Participants
Everyone the recording shows taking part, as named in the project's dialogue file. The roll call is garbled in the transcript (0:00:34); presence is taken from the chair's remarks and from who speaks. Where the dialogue file leaves a voice Unidentified, this page does too.
| Name | Role | Participation |
|---|
| Brian Rapp | Chair | Presided; ran the candidate interviews and asked each the role-and-responsibility question; called the nonpublic roll call ("It has to be. Roll call.", 1:00:26); announced Herzog's appointment (1:02:29); proposed a schedule of budget topics (3:03:33). |
| Michelle Pierce | Member | Seconded the minutes (0:01:32); moved the nonpublic session (1:00:18) and the appointment of Alex Herzog (1:02:04); asked about parent notification and consistency of bullying procedures across schools (1:42:21, 1:46:12); asked for special education cost breakdowns (2:48:00). |
| Frank Sprague | Member | Asked each candidate the most-pressing-problems question; questioned the high school administrator count (2:41:26) and asked for outcome data (3:06:17); moved to adjourn (3:08:11). |
| Rebecca Zullo | Member | Asked each candidate the job-description question; asked how many parents read the student handbook (1:36:08); pressed the superintendent for a target figure (2:35:13, 2:36:49); raised business office line items (2:38:14). |
| Michael Petrin | Member | Volunteered to sign vouchers (0:12:57); asked each candidate the five-year-vision question (0:22:32); on the budget, "making sure we're not duplicating services" (2:56:59). Several of his interview questions sit in other voices' clusters and were reassigned by the attribution pass (see method note). |
| Chris Irish | Vice chair | Absent: "out of state" per the chair (0:00:47). |
| Dr. Alex Herzog | Candidate; appointed and sworn in as member | Interviewed (0:45:04 to 0:53:38); disclosed that his wife works at Maple Avenue as a Title I teacher (0:45:51); appointed (1:02:04 to 1:02:29) and sworn in (1:03:19); then took part as a member, asking about bullying case counts (1:17:01) and for comparative data (2:44:25). |
| Jason Benware | Candidate | Interviewed first (0:20:30 to 0:30:46); 18-year resident of Ward 1 with two children at Bluff School (0:20:34). The dialogue file renders his surname "Ben, where" and "Benoit". |
| George (surname not recoverable from the transcript) | Candidate | Interviewed (0:31:50 to 0:44:06); described himself as a former Claremont board member and chair and a school business administrator for 12 years (0:32:00, 0:32:26). The superintendent's call for him is transcribed as "Mr. Kookaburra" (0:31:26). |
| Caitlin Kerr | Candidate | Interviewed last (0:54:23 to 0:59:56); moved to Claremont over the summer. |
| Middleton McGoodwin | Superintendent, SAU 6 | Superintendent's report, including the request for two members to sign vouchers (0:12:27); set out the interview process (0:17:12); introduced the bullying presenters (1:04:35); presented the budget history and his objection to the $1.2 million target (2:08:34 to 2:32:33). |
| Cory LeClair | Assistant Superintendent, SAU 6 | Asked how the board wants the administrators' answers delivered (2:51:32; about 40 pages for his section, 2:53:15). Attribution is a medium-low hypothesis in the attribution report. |
| Nathan (surname not on record) | SAU 6 administrator | Explained a staffing increase (2:22:29) and called the five-administrator figure "a report error" (2:42:03). |
| Chris (surname not on record) | Director of special education (inferred) | Out-of-district placement rate "about 1.6 1.7%" against a stated national 3 to 4% (2:45:47); announced in-kind donations for the early childhood sensory room (3:08:24). |
| Paul Gerald (spelling as transcribed) | Principal, Claremont Middle School | Co-presented on bullying (1:05:26 to 2:05:07); 20 reports, 13 found to be bullying (1:17:15). |
| Audra Buckland (spelling as transcribed) | Assistant principal, Claremont Middle School | Co-presented; school counselor background (1:09:20); described the intake form, the investigation window and parent notification (1:41:17, 1:43:29). |
| Lexi | Student representative | Student report (0:01:45); asked the presenters how students are taught what bullying is (1:20:35). |
| Unidentified | Roll caller; oath officiant | The roll call (0:00:34) and the oath (1:03:19) are given by voices the dialogue file does not name. |
| No citizens | Citizens' comments | The chair opened and closed citizens' comments with no speaker (0:16:45, 0:16:53). |
Order of business (reconstructed)
No agenda for this meeting is posted online, though the superintendent refers to one ("as indicated on the agenda", 0:17:12). This outline is reconstructed from the chair's transitions. Hover over (or Tab to) a clipped entry for the full text.
