Participants
Names and roles follow the district's approved minutes. Where the dialogue file's speaker label differs, the label is noted in parentheses.
| Name | Role | Participation |
|---|
| Heather Whitney | School Board Chair | Presided; moved the amended bottom line of $42,957,713; argued efficiencies rather than cuts, and that "the reason we are in the financial crisis is because of poor leadership." |
| Michael Petrin | School Board Vice Chair | Moved the Bluff and 52 Maple Avenue articles; called the budget cap "a real threat"; said he could support some cap but not this one as written. |
| Arlene Hawkins | School Board Member; Policy Subcommittee Chair | Voted against the amended budget; moved the administrators' warrant and its recommendation; the sole vote against the chief education officer model; carried policies EHLB and JLCK. |
| Candace Crawford | School Board Member; Finance Subcommittee Chair | Voted against the amended budget; argued $865,000 could not be found overnight and pressed for athletics as a separate warrant article; questioned the leadership job description's lack of education experience. |
| William "Bill" Madden | School Board Member; Ad Hoc Leadership Search Chair | Voted for the amended budget; presented the leadership search; said he did not believe the tax cap "is a threat, but that people actually want it"; the sole vote against open enrollment and the sole abstention on the cap recommendation. |
| Frank Sprague | School Board Member | Voted for the amended budget; moved the trust-fund acceptance, the Byrne donation, the default budget and the chief education officer model; said he found about half a million in non-personnel efficiencies but "the real money is in positions." |
| Loren Howard | School Board Member | Voted against the amended budget; moved not to recommend the budget cap; warned a failed athletics article could be read as defunding athletics. |
| Noelle Kronberg | School Board Clerk | Recorded the meeting and its votes. |
| Kerry Kennedy | Interim Superintendent, SAU 6 | Presented the Byrne Foundation donation; answered on bus drivers, stipends and social-emotional programmes. |
| Matt Angell | Senior Comptroller / Interim Business Administrator | Read every warrant article; explained the MS-26 filing constraint and the $1 athletics line; obtained counsel's view on the athletics article by text mid-meeting. |
| Jason Bonneville | Interim Technology Director | Reported on the technology audit — data protection agreements, a public software list on the website, and eliminating redundancies. |
| Kristina Sanford | Pre-K Coordinator | Reported 36 students on her caseload requiring IEP services, 30 referrals and 19 meetings held, and the difficulty of delivering socialisation through drop-in services (labeled "Christina Sanford" in the dialogue file). |
| James O'Shaughnessy | District legal counsel, Drummond Woodsum | Not present; advised by text during the meeting on the athletics article, and in writing on superintendent-service requirements (spelled "O'Shaughnessay" in the minutes). |
| Eric Peabody | Citizens' comments — Ward 2 | Asked whether a passed cap would cut future years by at least $9 million; Angell confirmed. |
| Michael Demars | Citizens' comments — Ward 3 | Corrected his own prior figure on average principal salary, while maintaining the benefits package is too high. |
| Don Lavallette | Citizens' comments — Ward 2 | Asked whether bus drivers could work in schools during the day; later spoke for an aligned model and on the master teacher programme (labeled "Don Lavalette" in the dialogue file). |
| Nick Koloski | Citizens' comments — Ward 3 | Asked members to speak up; attributed low attendance to public frustration; called putting sports on a separate warrant article "really cowardly" (labeled "Nick" in the dialogue file). |
| Rob Walker | Citizens' comments — Ward 1 | Asked the board to better inform citizens on warrant articles such as the tax cap, and whether charges were being pursued against the former business administrator. |
| Wayne Hemingway | Citizens' comments — speaking as a taxpayer | Supported reducing the amount while keeping sports in the budget; suggested cutting vacant positions and their set-aside budgets. |
| Tom Luther | Citizens' comments | Favoured setting a bottom-line number and trusting the administration to protect academics. |
Agenda
Items follow the agenda reproduced in the approved minutes.
