Participants
Everyone the recording shows taking part or being named. Names follow the project's dialogue file and the 2015 to 2023 roster; no minutes exist online to check spellings against. Where the dialogue file says Unidentified, this page does too.
| Name | Role | Participation |
|---|
| Marjorie Erickson | SAU 6 Board chair (Unity member) | Presided and called the roll. Offered corrections to the July 12 minutes; moved to seal the nonpublic minutes; on behalf of the interim search committee nominated Dr. Keith Pfeifer; ran the self-evaluation, retreat and press-release items. Identified as chair by floor control and by the motion accepting "Marjorie's nomination" (attribution medium-high). |
| Jason Benware | Board member (Claremont) | Abstained on the July 12 minutes ("I abstained, I wasn't here, so."); seconded the sealing motion; moved to accept the nomination of Dr. Pfeifer. |
| Steven Horsky | Board member (Claremont) | Clarified his statement recorded in the July 12 minutes; seconded the amended minutes; moved the nonpublic session under RSA 91-A:3, II(a) and (b). |
| Michelle Pierce | Board member (Claremont) | Seconded the Pfeifer motion ("I second it, Michelle."); welcomed him; asked whether the press release had to come back for a vote. |
| Carolyn Towle | Board member (Claremont) | Asked Dr. Pfeifer to help with the renewed school funding effort and the coordination among districts. |
| Rebecca Zullo | Board member (Claremont) | Welcomed Dr. Pfeifer: "this is a really great community. I know we get a bad rap sometimes". Not heard in the roll. |
| Frank Sprague | Board member (Claremont School Board chair) | Answered both roll calls. No other speech is attributed to him in the dialogue file. |
| Michael Petrin | Board member (Claremont) | Named in the opening roll; no answer and no speech is attributed to him. |
| Sara Lowe | Board member (Unity) | Named in the chair's roll (Sarah wall here); no speech is attributed to her. |
| Dr. Keith Pfeifer | Interim superintendent nominee | Introduced himself after the motion: "Simply 45 years in public education." Described superintendencies and interim posts in New Hampshire and Massachusetts and work in large-scale assessment; said he would "fight for what's right for kids and for you, the taxpayer." |
| Cory LeClair | Assistant superintendent | Reported on publicity for the August 14 school funding forum, the audit letters, hiring (68 to 71 vacancies across both districts) and the summer kindergarten program. Her update was diarized with the chair's voice and restored by override. |
| Mary Woodman | Clerk (named, no speech attributed) | Receives the chair's minutes corrections; stepped out and returned before the sealing vote ("Mary's back"). |
| Unidentified | Board members | The mover and seconder of the agenda; the member who moved the July 12 minutes; the voices in the roll calls that the transcript cannot separate; the member who moved adjournment. 50 of 339 rows (14.7%) are Unidentified. |
| Citizens | Public comment | None. The chair: "I see no citizens". |
| Named, not speaking | Others | Bob McDevitt and Prudence McCormick (Prue), Unity members said to be missing the retreat; Craig (Unity; Shoot); Mike O'Neill, business administrator, absent ("Mike O'Neill is out"); Cindy Gallagher, leading coordination of the funding forum; the reporter Patrick O'Grady (Patrick or Grady); Andru Volinsky, the Claremont lawsuit attorney (Andrew Wallenstein); a "doctor McLeod" whose farewell party the July 12 minutes mentioned (spelling unverified). |
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: "You have the agenda. We do have a non public that's listed." Hover over (or Tab to) a clipped entry for the full text.
