| 0:00:00 | The camera is running before the doors close | “Yes. Good morning everybody. We're supposed to start at nine, but we're going to give it a few more minutes because there's a line of people trying to get in. So if you'll just bear with us. Can you hear me? Okay. Or is there an echo with this?” A queue at the door is the only evidence on this recording of how many people came; no attendance figure is given at any point, and neither set of minutes records one. | |
| 0:00:20 | Call to order — and the only statement of who is presiding | “We'll start. No later than 905, if that's okay. Oh, okay. Okay. 905. I'm going to call the meeting to order. My name is Charlene Lovett, and I am the interim moderator today. So if I make a mistake, please forgive me. I will try to correct.” That sentence is the whole of the record on the point. The district’s elected moderator is not named, her absence is not explained, and no moderator pro tempore is chosen. | HIGH |
| 0:00:56 | Seating by voter status | “I'd like to make a few notes just to remind everybody when they came in the door. You need to register to vote. And if you're a registered voter in Claremont, you should be sitting in this in a second or third segment. My right, your left. If you're a non registered voter, you should be in the segment. That's to my left.” Repeated at 0:50:27 when latecomers arrive. The separation matters: only registered Claremont voters may speak or vote, and the packet’s rules say non-voters may not speak without the moderator’s permission. | |
| 0:01:39 | The Pledge — led by the presiding officer, credited to the chair | “Please join me. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to religious ends.” The room answers at 0:01:49. Both sets of minutes say the Pledge was “Lead by Chair Heather Whitney”; the recording gives the presiding officer’s voice, and Whitney is not audible for another sixty-nine seconds. | |
| 0:02:18 | The interim superintendent introduces the administration — and a name the minutes have to supply | “Thank you for coming. This morning, I would like to introduce the assistant superintendent, Michael Koski. Business administrator Mary Henry, director of technology. Jeff Small, Angela Vivian, who's not with us today. She is the director of human resources. And Ben Esther, director of special ed. I'd also like to introduce Sean of the school district attorneys. And thank you to challenge for as being interim moderator.” Three renderings in one paragraph: Ben Esther is Ben Nester, challenge for is Charlene, and “Sean” has no surname on tape. Both sets of minutes give it: Shawn Tanguay, School District Attorney. | |
| 0:02:48 | The chair reads the board — and a committee that appears nowhere else | “It's my pleasure to introduce the members of the school board. My name is Heather Whitney. I am the chair of the Claremont School Board and the chair of the parliamentary Procedure ad hoc committee. Frank Sprague, he is the vice chair of the Claremont School Board, member of the parliamentary procedure and Committee.” Then, at 0:03:14, the rest: Sprague also “Chair of the Finance Committee, a member of the six Superintendent Evaluation Committee, and a board representative for the sugar River Valley Technical and Division Committee” — the last phrase being SRVRTC Visioning Committee. Crawford on Capital Improvement and Finance; Gallagher on Curriculum and Disruptive Behaviors. The Parliamentary Procedure ad hoc committee is in no packet, no agenda and no minutes on this project, including the board’s own subcommittee list of 17 January 2024. | |
| 0:03:43 | Bonnie Miles absent; the SAU 6 chair identified | “Bonnie Miles is unable to attend this morning as Miles is the chair of the Capital Committee, and she is a board representative for the sugar River Valley Technical Center Vision Committee. Next is Arlene Hawkins. Miss Hawkins is the chair, is the Saw six board chair and a member of the policy committee. And Miss Whitney Skilling is the chair of the Policy Committee, a member of the Superintendent Evaluation Committee, and a member of the Capital Improvement Committee.” Saw six is SAU 6. Note the overlap the reading creates: Hawkins is given the Policy Committee and Skillen its chair, and Skillen is given the Capital Improvement Committee, which the board’s January list does not. | |
| 0:04:13 | The rules begin: what SB 2 is | “Claremont is an SBD, SB two community where determination of the final school budget is conducted through two sessions. The first session today is termed the deliberative Session.” And at 0:04:41: “The second is the annual ballot session occurring on March 12th, 2024. The second Tuesday and March Warren articles presented today are presented by the Claremont School Board and, if by petition from citizens, the voters in attendance will be provided with copies of the warrant with all articles for the meeting.” No warrant is in the packet folder: flag 7. | OBSERVATION |
| 0:05:09 | Five minutes for the proponent, two for everyone else | “All the Warren articles are subject to the deliberative session procedures. Each Warren article went in and out, will be acted on as follows. The proponent introducing a one hour particle will read the article and then be allowed five minutes to speak.” Then at 0:05:37: “The babe will be encouraged from the voters present and will be limited to two minutes to speak. You must be recognized by the moderator. Come to the podium right clearly your name and word of residence on the she provided, and publicly state your name and board of residence.” The babe is debate; word and board of residence are both ward. The two-minute limit was enforced once, at 1:24:08. | |
| 0:06:00 | The amendment rule as the district states it | “One article may be amended from the floor. However, any amendment must be in written form presented to the moderator. Amendments must be made by motion and require a second to be considered. Amendments, if carried, will be placed on the ballot in lieu of the original article. When an amendment does not carry, the original article will be presented to voters at the conclusion of the above procedures.” The packet sheet reads “Warrant Articles may be amended from the floor”. This is the whole of what the voters were told about the only power they had, and it is missing every limit the statute puts on that power. | MEDIUM |
