Participants
Everyone the recording shows taking part. Names follow the project's dialogue file and the 2015 to 2023 roster; no minutes are online to check spellings against. Where the dialogue file says Unidentified, this page does too.
| Name | Role | Participation |
|---|
| Rebecca Zullo | Vice chair, presiding | Ran the meeting; explained the retreat's citizens'-comment rules; opened the head lice item to the audience; asked whether members wanted to change the policy before any drafting; called the vote on Petrin's motion; commented on the climate survey and thanked the business administrator for the report. |
| Steven Horsky | Member | Author of the proposed no-nit head lice procedure ("I basically stole from a couple other no net policies"); argued the policy should limit disruption to other students; answered his daughter's questions during public comment. |
| Jason Benware | Member; policy subcommittee volunteer | Read Horsky's draft aloud; questioned how long a child could be kept from school; asked for data before any change; moved acceptance of the $1,000 grant. |
| Carolyn Towle | Member | Proposed formal thanks to Valley Regional Hospital; asked for per-school head lice numbers; seconded the motion on the head lice policy (as the dialogue file records it); complained that members could not be heard; raised students who wished to address the board. |
| Michelle Pierce | Member | Spoke on the cost of treatment for families ("about $80") and on shared responsibility. The dialogue file's attribution of her turns is rated medium. |
| Michael Petrin | Member | Raised the expense of treatment for families; said he would support some policy change but not a no-nit rule; made the motion to open the head lice policy (as relayed by Benware). |
| Frank Sprague | Chair | Not heard on the recording; referred to by the superintendent as "the chair Frank Sprague". |
| Middleton McGoodwin | Superintendent, SAU 6 | Report (athletic trainer, SB 193, a school-funding talk, school nurses); explained the 2013 head lice protocol and why he did "not support a no nit policy"; announced the climate survey; requested acceptance of the grant. |
| Michael O'Neill | Business Administrator, SAU 6 (surname per roster) | Presented a condensed FY2018 expenditure and revenue report. |
| Emily (surname not stated) | Citizens' comments, Ward 2; a former student | Described class-wide screening when she was in third grade; asked whether the superintendent's sources were public; put a question to my dad, which Horsky answered. |
| Don Churchill | Citizens' comments, Ward 2; parent | Said he liked "probably 95% of the policy" and that notifying parents of an outbreak was critical. |
| Mimi Ryan | Citizens' comments, Ward 2 (heard as For two) | Opposed keeping children out of school: "my main concern is keeping kids out of school." |
| Unidentified | Citizens' comments, Ward 2 | A parent whose name is garbled in the transcript; argued the focus "has to be on stopping the transmission". The attribution report's guess at the name is unverified and is not used here. |
| Unidentified | Speaking "as a student" | Recalled school lice checks in elementary school (0:41:15). Possibly the student representative; not established. |
| Unidentified | SAU administrator | Reported an inquiry to the state about whether a no-nit exclusion could lawfully apply to homeless students (1:10:06). The attribution report suggests Cory LeClair as a possibility only. |
Order of business (reconstructed)
No agenda for this meeting is posted in any district share, and the opening items are not on the recording, so this list is reconstructed from the presiding officer's transitions. Hover over (or Tab to) a clipped entry for the full text.