| Taken up | Item | Agenda text / disposition |
|---|
| 0:01:06 | Public hearing — receipt and spending of trust proceeds | $134,883.11 received from the City's Trustees of Trust Funds across five trusts. Angell named them on the record and explained the distribution condition — among scholars attending the public schools other than the high school, in proportion to days attended. Sprague moved acceptance, Crawford seconded; no public comment; carried unanimously by voice vote. Hearing closed 6:34 p.m. |
| 7:00 p.m. | Consent agenda | Agenda, the 1/7/26 minutes and the manifest accepted by consent. Angell noted he had done "a deep dive of all the outstanding debts" and that an invoice had arrived for LED lighting; Madden asked to take it up under the budget instead. |
| 0:03:29 | Citizens' comments | Five residents. Eric Peabody on the cap's future-year effect; Michael Demars correcting his principal-salary figure; Don Lavallette on bus drivers; Nick Koloski asking members to speak up; Rob Walker on informing citizens about the tax cap and on whether charges were being pursued against the former business administrator. |
| 7:05 p.m. | Follow-up — technology audit; pre-K services | Bonneville reported continuation of the audit the former technology director began, data protection agreements for all district software, a live public software list on the website, and work to remove redundancies. Sanford reported 30 referrals, 19 meetings, 15 students evaluated, and 36 students on her caseload requiring IEP services. |
| 0:35:31 | Byrne Foundation donation | "Accept $10,000 Donation for CMS Spring Athletics from The Byrne Foundation (Discussion/Vote) Kerry Kennedy, Interim Superintendent." Sprague moved to accept "with gratitude," Howard seconded; no discussion; carried unanimously. |
| 0:47:17 | Finalize and adopt the proposed budget | Whitney moved to amend the bottom line to $42,957,713 with a default budget of $44,449,704 and move it to the deliberative session; Petrin seconded. The cuts named were six interventionists, two instructional coaches, a vacant school psychologist and a guidance counsellor — which did not reach budget neutral, so the balance was left to administration. Carried 4–3 at 1:46:51: for Whitney, Sprague, Petrin, Madden; against Howard, Crawford, Hawkins. |
| 2:18:56 | Warrant articles — property | Petrin moved to add and recommend the sale or lease of the Bluff Elementary School property; Sprague seconded; unanimous. Howard preferred leasing to selling outright; Petrin explained the article permits either. At 2:21:13 the same for 52 Maple Avenue, with Howard asking that the Masons' unlocated time capsule be preserved. |
| 2:22:44 | Warrant article — open enrollment | Howard moved to add and recommend, Sprague seconded. Madden objected that it takes an option away from students; Crawford replied it does not remove the option but relieves Claremont of funding a student choosing to go elsewhere. Carried 6–1, Madden opposed. |
| 2:25:11 | Petitioned warrant article — budget cap | Angell read it as article nine and explained it must go on the ballot regardless of the board's view. Howard moved not to recommend, Hawkins seconded. Angell put the future-year cut at about $9 million, effective FY2027-28. Carried at 2:34:04 with six in favour and Madden abstaining. |
| 2:41:48 | Executive leader search | Madden reported the committee divided between an executive director and a superintendent. Sprague moved the "chief education officer" model, Howard seconded. Hawkins objected that the qualifications section contains no reference to education credentials and that the assistant superintendent post and the coaches had already been cut, leaving no educational leader. Carried 6–1, Hawkins opposed. |
| 8:20 p.m. | Policy; other business | Policy EHLB (subpoenas involving district employees) moved from first read straight to adoption, unanimously. Revised policy JLCK on students' physical and emotional well-being advanced to a second read; policy FAA tabled. Candidate filing announced for January 21–30, elections March 10, 2026. |
Discussion timeline
Chronological topics with the moment each is taken up. Timestamps link to the same moment in the Cablecast recording.