| 0:06:32 | Articles need no motion — and on that the rule is right | “Warner articles do not require a motion to be passed on to.” — “The workers.” — “They are automatically presented as written or amended by the present. Present at the March 12th, 2024 ballot session.” The workers is the voters. The rule is right: RSA 40:13, VI provides that “All warrant articles shall be placed on the official ballot for a final vote, including warrant articles as amended by the first session.” A motion and a second were nevertheless taken on all five articles. | MEDIUM |
| 0:07:12 | Second speeches, and who may speak at all | “Voters will be allowed to speak a second time when debating a warrant article only after everyone has spoken, and only if new information is being presented. Nonvoters may not be at the meeting without the permission of the moderator. The moderator will allow nonresident school board officials and consultants who are at the meeting to provide information about the abhorrent article to speak.” The packet sheet reads “Non-voters may not speak at the meeting without the permission of the Moderator”; abhorrent article is a warrant article. No permission is recorded for the forty-one minutes of presentation that followed. | OBSERVATION |
| 0:07:38 | How a voter may question a vote — as the district describes it | “The moderator may determine the method of voting. However, any voter who does the accuracy of any non county vote may require the moderator to determine a vote by counted show of hands or counted standing vote, and that is three are the rules.” does is doubts and non county is non-counted; the packet sheet has the same sentence in clean form. It is not what RSA 40:4-a or RSA 40:4-b provide, and both of those sections are expressly applied to this session by RSA 40:13, IV. | MEDIUM |
| 0:07:57 | The 2023 minutes are taken up | “Next on the agenda is the approval of minutes of the February 8th, 2023, the session. Is there a motion to approve those minutes? I make a motion to approve the minutes of the February 8th, 2023, the liquid session. Is there a second?” The mover’s voice is inside the presiding officer’s diarized cluster and cannot be separated; the second, at 0:08:21, is “I'll second.” and unnamed. The minutes say Heather Whitney moved and Frank Sprague seconded. the liquid session joins delivered session and I don't recession in this corpus’s renderings of deliberative session. | |
| 0:08:32 | A ward corrected on page 2 | “I'd like to make a correction to Arlene Hawkins is from Ward three, existing as Ward two. Okay. Thank you. Yes, Mr. Spring?” The last sentence is the presiding officer recognising the next speaker, absorbed into the same transcribed row. The correction is right: the 2023 draft minutes list “Arlene Hawkins- Ward 2” on page 2, among those opposing the $1,000,000 amendment. | |
| 0:08:45 | “Strict reconsider” corrected on page 3 | “I'd like to make.” — “I'd like to make a correction on page three of where Frank spray moves to. It says strict. We consider it should be strict reconsideration of one other.” The 2023 draft reads “Frank Sprague moves to strict reconsider of warrant articles 1 and 2”; the minutes render the correction as “his motion was to restrict reconsideration of warrant articles”. He would make the same motion again ninety-three minutes later. | |
| 0:09:07 | Adopted as amended — and the presentation begins | “No. Okay. So we have those minutes. As amended. All those in favor say aye. And opposed the minutes pass, as amended. Thank you. Next we're going to have a presentation. Dear Whitney.” Dear Whitney is Heather Whitney. No count was taken and none is recorded. | POSITIVE |
| 0:09:46 | The board’s case: the why behind the what | Whitney: “We feel it's very important for you to know the why behind the what in this budget. We want you to know it was created to support a singular goal. And that goal is to dramatically improve academic growth and in a way that benefits every student in this district.” Then the four commitments at 0:10:32: the district-wide curriculum, staff attraction and retention, teaching and learning practices, and school culture — “If they are worried about being bullied or having breakfast. They aren't in a place that they can be focusing on learning.” | |
| 0:11:23 | The Finance Committee chair on what the committee did | Sprague: “It's been my job to sort of wrangle this process. And again, we we're trying to make sure that the ensure that the budget is aligned with district goals. We have told the administration that, for example, things that we put in place, interventions that we had put in place with federal money, the ceremony. If that was going to continue, we needed to see documentation of success.” the ceremony is the ESSER money. At 0:11:51 the condition is stated flatly: “If we did not see documentation of an effect of that, then we were not we're not going to put that in the budget.” | |
| 0:12:16 | The transparency claim — and it checks out | Sprague: “It's been suggested in the past that the budget process has not been transparent. So we put televised every single meeting, every minute of every meeting. And there were a lot of minutes. And I would suggest hours of meetings so that they're on the kid, have them tape.” And: “They're all on CC, TV, channel eight. So if you have nothing better to do, they're on their again.” The claim is checkable and it holds. | POSITIVE |
| 0:12:46 | Capital planning, and a predecessor named | Sprague: “one of the things in Bonnie's not here, but she's been a driving force on planning for future, capital projects. When I first started on the board, often worn articles were kind of surprises. Oh, by the way, we need a roof. Oh, by the way, we have to pay it this parking lot. And I've seen in the last number of years, and it started really with Carolyn Cole when she was on the board.” Then, at 0:13:14: “Heather will always call me the Frugal Yankee, and I'm the one for sure. That's always going to want to maximize the resources that we have and look for efficiencies.” | |