| Taken up | Item | Agenda text / disposition |
|---|
| Not recorded | Call to order, roll, agenda, minutes | Before the recording begins. |
| 0:00:09 | Superintendent's report (joined in progress) | Informational; member questions follow at 0:08:05. |
| 0:09:59 | Citizens' comments | New rules explained (0:10:48 to 0:12:24); no one came forward. |
| 0:13:35 | Discussion: head lice policy and school district protocol | Horsky's draft read by Benware; board debate; audience invited to speak at 0:52:35. Motion by Petrin, as the dialogue file attributes it, "to look at policy ... Open that up" (1:14:09); seconded by Towle as relayed by Benware (1:14:42); voice vote at 1:14:50, the tally not audible. |
| 1:15:11 | Climate and culture survey information | Update only (1:18:40). |
| 1:18:47 | Review of FY18 expenditures and revenue | Business administrator's report. Informational. |
| 1:29:23 | Policy subcommittee dates; $1,000 grant | Subcommittee process described. Grant for field trips: moved by Benware (1:30:37); a second and the aye vote are not clearly audible; "Opposed." at 1:30:50. |
| 1:30:54 | Closing remarks | Towle on students wishing to address the board; senior luncheon. No adjournment motion is heard before the recording ends at 1:33:50. |
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 |
|---|
| 0:00:09 | Attendance; athletic trainer | Joined mid-sentence: "In approximately 94%." At 0:00:38: "the Claremont School District now has an athletic trainer." At 0:01:41: services "will be $27,000. That's the amount of money budgeted." | OBSERVATION |
| 0:03:36 | SB 193, education savings accounts | "Senate Bill 193, the Education Savings Account Bill, also known as Belcher Bill, was sent to interim study in the House by a vote of 170 259." At 0:04:06: supporters were "working right now to bring the bill back". At 0:05:08: it would be "a financial financial challenge for school districts to face if it is passed." | |
| 0:05:45 | School-funding talk; school nurses | A May 9 talk at the Durham Public Library on "New Hampshire Public School funding", which "will focus on the Claremont Litigation". At 0:07:05: "It happens to be School Nurse Appreciation Day." | |
| 0:08:05 | Thanks to Valley Regional Hospital | Towle: "When do we do we recognize Valley Regional with all of their supports?" At 0:09:39: "I think there should be a plaque or a letter from the school board." | |
| 0:10:48 | New citizens'-comment rules | "Board at our retreat, we've learned from past mistakes and we decided to make something around the citizens comments". Speakers get "three minutes", with yellow and red cards (0:11:12); "we are not naming schools or individuals personally" (0:11:34); "we will not respond to the questions or comments. Our job is to listen." (0:12:01). Horsky at 0:12:47: Nobody. | OBSERVATION |
| 0:13:50 | Horsky's no-nit proposal | "Back when I was in school, we had the no net policy. It worked well." At 0:14:32: "what I basically stole from a couple other no net policies". Benware reads it at 0:15:13: "three temporary dismissal from school until all lice and eggs are removed." | POSITIVE |
| 0:24:36 | Cost to families; time out of school | Benware: "It's very expensive." At 0:25:51: "how long can you deny a kid education because of it?" Petrin at 0:26:53 on "the expense of it". Pierce at 0:27:52: "It's about $80". Horsky at 0:29:32: families in need are "usually eligible for state assistance". | |
| 0:33:44 | Superintendent on the 2013 protocol | "In 2012, I started meeting with the school nurses." "the policy has been in place since 2013." At 0:37:07: "schools with no policies showed no fewer cases of lice than those without the policies. So that's why I do not support a no nit policy." At 0:39:11: "we did not have a no nit policy. We had an inconsistent protocol." | |
| 0:52:35 | Audience invited to weigh in | Zullo: "I would really like, the audience people to, way in on this at this point." | POSITIVE |
| 0:52:58 | Public comment: Emily, Ward 2 | "if there was a detection of lice in her class, the whole class got checked". At 0:53:21: "Is your research your source available to community members to see?" Superintendent at 0:53:34: "Everything the school board has received, I sent out to, all the parents of the Claremont School District also sent it to the media". | POSITIVE |
| 0:56:23 | Public comment: Don Churchill, Ward 2 | "it doesn't seem to be an issue at the middle school, but the elementary school, it definitely is." At 1:00:00: "I like probably 95% of the policy. I think it absolutely has to change." Notifying parents of an outbreak "has to be in the new policy." | |
| 1:00:32 | Public comment: Mimi Ryan | "my main concern is keeping kids out of school." At 1:01:18: "keeping the kids out of school is not the correct solution." | |