| Time | Topic | What was said | Flags |
|---|
| 0:01:06 |
Trust proceeds read into the record |
"We received $134,883.11 from the Trustees of Trust funds, and it's comprised up of five different trusts … basically the money that we received for this, is to be distributed among all the scholars attending the public schools, except those attending the high school in proportion of their number of days attending school during the school year." |
POSITIVE |
| 0:47:17 |
The chair's amendment |
Whitney moves to amend the aligned model's bottom line to $42,957,713. She had gone looking for a figure that preserved academics without cutting athletics, found the named position cuts insufficient to reach neutrality, and declined to put athletics to a warrant article — "she did not feel she could ethically cut sports" — charging administration instead to find the balance. |
OBSERVATION |
| 0:51:44 |
The counter-proposal: athletics as its own article |
Crawford: "I could support that that amendment. If if people agreed to have the sports on a separate warrant article." She put the athletics line at $863,000, argued the board had been asking for cuts for months and that $865,000 could not be found overnight, and that moving athletics to the ballot would reach neutrality while leaving an unrequired programme to the voters. |
OBSERVATION |
| 1:12:47 |
The cap as leverage |
Petrin: "The budget cap of putting in the $35 million budget means the potential of shutting this building down from the tech center and turning it into an elementary school. The threat is real. It's not just talk. People are going to come out. And if we don't come up with a better answer than a 44, $46 million budget, then we're really putting this district in jeopardy." |
|
| 1:25:26 |
The arithmetic restated |
Asked by Crawford to restate the motion, Angell works from $44,844,373 down to the amended figure. Sprague, who ultimately voted for it: "trusting the administration has gotten us in a lot of trouble." Hawkins confirmed with administration that every position named in the amendment was vacant. |
OBSERVATION |
| 1:46:51 |
Budget adopted 4–3 |
"Call the question. All in favor of moving to the deliberative, the bottom line number … 42[,957,713]." Before the vote Angell set out the filing constraint: he must post the MS-26 line-item budget by January 26, athletics would appear on it at $1, and the board would move money between lines later in the year. He added that "it would be dishonest to the voters to guarantee that athletics would run and it will likely look different." |
OBSERVATION |
| 2:22:44 |
Athletics article dropped |
Angell told the board he had texted counsel during the discussion: if a standalone athletics article were voted down, "there is a strong argument to have no athletics next year," and language would be needed making clear the board could transfer funds regardless. The article was not included. |
OBSERVATION |
| 2:25:11 |
Board declines to recommend the cap |
Angell reads article nine and confirms it goes on the ballot whatever the board thinks. Petrin at 2:32:41: "I could support some sort of a budget cap, but the way this particular warrant is written … references the budget that we had to pare back … I don't see this one, this cap at the appropriate level." Madden abstained, saying the board needs "to be held to the fire." |
POSITIVE |
| 2:41:48 |
Chief education officer model |
Sprague: "I like the chief education officer." He argued the top post need not be an educational leader so long as the second is. Hawkins, alone against, noted an HR director had previously been hired without education experience "and that meant they had no idea how HR in education worked." Counsel had advised that superintendent services are legally required but a superintendent is not. |
OBSERVATION |
Items flagged for review
These are a reviewer's aid, not findings of violation and not legal advice. Each rule-based flag names the provision it rests on and links to the primary source; where no verified rule applies, the item is labelled an observation. Verify against the recording and the primary sources before relying on any of it.
OBSERVATION The adopted budget names a bottom line the identified cuts do not reach, five days before the line-item filing was due
The board adopted $42,957,713 against a presented model cost of $44,844,373 — a reduction of about $1.89 million. The cuts named in the motion were six interventionists, two instructional coaches, a vacant school psychologist and a guidance counsellor, all vacant positions. On the chair's own account these did not reach the target; the balance was left to administration to find, on the reasoning that efficiencies remained undiscovered. Crawford put the shortfall at around $865,000 and said it could not be found overnight; Sprague, who voted for the motion, said "trusting the administration has gotten us in a lot of trouble"; Hawkins asked what would have to give and was told by Angell that reaching the number under a four-school model would require cutting a further six or seven positions, with the administrative level deciding which. Against that, Angell must post the MS-26 line-item budget by January 26 — five days later — and told the board athletics would appear on it at $1, with money moved between lines later in the year, because "it would be dishonest to the voters to guarantee that athletics would run." No verified rule bars a board from adopting a bottom line and delegating the composition, and the deliberative session retains its own amendment power, so this is recorded as an observation rather than a violation. It is flagged because the document voters will see in March will show line items that the board, on the record, has already decided will not be what is spent.