| 0:14:20 | The stock-car analogy | Whitney: “We have the fast cars there. Our teachers are qualified, dedicated, motivated and talented, but they need the right fuel, a strong pit crew and a committed visionary leader to get our kids across that finish line. So where are we falling short and why aren't we getting our kids across the finish line? Primarily, it's a tier one instruction, which is general classroom instruction that impacts every student in the school.” The board’s own deck makes the same point without the metaphor: “Our literacy and math data tell us our current Tier 1 instruction needs to be increased for our students.” | |
| 0:15:30 | Curriculum as economic policy | Crawford: “this is a construction curriculum is the key to success. I firmly believe that, a successful school brings success to the whole community. It is an economic driver for the community. And in order for the schools to be successful, we have to have a good curriculum so that we're all all students are on the same path to success.” a construction is instruction — the same substitution three times in this file, including “high quality construction” at 0:13:52. She credits the road metaphor to the interim superintendent at 0:16:00: “He talked about curriculum being the road on which we traveled and the cars on that road or whatever are the actual textbooks and materials.” | |
| 0:16:30 | What is actually being bought: Wit and Wisdom, a math pilot, textbooks | Crawford: “The board has approved the Wit and Wisdom in English and Language Arts program. We are trialing, a math curriculum, and we have full implementation of all English and math curriculum anticipated for the fiscal year. School year 2526. As you can see, science and social studies will follow.” Then the expectation, at 0:17:03: “It will take a minimum of a year to see these scores improve. I think this is a really important point. Nothing happens overnight.” The professional development named at 0:18:05 — “There is a program called the Classroom Management. The doctor state's math instruction. Teach, teach united training” — is the board deck’s “Polly Bath Classroom Mgmt, Dr. Staves-Math instruction, Teach United Training (Budget Neutral)”. | |
| 0:19:01 | Disruptive behaviour, and where the data came from | Gallagher: “we got a presentation from our this, McKinney being told he has on Courtney Porter just a couple of weeks ago. And we really wanted to dive into some of the barriers that our students are facing in the district.” The presentation was to the board on 17 January 2024. Then, at 0:19:27: “teachers are reporting a dramatic increase in disruptive behavior, and those behaviors interrupt in-class learning for all students. Managing these behaviors is diverting teachers time and attention from teaching. So every elementary school principal requested an additional social worker.” | |
| 0:20:35 | The meeting’s one statistic | Gallagher: “Just to throw out a little statistics, I took Miss Quarter's presentation and did a little math. We had 161 DC calls in district for school year 2223. That equates to about 11% of our student body. That's about one and nine kids dealing with some heavy stuff in a typical classroom.” Miss Quarter is Courtney Porter and DC is DCYF. Nothing else said in ninety-three minutes is a measurement. The board deck carries the narrative but not the number. | |
| 0:21:20 | The third social worker | Gallagher: “The board did approve an additional social worker for a total of three district wide social workers. Previously, all three elementary schools were sharing a single social worker with Stephens High.” The summary page in the packet prices it: account 2113 Social Worker rises from $72,500.47 appropriated in FY24 to $302,466.20 proposed for FY25. She then names her own committee at 0:21:49: “I chair the Disruptive Behaviors Committee, which is made up of a lot of really great community people, including staff and admin, across the the buildings.” | |
| 0:22:51 | CTE expansion — a health science programme and a career counsellor | Crawford: “We're expanding the CTE programing. That's at the center. For about the past year and a half. There's been a vision committee who has been working diligently. About 25 members of the community have been meeting at least on a monthly basis.” The result, at 0:23:21: “the board approved a health science program addition to the Tech center program.” And the distinction that matters, at 0:24:23: “A Greer counselor works with the students at the tech Center, and works with the community and the businesses in the community so that this tech of this counselor, sees what jobs are available.” Greer counselor is career counselor. The deck prices the health teacher at $96,621 plus $3,000 of start-up supplies. | |
| 0:25:32 | Why the paraprofessionals’ contract was reopened early | Sprague: “The demand for labor has increased due to probably the only number of factors, the great retirement and other factors. So we, proactively with the paraprofessional union. Proactively reopen our contract conversations with them. Again, we came to a stop gap sort of agreement with some extra money. We're about halfway through the process. Personally, I would like to see incentives added for people who are retired teachers, people with degrees, but that's yet to come.” This is the board’s own account of Article 5, given ninety minutes before the article was read. | |
| 0:27:02 | The teachers’ contract, and what it costs this budget | Sprague: “I have been part of that cycle or several cycles and years ago. I'm going to say, I don't know, 6 or 8 years ago. We really made a commitment to becoming competitive in the district, raising the minimum that teachers start at and get trying to get competitive with our salaries.” Then the budget consequence at 0:27:33: “There will be some increases because of the fact that we are continuing through the life of the current contract, incrementally raising teacher wages.” The deck puts a figure on it: year two of the SREA agreement, $573,097, and notes “By law these increases must be included in both the general and default budgets.” | |
| 0:28:19 | What the district does not control | Whitney: “there are multiple factors that impact our budget that are completely out of the school board and the administration's control. In particular, we are very dependent on state and federal funding.” Then, at 0:28:36, the money that is ending: “This year we are facing the Esser grant expiring that will expire in 2024. The answer grant has funded some of the positions in our district, some very few positions we are keeping and has also funded some capital projects.” The answer grant is the ESSER grant. The board deck dates it: “ESSER Grant expires Sept 2024”. | |