| Taken up | Item | Agenda text / disposition |
|---|
| 0:00:44 | Call to order, pledge, roll call | Roll by the chair; see Board composition above. |
| 0:01:47 | Agenda | "I move, we accept the agenda as presented." Moved and seconded by unidentified members; voice vote at 0:02:04. |
| 0:02:04 | Minutes of July 12, 2018 | Chair's corrections handed to the clerk, including the sentence about Horsky's remarks. An unidentified member first moved "To accept the minutes as read."; after the corrections the chair called at 0:05:04 for "a motion that we accept the minutes, as amended", seconded by Horsky; voice vote at 0:05:14, Benware abstaining. |
| 0:05:33 | Citizens' comments | None. |
| 0:05:58 | Nonpublic session, RSA 91-A:3, II(a) and (b) | Moved by Horsky, seconded by an unidentified member; roll call 0:06:22 to 0:06:54. Not recorded. |
| 0:07:41 | Sealing the nonpublic minutes | Chair's motion to seal "For ten years."; seconded by Benware; roll call from 0:08:41, only partly audible. See flag 1. |
| 0:09:17 | Update on the interim superintendent search | Chair's nomination of Dr. Keith Pfeifer on behalf of the search committee, contingent on negotiations. Moved by Benware at 0:11:18, seconded by Pierce at 0:11:29; voice vote at 0:21:31, no audible opposition or abstention. |
| 0:22:47 | Self-evaluation questionnaire | Five returned; the rest to be sent before the retreat. |
| 0:24:27 | Superintendent evaluation process | Deferred to the retreat. |
| 0:26:31 | Reminder: school funding forum, August 14 | Both boards to attend in Newport; publicity through staff, the Chamber of Commerce and the city; state representatives to be invited. |
| 0:30:13 | Retreat planning | Sunday retreat: self-evaluation, members' reasons for serving, core values, goals and strategic planning. |
| 0:34:34 | Other business: press release | A release to follow completed negotiations; no further vote thought necessary. See flag 4. |
| 0:36:21 | Assistant superintendent's update | Audit letters, hiring, summer programs. Informational. |
| 0:43:10 | Planning for August 23 | NHSBA representatives secured for the superintendent search; a nonpublic session to be scheduled; fall budget and committee meeting dates. |
| 0:44:43 | Adjournment | Moved by an unidentified member; voice vote at 0:44:52. |
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 |
|---|
| 0:00:44 | Call to order and roll | "I'd like to call the meeting to order at 635." The chair reads the roll herself from 0:01:10. | |
| 0:02:04 | July 12 minutes, posted online | Chair: "They were posted online a while ago. I know that's where I found them." Her correction at 0:03:03: the draft "states that Steven stated that he feels that the two boards haven't worked on a large basis each year, and that needs to be corrected." Horsky at 0:03:37: "it was basically saying that we haven't worked in unison and we need to come together." Benware at 0:05:24: "I abstained, I wasn't here, so." | POSITIVE |
| 0:05:33 | No citizens | "Any of you can, of course, participate as a citizen instead of a board member. Okay. No citizens comments." | |
| 0:05:58 | Motion for nonpublic session | Horsky: "I'll make a motion to go in nonpublic session per say 91, a three paragraph two, section A and B." [RSA 91-A:3, II(a) and (b)]. Chair at 0:06:08: "Or do we need a roll call? We need a roll call." Roll from 0:06:22; at 0:06:43: "Shoot is not here." At 0:06:59 the chair asks: "Would somebody take minutes for this". | POSITIVE |
| 0:07:41 | Sealing the nonpublic minutes | Chair: "I'm going to make a motion. You're standing the minutes of the non public meeting." [sealing]; at 0:07:48: "For ten years." Benware seconds. At 0:08:35: "And then we just need a roll call for that." Only three answers are distinguishable before the chair asks at 0:09:17, "We all set?" | MEDIUM |
| 0:09:17 | Interim search: the nomination | "After reviewing 16 applications for this position of interim superintendent, using the criteria that we all adopted in the June 28th meeting, the interim search committee made the decision to interview three candidates." At 0:09:55: "Those interviews took place between July 13th and the 17th." At 0:10:58 she nominates him "on behalf of the interim Intendant search committee, contingent upon successful negotiations." | POSITIVE |
| 0:11:18 | Motion to accept the nomination | Benware: "I move that we accept Marjorie's nomination of Doctor Pfeiffer for the position of interim superintendent, contingent upon successful negotiations." Pierce seconds at 0:11:29. Chair at 0:11:31: "Did we tell them we're out of nonpublic?" | |
| 0:11:54 | Dr. Pfeifer introduces himself | "Simply 45 years in public education. I'm proud of that." At 0:18:14: "I know that there are certainly financial issues here." Towle at 0:19:12: "School funding is is alive again, and many school districts are saying both that are pooling their thought." At 0:19:52 he answers that he will "fight for what's right for kids and for you, the taxpayer." | |
| 0:21:31 | Vote | "All those in favor say aye." At 0:21:46: "Any opposed? Any abstentions? Well, contingent on successful negotiations. Congratulations." | OBSERVATION |