| 1:02:13 | Public comment: unidentified Ward 2 parent | "For me, the issue is transmission and how to stop it because it is highly contagious." At 1:04:23: "I just think you need to beef up this policy a little bit in different areas." | |
| 1:06:04 | How to proceed | Horsky at 1:06:44 offered "to bring the policy amendment to a first read". Zullo at 1:07:07: "take a vote on which board members would like to change the policy". Towle at 1:09:19: "I would like numbers on each school." Benware at 1:08:04: "we need to gather data." | |
| 1:10:06 | Homeless students | Unidentified administrator: "I haven't inquiry out to our state, director around our homeless population." Not sure "that we have legal grounds to keep homeless students out and have lights." At 1:11:16: "that piece of legal ease that we just you would want to know before we moved forward." | POSITIVE |
| 1:11:31 | Petrin's position | "I would support moving forward with changing our policy." He "would not support a no new policy" [no-nit policy, as transcribed]. Superintendent at 1:13:07: the policy subcommittee volunteers are "Jason, Ben. Where Rebecca Zullo and Steven". | |
| 1:14:09 | Motion on the head lice policy | "I'll make the motion to look at policy. Gail Susi the the headlights policy. Open that up during the second." Towle at 1:14:27: "You guys have got to clap up because you cannot be heard". Benware at 1:14:33: "Michael patron made the or the the motion to potentially look at amending this policy." Zullo: "Not potentially." Vote at 1:14:50: "All in favor. I opposed. Okay." | OBSERVATION |
| 1:15:14 | Climate survey | "Today all all staff in our respective schools received a survey." At 1:15:52: results "summarized by an external evaluator at Antioch University" and "not shared publicly without prior permission from each school administrator." At 1:16:55: "looking at the minutes of your April 22nd meeting". | OBSERVATION |
| 1:18:55 | A shorter expenditure report | "I'm trying to come up with a forecast where I can give you guys an expenditure report. That means something. It's not 100 pages long." At 1:24:31: "Right now we have about 600 open purchase orders." | POSITIVE |
| 1:25:20 | Projected balance | "the budget balance right now is 954. Five 6044" [as transcribed]. At 1:25:54: "you're looking at probably $500,000 right now, but most of that's going to be in the building repairs and maintenance accounts." Superintendent at 1:26:33 asked how to answer someone who says "you have more than half $1 million in the budget that you didn't need?" O'Neill at 1:26:44: "we see $305,000 on health insurance after the budget was finalized." | POSITIVE |
| 1:29:50 | $1,000 grant | "So I requesting the board's approval of the $1,000 grant to be used for the field trips." Benware at 1:30:37: "I move that we request where we accept the grant." | POSITIVE |
| 1:31:12 | Students who want to speak | Towle: students "really would like to come and speak to the school board". Superintendent at 1:31:58: "I'll share that with the the chair Frank Sprague, as you develop the agenda and we'll make it happen." | |
Items flagged for review
Flags are a reviewer's aid generated by comparing the meeting against the law in force on May 2, 2018, 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. 4 flags follow, ordered by severity.
OBSERVATION The recording starts mid-meeting and no agenda or minutes are online, and the comment rules came from a retreat whose record is not public
The recording begins partway through the superintendent's report (0:00:09), so the call to order, the roll, the agenda vote and any minutes vote were never televised, and attendance can only be inferred from who speaks. MAP.md section 66 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, and the board approved minutes of this meeting on May 16. The rules for citizens' comments announced tonight were decided "at our retreat" (0:10:48), and the superintendent cited "the minutes of your April 22nd meeting" (1:16:55), so the April 22, 2018 retreat was minuted; neither those minutes nor any recording of the retreat is in the public record reviewed here. RSA 91-A:2, as in force throughout 2018, treats the convening of a quorum to discuss or act on board business as a meeting, and required minutes including "the names of members, persons appearing before the public bodies, and a brief description of the subject matter discussed and final decisions", open to inspection within 5 business days; the mover-and-seconder requirement came later (effective January 1, 2019) and is not applied. The project's missing-records rule is applied on its online-availability limb.