| 0:29:03 | “The government say and you pay” | Whitney: “We also have in the education world a lot of unfunded regulatory requirements. I call these the government say and you pay. We are required to provide services, but we are not given the money from federal or state resources to do that.” And at 0:29:28 the acknowledgement of the tax side: “We also have zero control over what the tax assessment is. And everyone on this board is a taxpayer and we have been affected by the reassessment. And so I guess what I'm trying to say is we do feel your pain in the budget.” | |
| 0:30:13 | The budget subcommittee becomes the Finance Committee | Sprague: “I think one of the most important changes is that in the past, we've been called the the the committee. I've shared this thing called the budget subcommittee. We are now the finance Committee.” The purpose, at 0:30:44: “A more proactive process where we are working with the administration year round, rather than just those few weeks prior to the budget season.” The renaming was agreed by consensus on 1 November 2023. Then the standard he sets at 0:31:16: “if someone is asking for more money or asking for money, we want to know why or what are you going to do with it and what how is it going to improve student achievement?” | |
| 0:31:29 | Measures of success as a condition of continued funding | Sprague: “Right in the formal evaluation of programs in mission is to include measures of success. And we've been asking for that. It's as I said earlier, it started with the Esser project. And if these are going to continue, we want to see measurable results with our curriculum, with our coaches, with our professional development. The board is the expectation is if you want to continue with others, see results.” No measure was named, and no result was reported, at any point in this meeting. | |
| 0:32:30 | The business administrator takes the room | “I'm Mary Henry and I'm your current business administrator. First of all, I want to say that my main focus is to talk about the budget, but I've touched upon every Warren article there is. I'm not going to go over, really one and then number three, four and five because honestly, they're the ones that aren't going to be able to change.” That last clause is worth holding on to: an article can be amended at a deliberative session, including as to amount — RSA 40:13, IV(c) says so expressly. Article 5 was in fact amended eighty minutes later. | MEDIUM |
| 0:33:03 | Article 2, in figures | “You have your general budget, which is the budget to operate the schools themselves, which is $36,117,407. Then you have your grants and your food service budget.” And at 0:33:30: “even though the total overall budget is 30 $39,582,407, that 3.4 million is money that we are actually getting in, as well as a revenue, which I'll touch upon later on.” The deck breaks it out: general fund $36,117,407, grant and food service $3,465,000, total $39,582,407, all “approved by the Claremont School Board on 1/17/2024”. | |
| 0:33:59 | The default, spoken | “But for the general budget, it's $35,000,906 and 70, excuse me, $906,774. Again, the default budget for your grants and food service and the same. But this does not include the other Warren articles that are after this three, four and five.” The figure is $35,906,774 — the same number that reached the January 3 budget hearing, where the transcript rendered it as a 906/960 transposition. Here she reads it, catches herself and re-reads it correctly. | |
| 0:36:27 | Where the money goes | “I have a pie chart here just showing the differences of how much each of these items are. I think is important for people to look at that and see that like regular instructions, 32% special ed is 22%, and the other ones are very small portions of your budget.” The deck’s table gives Regular Instruction $11,627,768.31 at 32.19% and Special Education $8,093,124.57 at 22.41%. Special education is, on the district’s own figures, close to a quarter of everything. | |
| 0:37:48 | Ninety-five per cent of it is not discretionary | “The biggest thing here for me is looking at the wages and benefits is the biggest portion of your budget and has the most impact on your budget going down. We have contracted services, we have tuition, we have your debt, we utilize supplies and you keep going down. So basically, of the overall hope of this whole budget, about 95% is contractual obligations.” And at 0:38:11 the residue: “what I would exclude from that is your, postage, your advertising, your printing, your supplies. You need them, but they're not mandated”. The deck puts wages and benefits alone at 71.86%. | |
| 0:38:59 | Adequacy aid: $4,182 — and the statute agrees to the dollar | “I did also want to let you know that the educational base adequacy aid for fiscal year 25 is $4,182. For fiscal year 24, the current year is $4,100. So the state increased it by $82. There's no way that we can educate a kid for $4,182. I'm sorry, it's just not possible. They do not include transportation. They do not include benefits.” Both figures are exactly right, and traceable: RSA 198:40-a, II sets the base at $4,100 per pupil and RSA 198:40-d requires a 2 per cent annual adjustment from 1 July 2024. $4,100 × 1.02 = $4,182. | POSITIVE |
| 0:39:24 | The retirement rate | “They do not include, you have your retirement, which again is mandated that we have to have, which is 19.64% of all wages on teachers. It's a little less for administrative staff.” The rate is the New Hampshire Retirement System employer contribution for teachers; the page reports it as her figure and has not verified it against an NHRS schedule. | |
| 0:39:45 | How much of Claremont’s money is other people’s | “I will say your federal and state funding is much higher than most people in the area. It's usually anywhere around 30%. So your town receives more than the average town does in the state with their federal and state funding, which is a good thing for you.” The deck’s revenue chart puts federal and state funding at 47 per cent of the general fund and local tax at 49. | |
