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Annual Meeting

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Grantham School District SAU #75 
School Board Minutes 
April 1, 2025 6:30 pm 
GVS Music Room and via Zoom 
 
Board Members:  Jillian Belmont, Phil Langsdorf (absent with permission), Nancy Mackenzie, Lesley Nesbitt, and Jerry Volpe. 
Administration:  Superintendent Lisa Walker, Business Administrator Meredith Butler, Principal Kristen Reed, and SAU Executive 
Assistant Brenda Molloy.   Public present: Dorothy Sears and Mary Ann Sears. 
The Chair opened the meeting at 6:31pm. 
 
Agenda Approval – Jillian Belmont motioned to approve the agenda.  Jerry Volpe seconded the motion.  The motion passed by voice 
roll call 5-0. 
 
Board Reorganization-  The Superintendent asked for a nomination for School Board Chair.  Jillian Belmont motioned to nominate 
Lesley Nesbitt as Board Chair.  Jerry Volpe seconded the motion.  The motion passed by voice vote 4-0. Lesley Nesbitt accepted the 
position as Board Chair.  Lesley Nesbitt motioned to nominate Jillian Belmont as Vice Chair.  Nancy Mackenzie seconded the motion.  
The motion passed by voice vote 4-0. Jillian Belmont accepted the position as Vice Chair.  Lesley Nesbitt motioned to nominate 
Nancy Mackenzie as secretary. Jillian Belmont seconded the motion.  The motion passed by voice vote 4-0. Nancy Mackenzie 
seconded the motion.  The motion passed by voice vote 4-0. 
 
Public Participation -  The first public participation opened at 6:35pm.  No comments were heard and the public participation closed 
6:36 pm. The second public participation opened at 7:55 pm and none being heard public participation closed at 7:56pm. 
 
School Board Liaison – Dorothy Sears reported PSAT/SAT is April 2, 2025.  International committee raised approximately $2,300 at 
a sponsored dinner.  The Take Flight program continues to work on their plan and should be finished in 2027. The Lebanon High 
School Library was awarded the outstanding library for NH High Schools. Ollie Hermanson reported spring sports have started.  The 
Boys/Girls Nordic team placed runner up in Division 2.  The chair thanked Dorothy and Ollie for their reports. 
Discussion/Action- Jerry Volpe motioned to accept the 2025-26 School District calendar. Jillian Belmont seconded the motion. The 
motion passed by voice vote 4-0. Jillian Belmont asked if the Principal was aware the week of March 29th being a holiday and teacher 
conferences that same week making it hard for parents to find child care.  The Principal answered this is the same as it has been 
scheduled in the past.  Jillian Belmont motioned to accept the resignation of Robert Crutchfield with deep appreciation for his time at 
Grantham Village School (GVS). Jerry Volpe seconded the motion.  The motion passed by voice vote 4-0.  Nancy Mackenzie 
motioned to accept the resignation of Mary Boyea with deep appreciation for her time at GVS. Jerry Volpe seconded the motion.  The 
motion passed by voice vote 4-0.  Jerry Volpe motioned to accept the resignation of Liesel Fagan with deep appreciation for her time 
at GVS. Nancy Mackenzie seconded the motion.  The motion passed by voice vote 4-0. Jillian Belmont motioned to accept the 
resignation of Jonathan Parker with deep appreciation for their time at GVS.  Jerry Volpe seconded the motion.  The motion passed by 
voice vote 4-0.  The superintendent presented the professional staff nominations for 2025-26.  Jerry Volpe motioned to accept the 
2025-26 nominations.  Nancy Mackenzie seconded the motion.  The motion passed by voice vote 4-0. Christine Downing reviewed 
the new RSA and technical advisory for the local certification eligibility request for 1 year for Jennifer Callahan who will be a long-
term Physical Education substitute.   Jillian Belmont motioned to approve the 1-year certificate of eligibility for Jennifer Callahan as 
the long-term substitute for Physical Education.  Jerry Volpe seconded the motion.  The motion passed by voice vote 4-0. The 
Principal reviewed the request for the board’s support of the end-of-year event at either Salt Hill Pub or the Sunapee Cruise. Jerry 
Volpe motioned to approve the end-of-year celebration on the Sunapee Cruise Boat. Nancy Mackenzie seconded the motion.  The 
motion passed by voice vote 4-0.  Brenda Molloy reminded the board that Staff Appreciation week begins May 5th with a breakfast 
sponsored by the school board.  She will email details to the board this week. The Superintendent reviewed the Memo of 
Understanding between Grantham School District and the New London Outing Club for the after-school program at Grantham Village 
School.  The program is scheduled to begin at the start of the new school year.  The Superintendent updated the board on the 
HealthTrust information in the packet and where the SB297 bill stands at the moment noting a town hall state wide webinar is April 3, 
2025.  The Superintendent discussed the Demographic Study Lebanon School District shared as it has enrollment projections and 
information about Grantham and Plainfield as sending districts. Christine Downing distributed a very comprehensive list of all the 
House Bills (HB) and Senate Bills (SB) that emerged from the House Finance Committee as well as those bills that didn’t go to 
Finance and will head to the Senate for hearings. All bills are subject to change quickly during the cross over period.  She noted 
several House and Senate Bills related to areas of public education to include Parents Rights, Discrimination, School 
Boards/Governance; Student Wellness/Safety/Bullying/Call Phone; Special Education, Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment, 
Budgets and Funding/Tax Caps, Educational Freedom Accounts, Retirement, School Buildings/Facilities, Licensure and Open 
Enrollment/Intra District Transfers.  She gave brief recaps of the bills and the status of them noting that during the crossover period 
some bills are taking longer than others.  Bills with House and Senate versions (HB and SB) will require reconciliation, potentially 
through a committee of conference, which can also be influenced by political factors. Amendments made by one chamber to a bill 
originating in the other will necessitate the bill returning to the originating chamber. Many amendments are currently being observed.  
For example, HB2 that includes prohibiting Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) for all state agencies and public school is changing 
rapidly. DEI is defined as "any program policy training or initiative that classifies individuals based on race ethnicity or other group 