| Taken up | Item | Agenda text / disposition |
|---|
| 0:00:04 | Call to order; pledge; roll call | Chair Rapp. Irish absent (0:00:47). |
| 0:01:04 | Agenda | No edits; accepted as presented, mover unidentified, seconded, voice vote (0:01:16). |
| 0:01:16 | Minutes of October 18, 2017 | Approved on a motion by an unidentified member, second Pierce (0:01:32), voice vote (0:01:33). |
| 0:01:45 | Student representative's report | Lexi: school events, a Stevens bridge-building project, music and athletics. |
| 0:11:55 | Superintendent's report | Voucher signing by two members (0:12:27); a professional learning series for staff, the first of five days held October 27 (0:14:09). |
| 0:16:45 | Citizens' comments | None. |
| 0:16:53 | School board vacancy | Four candidates interviewed in alphabetical order, each alone (0:17:46): Benware (0:20:20), George (0:31:50), Herzog (0:45:04), Kerr (0:54:23). Nonpublic session on a motion by Pierce, seconded, by roll call (1:00:14 to 1:00:53); out of nonpublic by voice vote (1:01:18). Motion Pierce to appoint Alex Herzog, seconded by an unidentified member, voice vote (1:02:04 to 1:02:29). Oath administered (1:03:19). |
| 1:04:28 | Discussion item: presentation on bullying | Claremont Middle School principal and assistant principal, the first of three presentations by school level (1:04:35, 1:05:01). No vote. |
| 2:05:37 | School district budget, fiscal year 2019 | Superintendent's presentation on the November 1 memo and budget history (2:08:34); board discussion. No vote. |
| 3:08:11 | Adjournment | Motion Sprague; the vote is interrupted by the superintendent (3:08:15) for an announcement on the sensory room; no completed vote is heard before the recording ends. |
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 |
|---|
| 0:00:47 | Attendance | Rapp: "Chris Irish let me know he's out of state for the weekend or for the next couple of days". | |
| 0:12:27 | Voucher signing | McGoodwin: "We do need two school board members to volunteer, perhaps once a week to come to the Dow building and sign about these vouchers." "it's a requirement of our auditors." Then: "But this has not been done for some time, and so we have some catching up to do." "your signature indicates that you are approved our expenditures." Petrin: "there is a lot to be signed at this point" (0:13:36). | MEDIUM |
| 0:14:09 | Professional learning | A staff "university" built on the strategic action plan; October 27 was "the first of five professional growth days" with "a combined total of 300 of our teachers and paraprofessionals" (0:15:16). | |
| 0:17:12 | Vacancy process | McGoodwin: the other three candidates "would please leave the room and wait outside so each candidate has the opportunity to respond without the other candidates listening"; then "the board will go into a non public meeting or nonpublic session where you can deliberate" (0:17:46). The term runs "from November of this year until March of 2008" (0:18:33), corrected at the table to 2018 (0:18:45). | POSITIVE |
| 0:20:20 | Interview: Jason Benware | Opening statement (0:20:34); on the five-year vision he spoke of federal mandates and costs; named "Fiscal responsibility" among a member's three characteristics (0:24:52). | |
| 0:31:50 | Interview: George | "45 year resident. Former school board member for, like, I don't know, forever. 7 or 8 years. I was chair for at least six of those." He described a business administrator post with "about a $21 million budget" and eight straight unqualified audits (0:32:43). | |
| 0:45:04 | Interview: Alex Herzog | "I'm doctor Alex Herzog." He named his wife's employment in the district as a Title I teacher: "Completely transparent. My wife works at Maple Ave" (0:45:51). A prior board member: "I think we did some really good work on the budget last year" (0:46:04). | POSITIVE |
| 0:54:23 | Interview: Caitlin Kerr | New resident, formerly a private music teacher in Massachusetts; named open-mindedness first among a member's qualities (0:56:35). | |
| 1:00:14 | Nonpublic session | Rapp: "I'll take a motion for going in on public." Pierce: "Please make a motion run in on public." (1:00:18). Seconded; the chair: "Oh, sorry. It has to be. Roll call." (1:00:26); Yes responses follow without names. No exemption is heard in the motion. Recording paused; out of nonpublic by voice vote at 1:01:18. | MEDIUM |