| 0:40:16 | The default budget, defined aloud — and one clause short | “First, I want to read to you what default means. It means the amount of the same appropriations as contained in the operating budget authorized for the previous year, reduced and increased as the case may be, by debt service contracts and other obligations previously incurred or mandated by law, and reduced by one time expenditures contained in the operating budget.” Then, at 0:40:42: “One time expenditures are appropriations not likely to recur in the succeeding budget.” That is RSA 40:13, IX(b) read aloud, and it stops exactly where the district’s own worksheet stops — before “and by salaries and benefits of positions that have been eliminated in the proposed budget.” | HIGH |
| 0:41:05 | $210,633 | “I would add in the contracts that you've already voted through for your teachers, and your other staff would be in there because they need to go into their automatic. So that being said, the difference between our general budget, the current budget proposed, and the defaults $210,633. So our budget is 210,633 higher than what the proposed or excuse me, than the default.” A year earlier the equivalent gap was $1,002,364 and a voter moved to change it; this year nobody mentioned it again. | |
| 0:42:22 | Grant-funded jobs are conditional jobs | “It's always an estimate because we don't get this money or know about it until May, June, July, sometimes, and in some cases, we don't even know what our second half of one of our grants will be until September of the year. We're already in. But any, any jobs that are tied to grants are always tied to whether or not we get the money.” And: “So if we don't get the money, those jobs don't go forward because their contract is based on that money.” The deck’s FY24 grant allocation totals $2,293,627.48, of which Title I Part A is $1,348,774.84. | |
| 0:42:33 | The number that answers what will this cost me | “So budget summary as of right now, over last year's general budget were 1.2 million higher, or 3.55% increase, but the total amount to be raised after revenues is 0.34%. That's important for a number of reasons, because things have changed within the revenue stream.” Then, at 0:43:03, why: “there was a retained fund balance of $420,000 that the board, with my recommendation at the time, held out of the fund balance from the previous year. This time, they have decided to use that fund balance to offset taxation”. The deck’s own taxation slide does not subtract to the figure it prints: flag 10. | OBSERVATION |
| 0:44:20 | The tax estimate the voters took home | “So as of right now, it would add $30.66 per 100,000 of property value, which again down below I said 150,000 would be $46.50. This is just for the budget itself, and this is including the $420,000.” With the caution at 0:43:57: “this is an estimated tax rate. It can change. I don't know what your property values are going to be. I am not sure what the end of your surplus will be.” Seventeen days earlier the board was told the same figure, with the same fund balance applied, as $35.21 per $100,000; nothing on this record explains the move. | OBSERVATION |
| 0:45:03 | Ten years of the local education tax | “for the past years since 2015 to 2024. You have first your local education tax rates less any fund balance.” And the judgement, at 0:45:35: “if you look at it honestly, you guys have done very well in my opinion based on this, because you're you're about has not increased greatly until fiscal year 23.” The table she is reading runs FY2015 to a row labelled “FY2024 Estimate” carrying $17,767,110 — which the revenue slide four pages earlier calls the FY2025 estimated local tax. | OBSERVATION |
| 0:46:43 | What past votes already cost this budget | “The teachers contract is the second year of it for 573,000. Claremont Admin Association 51 year for the paraprofessionals contract is 109.” The deck: year 2 teachers $573,097, year 3 Claremont Admin Association $51,736, year 3 paraprofessionals $109,376 — a figure the packet’s default-budget worksheet gives as $109,379. Then insurance at 0:46:55: “Health insurance premiums are increased by 8.8% for the pairs maintenance and secretaries. The teachers was 5.7. The dental stayed at 4.7 for everybody, so it's a total estimate of 219,000.” | OBSERVATION |
| 0:47:21 | Positions moved off federal money, and one asked back | “I know they've touched upon a lot of these, so I don't know if I really need to go into a more increase of 2 to 3. We had a couple of BA, which reminds me, Ben.” — an unattributed “Made realized.” — “Thank you was originally in our budget but was moved over to Esser but needs to come back into our budget. Two professional development coaches and we've added one and additional technology person, which if there's any questions about that, Jeff can answer in more detail.” The deck names it: the BCBA moved back from ESSER at $109,521, two PD coaches moved back plus a third added at $309,132 total, and an additional technology post at $57,644. No question was put. | |
| 0:48:07 | The tech centre, the middle school, and $124,000 of maths | “It's the adding of the new program, the Career counselor, Academic Resource Center or coordinator at CMS to parallel with Stephen's. They're planning on adding that in retaining one campus monitor position and combining it with another budgeted assistant and athletic director position at CMS, the purchase of the math curriculum materials is roughly 124,000, and all Esser positions were removed unless otherwise noted.” That last clause is the sentence a default budget turns on, and it is the only time in ninety-three minutes that removed positions are mentioned. | HIGH |
| 0:49:16 | Trust funds, and a roof | “I wanted to give you an update on your trust funds and the balances. As you can see, we've spent some of the money this year in fiscal year 24 on replacing part of the roof at Stephen's for $370,765. Your education trust has gotten it's in a good spot. Your school bus repair on the maintenance capital reserve as well as in a good spot, but probably will end up being used to put some new busses, bus purchases that we need to make.” The deck’s table: building repair and renovation reserve down from $520,644.29 to $149,879.29 after the roof; special education expendable trust $676,880.27; totals $1,100,944.78. | |