Sources: RSA 91-A:2, I and II (2017 codification; source note ends 2017, 165:1 and 234:1, eff. Jan. 1, 2018, so the text in force for all of 2018); Input/SupportingDocuments/MAP.md section 66.
OBSERVATION The only motion on the head lice policy is garbled on tape, a member said it could not be heard in the room, and the vote count is inaudible
Petrin's motion is transcribed as "I'll make the motion to look at policy. Gail Susi the the headlights policy. Open that up during the second." (1:14:09). Towle immediately objected, "you cannot be heard" (1:14:27), and Benware restated it as a motion "to potentially look at amending this policy", which the presiding officer corrected with "Not potentially." (1:14:33, 1:14:41). The vote is recorded only as "All in favor. I opposed. Okay." (1:14:50). The policy code in the motion is not recoverable from the transcript; the June 6 recording refers to the head lice policy as JLCC (June 6 page). No rule then in force required mover and seconder to be recorded, and the audibility requirement of RSA 91-A:2, III(c) concerns members participating remotely, so no statute is relied on. The point is practical: what the board actually decided can be settled only from the approved minutes, which are not online.
Sources: the recording at 1:14:09 to 1:14:50. No statute relied on.
POSITIVE A contested health policy was aired in public, with material sent to every family, the audience invited to speak, and a legal question raised before drafting
The superintendent said everything the board received on head lice had been sent "to, all the parents of the Claremont School District" and to the media (0:53:34), in answer to a resident's question about his sources. After the members' debate, the presiding officer invited the audience to way in (0:52:35), and four residents spoke for and against exclusion (0:52:58 to 1:05:48), even though no one had come forward at the regular citizens' comment period. An administrator reported asking the state whether a local exclusion rule could lawfully be applied to homeless students before the board went further (1:10:06). None of this is required by statute; it is the kind of practice that lets the public follow a policy change before it happens.
Sources: the recording at 0:52:35 to 1:11:16. No statute relied on.
POSITIVE A readable expenditure report was walked through in public, and a small grant was accepted in open session
The business administrator replaced a long printout with a report sorted by object code, "not 100 pages long" (1:18:55), explained encumbrances and open purchase orders, and projected a year-end balance of "probably $500,000", mostly for building repairs, with health insurance about $305,000 under budget (1:25:54, 1:26:44). The superintendent pressed him on how to explain that figure to the public (1:26:33). The board then took up a $1,000 grant for field trips on a motion in public session (1:29:50, 1:30:37). RSA 198:20-b, III(b), as it read in 2018, required unanticipated funds under $5,000 to be noticed "in the agenda" and in the minutes, and provided that "The acceptance of unanticipated funds under this subparagraph shall be made in public session of any regular school board meeting." The public-session acceptance is on the recording; the agenda notice cannot be checked because the agenda is not online, and the aye vote is not clearly audible.
Sources: RSA 198:20-b, III(b) (2017 codification; source note ends 2005, 188:1, so the text in force on this date).
Appendix: source files
Official and public sources
- Cablecast show 9764, "SCHOOL BOARD 5-2": 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 agenda, packet or minutes for this meeting, or for the April 22, 2018 retreat, were located.
- Related pages: SAU 6 Board, May 10, 2018; Claremont School Board, May 16, 2018 (retreat review; these minutes approved); Claremont School Board, June 6, 2018 (head lice policy JLCC).
Project files
Working files this page was built from. The dialogue file is linked; the others are not published with the page.
Dialogue/9764 SchoolBoard050218.mp4.CSV (363 attributed rows; the basis of this page)Input/Videos/9764 SchoolBoard050218.mp4Input/Transcripts/9764 SchoolBoard050218.mp4.jsonScripts/attribution_reports_2015_2023/9764 SchoolBoard050218.mp4.mdInput/SupportingDocuments/MAP.md, section 66
Laws and rules cited on this page
- New Hampshire statutes, as in force on May 2, 2018. RSA 91-A:2, I and II (meeting; notice; minutes; 2017 codification). RSA 198:20-b, III(b) (unanticipated funds under $5,000; text in force from 2005 to July 2023).