| 0:22:47 | Self-evaluation; superintendent evaluation | "Do I have one from everyone that I handed out at the last meeting?" At 0:24:27 on the superintendent evaluation process: "I will be honest, I have done nothing with this other than I wrote it". Deferred to the retreat. | |
| 0:26:31 | August 14 school funding forum | LeClair at 0:26:58: "So both boards will be represented on the 14th in Newport." She sent notice to staff, the Chamber of Commerce and the city's list. At 0:29:01: "Cindy Gallagher is really taking the lead on this, which is excellent." At 0:29:28: "the impact of school funding is largely felt in communities like ours". | |
| 0:30:13 | Retreat on Sunday | Chair at 0:30:39: "I asked you to bring your reason why." At 0:31:06: members' priorities are to feed "core values, defining core values and goals long and short term". At 0:34:03: "Mike O'Neill and Bob McDevitt were the only two I had written down." At 0:34:18: "Prue's not going to be here Sunday." | |
| 0:34:34 | Press release after negotiations | "We should plan another press release, I believe, when the negotiations are complete." Pierce at 0:36:09: "So, does it have to come back and be voted on here?" Chair: "No, I don't think so." Pierce: "Because we basically gave you the vote to go ahead." | OBSERVATION |
| 0:36:21 | Audit letters | Chair: "because we went right into nonpublic. We haven't really had an update from Corey." LeClair at 0:37:03: "So with the ten that we're outstanding in November, six of them are completed." Completed audits include "a letter to the school board", but at 0:37:34 "it wasn't something to discuss tonight because Mike is not here". She hopes to take them up "for the September meeting" (0:38:01). | OBSERVATION |
| 0:38:50 | Hiring | "As of a little before 9:00 this morning, we had 26 positions hired. We had 68 vacancies". At 0:39:17: "So I think we're about 71 vacancies." "we have, I think currently three special education positions posted at Maple and zero applicants." At 0:41:08: "It's not 68 teaching positions." | |
| 0:42:08 | Summer kindergarten | "The summer kindergarten program in Fairmont. They're having a wonderful time." Data promised at the end of the program. | |
| 0:43:10 | August 23 agenda | NHSBA representatives secured for the superintendent search, "that's our primary agenda topic correct. We do have a non public that we need to schedule for that night as well." | |
| 0:44:43 | Adjournment | "Too late to make a motion to adjourn this meeting." Voice vote. | |
Items flagged for review
Flags are a reviewer's aid generated by comparing the meeting against the law in force on July 26, 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. Six flags follow, ordered by severity.
MEDIUM The nonpublic minutes were sealed "for ten years" with no statutory finding stated on the recording
At 0:07:41 the chair moved to seal ("You're standing the minutes of the non public meeting.") and added "For ten years."; Benware seconded, and a roll call followed from 0:08:41 in which only three answers can be told apart. RSA 91-A:3, III, as it read in 2018, required nonpublic minutes and decisions to be disclosed within 72 hours unless, "by recorded vote of 2/3 of the members present taken in public session, it is determined that divulgence of the information likely would affect adversely the reputation of any person other than a member of the public body itself, or render the proposed action ineffective, or pertain to terrorism", and allowed withholding only "until, in the opinion of a majority of members, the aforesaid circumstances no longer apply". The recording shows the public vote but no statement of which determination the board made, and the statute sets no fixed ten-year term. The likely ground is apparent (candidates for a post were discussed under II(b)), and the written minutes may record the finding; they are not online. Graded MEDIUM as a probable documentation gap, not a confirmed breach.
Sources: RSA 91-A:3, III (2017 codification, in force 2017 to 2021; source note ends 2016, 30:1): 72-hour disclosure; 2/3 recorded vote with a determination; withheld until circumstances no longer apply.
OBSERVATION No agenda or minutes for this meeting are posted online, although the district posted draft minutes online at the time
MAP.md section 76 records that neither district Drive share holds anything older than 2022 (checked 9/26/26), so this page rests on the recording alone. That is a limit of what the district posts online today, not evidence that records were never made: the chair refers to a written agenda, the board accepted the July 26 minutes on August 23, and the chair said of the July 12 draft, "They were posted online a while ago." (at 0:02:04). Minutes were therefore on a district website in 2018 and have not survived into the current public archive. RSA 91-A:2, II (2017 codification) 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 five business days. The project's missing-records rule is applied on its online-availability limb.