| 0:50:05 | Presentations end; no break taken | “So that concludes the presentations. The next thing we're going to do is move on to the Warren articles.” Then, at 0:50:27: “So we are at about 10:00. Do we feel like we need a quick break? Okay, I see shaking head, so we'll move on. The chair has asked me to introduce each warrant.” Forty-one minutes of the board’s and the administration’s case had run before a single article was read. | OBSERVATION |
| 0:50:57 | Article 1 — and a clerk turned into a person | “Article one reads election of school district officials to elect a moderator, Mr. Clark and District Treasurer each for a one year term, and three school board members, three for a three year term. So the next thing I will do is ask for a motion to move this to the ballot.” Mr. Clark is District Clerk. The offices named are exactly those the minutes list, and the moderator’s own seat is among them. | |
| 0:51:33 | A motion the rules said was unnecessary | “Thank you. Moderator.” — then “Seeing the article, one gives the body permission to elect district officials. I want to make a motion to move article one as written for consideration. Second. Okay. Thank you. Discussion.” The mover’s words are inside the presiding officer’s diarized row and no name is spoken. Thirty-one minutes earlier the same officer had read: “Warner articles do not require a motion to be passed on to.” | MEDIUM |
| 0:52:30 | Article 2 read — and the statutory special-meeting clause | “Should this article be defeated, the default budget shall be $39,371,774, which is the same as last year, with certain adjustments required by previous action of the Claremont School Board, School District, or by law, or the governing body may hold one special meeting in accordance with RSA 44 and 13, Roman numeral ten, and Roman numerals 16, to take up the issue of a revised operating budget only.” RSA 44 and 13 is RSA 40:13, and X and XVI are the right paragraphs: RSA 40:13, XI(c) prescribes this wording. What the transcript renders as “as amended by vote of the first session and second session” is not in the statute, which says only “or as amended by vote of the first session” — and with no warrant in the packet, the printed text cannot be checked. | OBSERVATION |
| 0:54:05 | The first voice for the budget: a board member, speaking as a voter | “Speaking as a voter and a citizen. Even though I am a member of the board. I support this budget because I have no questions about it. The process to develop this budget within the Finance committee was transparent and professional. It was televised on CCTV and and regular and thorough reports were provided at each school board meeting, which was also televised on CCTV.” The argument is about process rather than content, and closes at 0:54:51: “In my opinion, this budget is thoughtful and efficient and forward thinking.” The approved minutes list Whitney Skillen first among the four speakers in favour. | |
| 0:56:31 | The second voice: the Finance Subcommittee, and the new administrator | “This budget also supports our teachers. It provides resources, incentives, and the tools they need to also provide successful instruction for our families. The second reason I support this budget is the financial consideration for Claremont Finance Subcommittee, as so eloquently was said, asked many questions during the budget process.” Then at 0:57:27: “Many hours were spent televised hours, as Whitney said, to provide sufficiency, transparency and accuracy. To bring this budget to a responsible level, the members of the board have been selected by the citizens, and we all have an obligation to have our students leave 12th grade and be productive citizens of our community, our state and our country.” The first thirty-six seconds of this turn, including the name and ward, are not transcribed. | OBSERVATION |
| 0:59:25 | The one voice against — and it is about instruction, not money | “What are we doing with this money that is being set aside for these positions?” Then, at 0:59:34: “I appreciate everything that teachers do. We have done a great job. But from what I see, some of the instruction is not going the way it should. I have a child in school and they're getting taught by videos off of YouTube. How is this the best instruction that a child can get? It needs to be a teacher on a blackboard.” And at 1:00:06: “when we have disruptive children in our classroom, this is what is taken away from those children that could be exceptional. We extend too much time working with those children and we be our exceptional children behind.” He closed: “I do not agree with this budget because I think there's better things that we can do.” No figure was disputed. | |
| 1:01:15 | The interim superintendent answers without disputing | “In regards to.” — “The last response, I can't disagree with the concerns that we're seeing in my short time here. That's what the budget is trying to do. We're we do have open slots that have not been filled or we're still trying to kill them. We do want to use technology in our classroom, but the programs coming in, you know, we want to see to get away from the the YouTubes and stuff like that.” And at 1:02:05: “there are things happen in the classroom that shouldn't be happening. And it it does get in the way of not just student learning but teacher learning.” He says “I'm not disagreeing with what was just said” twice. | |
| 1:02:57 | Three and a half minutes that are not in the transcript | “Thank you. And superintendent, is there anybody else who would like to speak for or against this? Yes, sir.” What follows is 103 seconds with no transcribed speech, then a two-word fragment — “But that's.” — then a further 111 seconds with none. The approved minutes place exactly one person here: “Tom Luther, Ward 1”, who “speaks neither in support of nor in opposition to the proposed budget, but speaks about the process”. Nothing he said survives in the dialogue file. | OBSERVATION |
| 1:06:32 | A district employee answers the criticism | “I saw that there are positions that needed to be built, and because I felt such a close connection with this district, I wanted to pitch in. My family has been in Claremont for over a century. Even my great grandfather late. These tiles that I stand on right now and to hear accusations that teachers may not be doing a job as intended, or that we may be using money, I think really betrays.” Then: “Betrays any sense of understanding of what we do here in the school district. I work in the it it's it's a great job.” And, at 1:07:28: “I need to say that that it needs to be on record, and I am willing to support them as much as I possibly can.” The approved minutes give the name Brandon Perry, Ward 3. | |