| 1:01:28 | Appointment | Rapp: "Very, very good people that applied." Pierce moved "to accept her. [...] A point. Oh, you want me to say the name? Oh, Alex." (1:02:04, 1:02:10); seconded, voice vote; the chair: "Mr. Herzog." (1:02:29). Oath follows (1:03:19). | POSITIVE |
| 1:04:35 | Bullying presentation opens | The presenters are "here tonight at the request of the school board. Their presentation will be the first of three presentations." Elementary and high school to follow (1:05:01). | |
| 1:17:01 | Case counts | Herzog asked for the number behind a percentage. Gerald: "For for us, we had 13 cases." Then: "20 were reported. And of that 2013 were found to be bullying found." (1:17:15). | |
| 1:22:57 | Definitions | The superintendent's personal view is a pattern of events, which he says "doesn't comply with the law"; "we comply with the law" (1:23:37). The presenters showed the New Hampshire and CDC definitions (1:25:04); the state definition is also the one in the board's policy (1:31:25 to 1:31:36). | |
| 1:41:05 | Investigation timing | Herzog asked about the five-day initiation. Buckland: "So in New Hampshire, the law and this district's policy is 21 days to do an investigation." Pierce later: "the law states 21 days, that you're given for an investigation" (1:42:49). | OBSERVATION |
| 1:43:29 | Parent notification | Buckland: "So by phone that day. So immediately", with every contact number tried, then "a formal letter that actually explains the law and what happens next". McGoodwin: "I read every bullying report that is written and I sign it and we keep a log." (1:47:36). | POSITIVE |
| 1:50:49 | Prevention and next steps | Advisory groups and the Overcoming Obstacles curriculum (1:51:07); a parent forum planned for early December (1:54:47); the presenters asked for "careful review of the bullying policy and procedures" (1:57:40). Zullo: "we're reviewing the policy and procedures" (2:02:38). | |
| 2:08:34 | Budget: November 1 memo | McGoodwin framed "how challenging your director of taking next year's budget and reducing it, 1.2 million below the current budget" (2:09:21) and acknowledged "you, as a board by law, have the right to make budgetary decisions" (2:09:54). He cited "Senate bill 193" (2:11:59). | |
| 2:15:10 | Budget history | "this last fiscal year, one quarter of 1% increase, a $31 million budget, and the increase was 78,000." Special education: "since that time, the budget in special education has been going down" (2:19:18); out-of-district costs "2.5 million in 2013" (2:20:04). | |
| 2:21:20 | The September 30 session | "Each school board member in attendance September 30th believe there may be potential savings." Staffing counts follow; Nathan explains a 1.8 FTE increase (2:22:29). | OBSERVATION |
| 2:29:43 | Superintendent's conclusion | "we're not out of control. We're pretty lean." (2:29:43); "we're struggling by going toward this directive. We're going to undo what's in place." (2:32:14). | |
| 2:35:13 | Target figure | Zullo asked his target; McGoodwin: "It would be no more. It would be a minimal increase of less than less than 1% increase." (2:36:52). Zullo raised business office line items; Rapp: "That's something for tomorrow for the board." (2:38:35). | |
| 2:41:26 | Administrator count | Sprague: "it looked like there were five administrators" at the high school; Nathan: "Yeah, that was incorrect. It was it was a report error." (2:42:03). | |
| 2:44:25 | Requests for data | Herzog: "one of the things we're missing here is more data. What are we comparing ourselves to?" The special education director: out-of-district placements "about 1.6 1.7%" (2:45:47). Petrin on duplication of services (2:56:59). | |
| 2:51:32 | How answers will be delivered | LeClair asked the board's preferred method; "my answers to my section total about 40 pages of information" (2:53:15). The administrators had the questions since "23rd of October" (3:04:02). The chair: the meeting is "Just not streamed yet." (3:05:07). | |
