours of the meeting, unless, by recorded vote of 2/3 of the members present taken in public session, it is determined" that disclosure would likely harm the reputation of a non-member, render the proposed action ineffective, or pertain to terrorism. The vote was in public and appears unanimous, so a two-thirds tally is likely, but the recording carries no determination at all. That is a documentation gap at minimum. A reputation determination could plausibly have been made (the discussion compared named candidates), but the board did not say so. The decision reached, the appointment, was announced in public minutes later.
Sources: RSA 91-A:3, III (2016 codification; same text as 2015): 72-hour disclosure unless sealed by recorded 2/3 vote in public session with a determination.
MEDIUM The FY16 school financial report was still being finished and signed on November 2, after the September 1 statutory filing date
At the top of the meeting the assistant superintendent said the business administrator was "working currently on the annual, report, the Miss document" (0:02:26). At the end he presented the FY16 figures and asked for "signature forms for the school financial report, which is the 2025 and then the D 25. So I need you guys to sign two of those." (2:20:51), adding that he had worked "12 hours today trying to get it done" (2:21:17). RSA 21-J:34, V, unchanged since 2007, provided: "School districts shall submit financial reports on or before September 1 of each year." Signing a financial report two months after that date indicates the filing was late.
The limb applied is MEDIUM, not HIGH, because the recording leaves open facts that could mitigate it: whether the Department of Revenue Administration granted an extension, whether a preliminary report had already been filed, and whether the forms being signed were a final or amended version. None of these is mentioned on the tape. The DOE-25 has its own Department of Education deadline, which this page has not verified.
Sources: RSA 21-J:34, V (2016 codification; source note ends 2007, 182:2): school district financial reports due on or before September 1.
OBSERVATION The board was told the retention cap and its purposes in terms the statute does not use, and the amount to keep was settled without a vote
The business administrator said voters had authorized the district to "carryover up to 2.5% of fund balance" for catastrophic special-education or building-failure expenses or tax stabilization (2:01:26). RSA 198:4-b, II as it read in 2016 measures the cap differently and states the purposes differently: retained funds may not exceed "2.5 percent of the current fiscal year's net assessment pursuant to RSA 198:5", and are held "as a revenue source for emergency expenditures and overexpenditures under RSA 32:11, or to be used as a revenue source to reduce the tax rate". He gave the statutory purposes correctly later, at 2:13:36, and his $402,800 cap figure may well have been computed on the right base; the page cannot check it. The special-education and building examples are his description of what an RSA 32:11 emergency might be, not categories in the statute.
The board then reached consensus on returning about $325,000 and keeping about $325,000, and the business administrator said "I don't really need anything from the board." (2:18:54). No statute identified by this page requires a board vote on the amount retained within the authorized cap, so this is an observation; a reader should know that a roughly 47-cent effect on the tax rate was decided without a recorded vote.
Sources: RSA 198:4-b, II (2016 codification; source note ends 2014, 190:6): retention up to 2.5 percent of net assessment for RSA 32:11 emergencies or tax-rate reduction.
OBSERVATION "The RSA says they'll pay 100%" misstates the catastrophic-aid statute, which allowed proration
The business administrator said Claremont's catastrophic special-education entitlement was $740,844 but the state was paying 69%, so the district would receive $513,104, and that "The RSA says they'll pay 100%." (2:17:15, 2:17:48). RSA 186-C:18, III in the 2016 codification did not promise full payment: the state was liable for 80 percent of a child's costs above 3.5 times the state average expenditure per pupil, up to 10 times that average, and when the appropriation fell short, payments were to be "prorated proportionally based on entitlement". A shortfall of the kind he described is therefore the statute's proration clause at work, not a breach of a promise to pay in full. His underlying point, that the district receives substantially less than its calculated entitlement, stands.
Sources: RSA 186-C:18, III (2016 codification; source note ends 2011, 224:227): 80 percent above 3.5 times the state average; proportional proration when the appropriation is insufficient.
OBSERVATION No agenda, packet or minutes for this meeting are posted online
MAP.md records that neither district Drive share holds anything before July 2022 (checked 9/26/26), so this page rests on the recording alone. That is a limit of what the district posts online, not by itself evidence that records were never made: the board approved its October 19 minutes at 0:03:39, the superintendent referred to the agenda's item numbers, and members worked from a written list of interview questions. In 2016 RSA 91-A:2, II required minutes to be "open to public inspection not more than 5 business days after the meeting". Whether that was met cannot be tested from here. The limb applied is the online-availability observation, because the recording itself shows minutes being kept and approved. The sealed nonpublic minutes are addressed in flag 2.
Sources: RSA 91-A:2, II (2015 codification, in force until January 1, 2017): minutes open to inspection within 5 business days; Input/SupportingDocuments/MAP.md section 17.
POSITIVE The vacancy was filled within a month through public interviews with common questions, and the appointee was sworn in on the spot
The seat became vacant in early October. By November 2 the board had advertised it, drawn four applicants, sent each a letter explaining the process, and interviewed three in public on the same written questions, with the others waiting outside so they would not hear the questions in advance (0:37:31). Candidates were invited to ask the board questions, and one did. The appointment was moved, voted and announced in public, and the clerk administered the oath the same evening. RSA 197:26 required only that "The school board shall fill vacancies occurring on the board ... until the next annual meeting"; it prescribed no process. Public interviews go beyond that minimum and let residents judge the choice.
Sources: RSA 197:26 (2016 codification): the school board fills board vacancies until the next annual meeting.
Appendix: source files
Official and public sources
- Cablecast show 8732, "SCHOOL BOARD MEETING 11-2-16": 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, checked 9/26/26). No agenda, interview questions, DOE-25, financial report or minutes for this meeting were located.
- Related pages: October 5, 2016 (the resignation that created the vacancy), November 15, 2016 joint meeting (stabilization grant) and November 16, 2016 (the postponed policies).
Project files
Working files this page was built from. The dialogue file is linked; the others are not published with the page.
Dialogue/8732 SchoolBoard110216.mp4.CSV (861 attributed rows; the basis of this page)Input/Videos/8732 SchoolBoard110216.mp4Input/Transcripts/8732 SchoolBoard110216.mp4.jsonScripts/attribution_reports_2015_2023/8732 SchoolBoard110216.mp4.mdInput/SupportingDocuments/MAP.md, section 17
Laws and rules cited on this page
- New Hampshire statutes, as in force on November 2, 2016. RSA 91-A:3, I(b), II(b), II(c), III (nonpublic sessions; 2016 codification, same text as 2015 on these passages). RSA 91-A:2, II (minutes; 2015 codification, in force until January 1, 2017). RSA 21-J:34, V (school district financial reports by September 1). RSA 198:4-b, II (retained fund balance). RSA 186-C:18, III (catastrophic aid). RSA 197:26 (vacancies).