| 1:08:28 | The last voice on the budget | “Gary Martin for two.” — “Lifelong resident.” — then: “My heart goes out to the chair when you done a great job. Both the good work, the rest of the board. On a nominal job. I've been in this community. Like I said, all my life, I've seen the ups and downs. I feel this community is finally coming around.” The argument, at 1:08:58: “It's important that we support the goals of the sport is trying to put forward, and one of the things that we be thinking about, it's an investment. How is it and expense?” and “It's an investment of art as well.” | |
| 1:09:58 | The budget goes to the ballot untouched | “Is there anybody else or against.” — “If not I'll close the discussion and this article will move forward as written on the ballot. Next is article 13 a three. I'm looking at three and saying 13. Sorry. Have a motion. Excuse me. I'm sorry. I didn't see your hand. Recognize me? Yes, I do recognize.” No amendment to the operating budget was moved at any point. A year earlier a voter had moved $1,000,000 back into it and carried the amendment 41–27. | |
| 1:10:27 | The motion to restrict reconsideration | “That's pursuant to.” — “RSA 40 colon 13 comma Roman numeral four. I moved to restrict reconsideration.” — “Of article two.” Then, at 1:10:37: “There a second. Okay. All those in favor say aye. Anybody opposed? Okay. That motion passes.” The citation is defensible: RSA 40:13, IV makes the first session “governed by the provisions of RSA 40:4, 40:4-a, 40:4-b, 40:4-f, and 40:6-40:10”, and the operative section is RSA 40:10. No name is spoken; the minutes say Frank Sprague moved and Jennifer Gallagher seconded, “unanimously passes”. | MEDIUM |
| 1:11:14 | Article 3: the secretaries | “Year estimated increase 2024 to 2025. Contract $102,860.20 25 to 2026 contract $27,169.20 26 to 2027 $28,245 and third, to raise an appropriate 102,860 for the 2020. For the 2025 for the fiscal year such some representing the additional costs attributed to attributable to the increase in salaries or benefits required by the new agreement over those that would be paid at current staffing levels.” Then, at 1:12:05: “I think this is a majority vote required. The school board recommends this article.” The deck gives the same three figures. | |
| 1:12:55 | Who the secretaries are | “Is for all members in the bargaining unit. That is our school secretaries in each school. Most of them are 12 month employees who are the face of the public Claremont Schools. They interact with parents, teachers, principals, central office administrators, and all of those on both their good days, that group on their good days and their bad days, and all the while keeping accurate records and showing a welcoming demeanor.” Closing: “I strongly support passage of this article.” The opening of the turn, with the name and ward, is again not transcribed; the minutes give Arlene Hawkins, Ward 3. | OBSERVATION |
| 1:13:43 | Article 4: maintenance and custodial | “Year estimated increase 2024 to 2025. Contract $87,789.20 25 to 2026 contract $32,502.20 26 to 2027 contract $30 $30,408 and further to raise an appropriate $87,789 for the 2024 to 2025 for the fiscal year, such some representing the additional costs attributable to the increase in style and benefits required by the new agreement over those that would be paid at current staffing levels.” style is salaries. | |
| 1:15:50 | The vice chair on why entry-level pay is the whole point | “Frank's great work to. I'd like to speak in favor of this custodian maintenance agreement. As I had mentioned earlier, our entry level wages were just not competitive to attract new people into working for us. We have a veteran staff that are having trouble filling entry level positions.” Then the shape of the money, at 1:16:19: “you can see that the biggest bump comes in the first year, and that is representative of those entry level positions moving up, and then stabilizes off”. And at 1:17:04: “this is really pennies, literally pennies on the dollar. It is very, very nominal cost to provide these hardworking people with with the money that they deserve.” | |
| 1:18:08 | Article 5 read — and the year is wrong on the page | “It reads to see if the school district will vote to approve the cost items included in the collective bargaining agreement reached between the Claremont School District and the Claremont Paraprofessionals Association, which falls for the following increases, establishes and benefits.” Then, at 1:18:41, the catch: “At the current staffing level, $189,210 is the estimated a crease this 2015 that correct?” The presiding officer found the error herself; nobody moved anything. | |
| 1:20:11 | A second, and a vote, before any motion existed | “Is there a second?” — then, at 1:20:15, “All those in favor say aye.” — then, at 1:20:22, the correction: “Oh I'm sorry, you're right, you're right. I should know that. So is there any discussion on the event? Yes.” No motion had been made on the record and no written amendment had been presented, which the district’s own rules require: “any amendment must be in written form presented to the moderator.” The minutes record an orderly motion, second and unanimous vote with two names. | MEDIUM |
| 1:20:55 | The amendment carries, and the order of business is reconstructed on the fly | “I don't see any discussion. So you're voting on the amendment to make it correct, actually. So all those in favor say aye. All right. Anybody opposed? Right now we have the right here. Okay. Now we're back to. The motion. I think we already made this motion right to consider it. Yes. We haven't done that. Okay. Thank you. All right.” Then, at 1:21:20: “Now, I need a motion to consider this article as a menu” — as a menu is as amended — and at 1:21:28 an unnamed voter: “I want to make a motion to move the board article by, as amended, the consideration.” This is the whole of the voters’ amending power as it was exercised on 3 February 2024: the correction of a typographical year. | MEDIUM |