Sources: RSA 91-A:2, II (2017 codification, in force through 2018): minutes content and five-business-day availability; Input/SupportingDocuments/MAP.md section 76.
OBSERVATION Audit management letters were received but held over because the business administrator was absent
LeClair reported that of "the ten that we're outstanding in November, six of them are completed" (0:37:03) and that completed audits come with a letter to the school board, which she wanted interpreted before discussion "because Mike is not here" (0:37:34); she aimed at the September meeting. The recording does not say which audits or years are meant, or what the letters found. No rule was identified that the deferral breached. It is recorded because the audit backlog became a central SAU 6 issue: a year later the board was hearing that the IRS matter had closed and the Claremont FY17 audit was only then closing (September 5, 2019 page).
Sources: the recording at 0:36:21 to 0:38:25.
OBSERVATION The interim superintendent was approved "contingent on successful negotiations", and members did not expect the contract to come back for a vote
The motion accepted the nomination "contingent upon successful negotiations" (0:11:18) and carried by voice (0:21:31). Asked whether the follow-up press release had to come back for a vote, the chair said "No, I don't think so." and Pierce added "Because we basically gave you the vote to go ahead." (0:36:09). The exchange concerns the press release, but it leaves open whether the negotiated contract terms were ever put to the board in public session. Dr. Pfeifer had started work by August 13 (August 15, 2018 page). No rule requiring a separate public vote on the contract was verified for this page, so this is an observation; the minutes of later SAU 6 meetings would settle it.
Sources: the recording at 0:11:18, 0:21:46 and 0:36:09.
POSITIVE The nonpublic motion named its exemptions and was taken by roll call, and the hiring decision itself was made in public
Horsky's motion cited "91, a three paragraph two, section A and B" (0:05:58), the chair stopped a voice vote to take the roll call the statute requires (0:06:08), and the nomination, motion, second and vote on the interim superintendent all took place in open session after the nonpublic session (0:09:17 to 0:21:46), with the candidate introduced to the public. The chair also laid out the process on the record: 16 applications, criteria adopted at the June 28 meeting, three interviews between July 13 and 17. RSA 91-A:3, I(b) required the motion to state the exemption and the vote to be by roll call; II(b) covers "The hiring of any person as a public employee." Announcing the process and taking the decision in public goes beyond what the exemption would have allowed the board to keep private.
Sources: RSA 91-A:3, I(b) and II(a), (b) (2017 codification).
POSITIVE Draft minutes were posted online before approval and corrected in open session
The chair found the July 12 draft online ("They were posted online a while ago.", 0:02:04), read her substantive correction into the record so the member concerned could state what he meant (0:03:03 to 0:03:45), and the absent member abstained on approval (0:05:24). RSA 91-A:2, II required minutes to be open to inspection within five business days; posting the draft online exceeds that minimum.
Sources: RSA 91-A:2, II (2017 codification).
Appendix: source files
Official and public sources
- Cablecast show 9928, "SAU 6 SCHOOL BOARD MEETING 7-26": 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 were located.
- Related pages: Joint City Council and School Board, August 9, 2018; Claremont School Board, August 15, 2018 (Dr. Pfeifer's first report); SAU 6 Board, August 23, 2018 (these minutes accepted; permanent search contract).
Project files
Working files this page was built from. The dialogue file is linked; the others are not published with the page.
Dialogue/9928 SAU6072618.mp4.CSV (339 attributed rows; the basis of this page)Input/Videos/9928 SAU6072618.mp4Input/Transcripts/9928 SAU6072618.mp4.jsonScripts/attribution_reports_2015_2023/9928 SAU6072618.mp4.mdInput/SupportingDocuments/MAP.md, section 76
Laws and rules cited on this page
- New Hampshire statutes, as in force on July 26, 2018. RSA 91-A:2, II (minutes; 2017 codification, source note ends 2017, 165:1 and 234:1, eff. Jan. 1, 2018). RSA 91-A:3, I(b), II(a), II(b), III (nonpublic sessions; 2017 codification, source note ends 2016, 30:1).