Sources: RSA 32:5 (preparation of the budget; bar on inserting appropriations not disclosed at the public hearing); RSA 40:13 (official ballot form of meeting; amendment at the first session); approved minutes, 1/21/26. The January 26 MS-26 date is Angell's statement on the record, not a deadline verified against DRA rules for this page.
OBSERVATION A warrant article was dropped on legal advice delivered by text message during the meeting
The athletics warrant article was the pivot of the budget debate — Crawford made her support for the amendment conditional on it, and a resident called putting sports on the ballot "really cowardly." When the board reached the drafting stage at 2:22:44, Angell reported that he had texted the district's counsel during the discussion and been told that if a standalone athletics article failed, "there is a strong argument to have no athletics next year" unless language were added permitting the board to transfer funds. The article was then not included. Consultation with legal counsel is expressly excluded from the definition of a "meeting" under RSA 91-A:2, I, so obtaining advice mid-meeting breaks no rule, and relaying it in open session rather than acting on it silently is the more transparent of the available choices. It is noted because the advice that decided the question is not in the record: no written opinion is attached to the minutes or the packet, and what the public has is one participant's paraphrase of a text message.
Sources: RSA 91-A:2, I (consultation with legal counsel excluded from "meeting"); approved minutes, 1/21/26. No verified rule requires counsel's advice to be reduced to writing; labelled an observation.
POSITIVE The board put the petitioned cap on the ballot it opposed, and recorded its opposition as a recommendation rather than an obstacle
A petitioned article that would cut roughly $9 million from a future budget gives a board every incentive to look for a procedural reason to keep it off the warrant. This board did the opposite: Angell stated plainly that it "has to go on the ballot," and the only motion taken was Howard's to not recommend it — the mechanism the statute provides for a board to state its view without obstructing the petitioners. RSA 197:6 entitles a timely petition signed by 25 voters or 2% of the district's voters to a place in the warrant, and 58 residents signed. The debate then stayed on the merits: Petrin and Whitney both said they could support some form of cap but not this one as drafted, and Madden abstained on the ground that the board should be held accountable. The vote is recorded with each member's position and the single abstention.
Sources: RSA 197:6 (petitioned articles must be inserted in the warrant); RSA 32:5-e and RSA 32:5-f (school district budget cap and its adoption procedure); approved minutes, 1/21/26.
POSITIVE Trust proceeds were accepted in open session with the funds named and the spending condition read out
Restricted money is where districts most often blur the line between receipt and use. Here $134,883.11 from the City's Trustees of Trust Funds was taken through a noticed public hearing of its own at 0:01:06, with the five constituent trusts named aloud, the total stated, and the restriction spelled out — distribution among scholars attending the public schools other than the high school, in proportion to days attended. The board's acceptance is what authorises the business administrator to spend it "in accordance with the trust of each," which is the correct sequence: the treasurer pays out only on the board's orders under RSA 197:23-a, and the board cannot order what it has not accepted.
Sources: RSA 197:23-a (treasurer pays out only upon orders of the school board); approved minutes, 1/21/26.
OBSERVATION The district moved toward a non-educator chief executive with no education qualification in the job description
The board voted 6–1 to pursue a "chief education officer" rather than a superintendent. Counsel's written advice, as read by Madden, was that the district must secure superintendent services but need not employ a superintendent — a point he characterised as "a political v. policy decision." Hawkins, the lone dissenter, made two specific objections that the minutes preserve: the qualifications section of the job description contains no reference to education credentials, and the assistant superintendent post and the instructional coaches had already been cut, so the structure would leave no senior educational leader. Crawford, though voting in favour of the model, agreed the description should state plainly what is being sought. New Hampshire's SAU governance statutes require superintendent services and set certification requirements for those who hold the title; whether this model satisfies them turns on the arrangement the district ultimately adopts, which is not settled in this record. Recorded as an observation for that reason — the concern is real and was raised from inside the board, but no rule can be applied to a structure that does not yet exist.
Sources: RSA ch. 194-C (school administrative units; superintendent services) — chapter cited, not a specific section, because the applicable requirement depends on the final structure; approved minutes, 1/21/26; Executive Job Description.pdf.
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