| 3:06:17 | Outcome data | Sprague: "We have not seen any progressive data showing us that this all these programing, prevention, staffing as yielded a result." "Our 26% of ninth graders still failing English." (3:07:51); McGoodwin: "That's the old data. It's old. It's five years old." (3:07:59). | |
| 3:08:24 | Sensory room announcement | In-kind donations of painting supplies and food for a work day on the early childhood sensory room. Pierce asked whether there is a protocol for gifts (3:09:36). | |
Items flagged for review
Flags are a reviewer's aid generated by comparing the meeting against the law in force on November 1, 2017. They are not findings of violation, and nothing here is legal advice. Each flag names the rule it rests on; where no verified rule applies, it is recorded as an observation. Ordered by severity.
MEDIUM The motion to enter nonpublic session, as heard, names no statutory exemption
After the interviews the chair asked for "a motion for going in on public", Pierce moved it, a second followed, and a roll call was taken (1:00:14 to 1:00:53). No paragraph of RSA 91-A:3, II is heard in the motion or anywhere near it. The law then in force required that the motion to enter nonpublic session "state on its face the specific exemption under paragraph II" and be decided by roll call. The roll call was taken, prompted by the chair (1:00:26). A ground existed that fits the subject: paragraph II(c) covers matters that would likely affect the reputation of any person other than a member of the body, which reaches candidates for appointment. The decision itself was then moved and voted in public (1:02:04 to 1:02:29), so the nonpublic session covered deliberation only. The grade is MEDIUM rather than HIGH because this stretch of the transcript is garbled ("run in on public") and the minutes, which might record the ground, are not online.
Sources: RSA 91-A:3, I(b) and II(c) (2017 codification; source note ends 2016, 30:1, eff. Jan. 1, 2017): the motion "shall state on its face the specific exemption under paragraph II"; roll call.
MEDIUM The superintendent reported that board signatures on payment vouchers had "not been done for some time"
In his report the superintendent asked for two members to come weekly to sign vouchers, calling it "a requirement of our auditors" and adding "this has not been done for some time, and so we have some catching up to do" (0:12:27, 0:13:02); Petrin replied "there is a lot to be signed at this point" (0:13:36). The law then in force let the district treasurer pay out money "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." A backlog of unsigned vouchers means either that payments went out before the board's order existed, or that they waited; the recording does not say which, how long the gap was, or whether the board had formally empowered two members. That is a probable control weakness under a binding rule, which is why it is graded MEDIUM. In the district's favor: the gap was raised by the superintendent himself, in public, and two members volunteered on the spot (0:12:57, 0:13:00).
Sources: RSA 197:23-a (2017 codification; source note ends 2015, 272:45, eff. Oct. 1, 2015): treasurer pays out "only upon orders of the school board" or of two or more empowered members.
OBSERVATION The law was said to allow 21 days for a bullying investigation; the statute sets no such figure
Asked about the five-day start of an investigation, the assistant principal said "in New Hampshire, the law and this district's policy is 21 days to do an investigation" (1:41:17), and a member repeated that "the law states 21 days" (1:42:49). The Pupil Safety and Violence Prevention Act as it read in 2017 required each district's policy to provide for an investigation "to be initiated within 5 school days of the reported incident", left the period for completing and documenting it to the policy, and allowed the superintendent to extend it "for up to an additional 7 school days". The number 21 does not appear in the section. A 21-day window may well be the district's policy, which the board said it was reviewing (1:50:44, 2:02:38); the page could not check it, because the policy of the period is not online. Recorded as an observation about an inaccurate statement of the law, not a finding about practice.