characteristics characteristic for the purposes of achieving demographic outcomes.  Christine added that Chair noted this was an early 
introduction of "trailer bill" type language, typically seen later in June. It was also observed that House committees had been sending 
bills that were stuck in committee to Finance, potentially to be attached to budget bills (HB1 - appropriations, HB2 - programming). 
The updated information is included in the board packet along with the current status of each House and Senate bill.  Christine 
mentioned a bill regarding the ED 306 rules she co-sponsored being hijacked by an amendment changing its substance as an example 
of legislative tactics that deviate from the standard filing practice. The Chair thanked Christine for her extensive and informative 
legislative update and the importance of being aware of legislative rulemaking. 
Policy JFAB Admission of Nonresident Students and Tuition was discussed for 2nd reading and adoption with all the edits from 
previous meetings.  Nancy Mackenzie motioned to accept policy JFAB Admission of Nonresident Students and Tuition for 2nd reading 
and adoption.  Jillian Belmont seconded the motion.  The motion passed by voice vote 4-0.  Title IX policy revisions that are red lined 
from NHSBA were discussed for 1st reading. 
 
Principal’s Report – Report as submitted.  
 
Superintendent’s Report – Report as submitted. Christine Downing presented a brief overview of the Special Education Audit citing 
an internal review audit will be shared.  The objective of the audit was to do an external assessment of the school district Special 
Education model from a professional unfamiliar with the internal system focusing on the preschool program, delivery of services to K-
6 students, roles of case manager and state compliance and reporting.  The Superintendent stated that communication to the staff went 
out about the transition of Christine Downing to Interim Superintendent.  Staff are to email both of them and they will decide who 
takes the lead on the email requests.   
 
Consent Agenda – Jillian Belmont motioned to approve the consent agenda as written.  Jerry Volpe seconded the motion.  The motion 
passed by voice roll call 4-0. 
 
Adjournment – Jerry Volpe motioned to adjourn the meeting at 7:56 pm.  Nancy Mackenzie seconded the motion.  The motion passed 
by voice roll call 4-0. 
 
Minutes recorded by Brenda Molloy, Executive Assistant, SAU #75 and approved by the School Board on May 13, 2025.