| 1:22:04 | The paraprofessionals’ president | “My name is Matt. I live in Ward one. I've lived in Claremont my entire life. I'm a parent and president.” — “Of the.” — “National Association of Taxpayer. So I bear all the access that I have a haven't in everything for the last seven years of my life. I've been a paraprofessional for the Claremont School District.” The organisation name is a garble; he closes by thanking “my Teamsters brothers and sisters”. Then the description of the job, at 1:22:41: “We are educators. We are de-escalation masters. We are interventionists. And I firmly believe that is where more acts than any other position in the district.” | |
| 1:23:24 | What the district would lose | “If if the teachers didn't have us there with them, they wouldn't be able to teach anything because they would be focused on like handling, putting out fires in the class all day.” Then the pay, at 1:23:40: “Unpaid does not adequately reflect the work that we do every day. It just doesn't. There's there is that there is over 60 parents within this district. As a group, we have lived for years listening to stories about how children that we work with go into the workforce and make more money.” Unpaid is our pay and parents is paras — the substitution runs through the whole of this article’s debate. The board was told on 17 January 2024 that every paraprofessional post in the district exists because of an individualised education programme. | |
| 1:24:08 | The two-minute rule, enforced once | “We we hear your passion, but we do have a two minute line.” He yields: “I would like to say thank you.” — “Wake me to the school board for reopening. And thank you for my Teamsters brothers and sisters and all the parents that are here today for being here.” The board and administration had spoken for forty-one minutes before the first article without a timer. | OBSERVATION |
| 1:24:30 | A turn that is almost entirely missing | Fifty-eight seconds of untranscribed speech, then its last words at 1:25:29: “The recognition and compensation that they deserve. Thank you.” The approved minutes place Jennifer Gallagher second among the five voters speaking for Article 5, which is this slot. Nothing else of it is in the dialogue file. | OBSERVATION |
| 1:25:33 | “definitely worth more than they're getting paid” | “With people who care about them, with people who are definitely worth more than they're getting paid. With people who, you know, who who will allow them to stay in district rather than having to go other places to be educated. They have high support needs. And my parents rock every day.” Then: “Please support this article for the students at Claremont.” my parents is my paras. The out-of-district point is the money argument underneath the moral one: a student who cannot be served here is placed elsewhere at district expense. | |
| 1:26:51 | A teacher, five years in | “You do? Children here in the public schools with my husband, Jim. And, in my time with Love School. This is year five. I've, been blessed to work with quite a number of parents who I find, have the highest degree of professionalism, growth, mindset, devotion to our students, flexibility, walking in every. Day to the classroom, not always knowing what's going to be expected of them from either the teachers or the students.” Then the confidentiality point at 1:27:44 — “The confidentiality that they keep around the student.” “Learning.” “Plans with which they're presented, high degree of sensitivity to the.” “Information that they need to guard on behalf of our students” — which is a description of a paraprofessional handling special-education records. | |
| 1:28:30 | The living-wage sentence | “Oftentimes, parents are afforded an opportunity to have, relationships with the students that teachers don't because we're juggling content and grades. And parent contact in the Paris are really the first people there to connect with the students. And my own children have had have made lifelong relationships with their parents. These people don't have a living wage here in town.” Then, at 1:29:01: “Their benefits are far fewer than those of the teachers. And I don't know about you, but I can't think of any establishment in town that pays less than their starting rate to pay.” | |
| 1:29:23 | The interim superintendent, as a former principal | “Right. In terms of the superintendent, I'd just like to say, as the former high school principal here and being an education for 30 years, is that parents and all the other positions that we, we want to put through, they are the the lifeline for educators and administrators, usually the first ones to step up and go outside of their realm, whether in their classroom.” And at 1:29:56: “they truly are the lifeline of everything that we do. As teachers and administrators. So, as interim superintendent, I support all these articles.” | |
| 1:30:22 | Thirty years, top of the scale, and a second job | “Ward three I'm a 30 year veteran as a paraprofessional with the Claremont School District. I'm at the top. There's no more steps for me. And I make a whopping 2456 an hour on 32 hours a week, and I have to work a second job. And I own a home.” Then, at 1:31:04: “He bet in consideration when you go to vote and keep us in mind. Thank you.” The hourly figure is transcribed without a decimal point and is left as the transcript has it. The approved minutes name Pam LaBounty, Ward 3, last among the Article 5 speakers. | |
| 1:31:21 | Closing — and the turnout number | “So I'm going to close the discussion, and this article will move forward to the ballot as amended. So that really concludes the deliberative session today.” Then, at 1:31:48, the appeal: “Please, please, please come out and vote on March 12th. Our average voting percentage for school board elections is 13 to 17% of our registered voters. If we want to move this community forward, we need to have a strong school system.” | |
| 1:32:30 | Adjournment | “I'd like to make a motion to adjourn.” — “I'll second.” — “One second. I don't think there's going to be anybody in opposition, but I have to ask all those in favor of a journey. I. Anybody opposed? All right. Thank you so much.” a journey is adjourning. Neither the mover nor the seconder is named on the recording; the minutes give Whitney Skillen and Heather Whitney. With adjournment the restriction on reconsideration adopted at 1:10:27 expired: RSA 40:10, III makes such a restriction last only “until final adjournment of the meeting at which it is adopted”. | MEDIUM |