Sources: RSA 193-F:4, II(j) (2017 codification; source note ends 2010, 155:2; the list was later amended by 2025, 57:1).
OBSERVATION No minutes, packet or record of the September 30 budget session are online, and none for this meeting either
The budget discussion turns on a reduction target set by the board at a session on Saturday, September 30, 2017 ("Each school board member in attendance September 30th", 2:21:20; the target is "1.2 million below the current budget", 2:09:21). That session has no recording in the corpus and no MAP.md section, and its minutes are not online. The packet documents discussed tonight (the candidate question list, the November 1 memo, the bullying handouts) and this meeting's own minutes are not online either. The district's Drive shares begin in 2022 and 2023, so this is a finding about online availability, not evidence that records were never kept. A meeting of a quorum of the board is subject to notice and to minutes open for inspection within five business days.
Sources: RSA 91-A:2, II (2016 codification; source note ends 2016, 29:1, eff. Jan. 1, 2017, so the text in force throughout 2017): notice of "the time and place of each such meeting"; minutes "open to public inspection not more than 5 business days after the meeting".
POSITIVE The vacancy was filled two weeks after the board set out the process, with four candidates interviewed on camera on the same questions
Each candidate gave an opening statement and answered the same five questions put by members in turn, with the others waiting outside so that no one heard the answers before giving their own (0:17:46). The appointee's term was stated as running to the March election (0:18:33, 0:18:45). The appointee volunteered, unprompted, that his wife is a Title I teacher in the district: "Completely transparent." (0:45:51). The law then in force directed the school board to fill its own vacancies, with appointees serving "until the next district election", which is what the board did.
Sources: RSA 671:33, II(a) (2017 codification; source note ends 2017, 3:2, eff. May 30, 2017): "The school board shall fill vacancies occurring on the school board"; appointees serve "until the next district election".
POSITIVE Parents of both students are called the same day a bullying report is made, inside the 48 hours the law allows
The middle school described calling the parents of both the reported target and the reported aggressor "by phone that day", trying every number on file, and following up with a letter explaining the law and next steps (1:43:29); the superintendent said he reads and signs every bullying report and keeps a log across all schools (1:47:36). The statute required only a procedure for notifying both sets of parents "within 48 hours of the incident report". The practice as described exceeds that minimum.
Sources: RSA 193-F:4, II(h) (2017 codification; source note ends 2010, 155:2).
Appendix: source files
Official and public sources
- Cablecast show 9406, "SCHOOL BOARD MEETING 11-1-17": Claremont Community TV. Every timestamp on this page links into this recording.
- No Drive material: neither the Claremont nor the SAU 6 share holds a year folder older than 2022, and the Meeting Minutes share starts at 2023 (MAP.md section 45, checked 9/26/26). The agenda, the candidates' question list, the November 1 memo, the bullying handouts and the minutes were not located.
Project files
Working files this page was built from. The dialogue file is linked; the others are not published with the page.
Dialogue/9406 SchoolBoard110117.mp4.CSV (1,019 attributed rows; the basis of this page)Input/Videos/9406 SchoolBoard110117.mp4Input/Transcripts/9406 SchoolBoard110117.mp4.jsonScripts/attribution_reports_2015_2023/9406 SchoolBoard110117.mp4.mdInput/SupportingDocuments/MAP.md, section 45
Laws and rules cited on this page
- RSA 91-A:3, I(b) and II(c) (2017 codification, text in force from January 1, 2017): nonpublic motion must state its exemption; reputation ground.
- RSA 91-A:2, II (2016 codification, text in force during 2017): notice and minutes.
- RSA 197:23-a (text in force from October 1, 2015): treasurer pays only on board orders.
- RSA 193-F:4, II(h) and II(j) (text in force from July 1, 2010 until the 2025 amendment): bullying policy components.
- RSA 671:33, II(a) (text in force from May 30, 2017 until July 2021): board fills vacancies until the next district election.