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04-10-2025 SAU Board meeting minutes

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Approved Minutes 
 
SCHOOL ADMINISTRATIVE UNIT #19 
Goffstown * New Boston 
SAU#19 Central Office – 11 School Street - Goffstown, NH 03045 
      April 10, 2025 – 6:00pm  
 
New Boston School Board Members Present: Bill Schmidt, Julie Kirklin, Kate Merva, Kelly Socia, 
Nicole Treat 
 
Goffstown School Board Members Present: Heather Trzepacz, Shane Rozamus, Jack Carbonneau, 
Jared Talbot, Caroline Racine, Reta Chaffee, Laura Fleming, Vanessa Hayes (left at 6:30pm), Ginny 
McKinnon (excused absence) 
 
Superintendent Balke will call the meeting to order at 6:00pm 
 
Pledge of Allegiance 
 
Welcome new Goffstown and New Boston School Board members – Goffstown: Laura Fleming and 
Vanessa Hayes, New Boston: Kate Merva. Congratulations to the re-election of New Boston: Julie 
Kirklin and Goffstown: Shane Rozamus, Reta Chaffee  
 
Election of Officers – Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary, Treasurer  
Superintendent Balke asked for nominations for SAU19 Board Chair. 
Shane Rozamus nominated Jared Talbot. Hearing no other nominations, Jared Talbot accepted the position of 
SAU19 Board Chair and chaired the remainder of the meeting. All were in favor of the nomination 
 
Chairman Talbot asked for nominations for SAU19 Board Vice Chair. 
Heather Trzepacz nominated Bill Schmidt as SAU19 Board Vice Chair. Hearing no other nominations, Bill 
Schmidt accepted the position of Vice Chair. All were in favor of the nomination 
 
Chairman Talbot asked for nominations for SAU19 Board Secretary.  
Bill Schmidt nominated Heather Trzepacz for SAU19 Board Secretary, Heather declined the nomination. 
Chairman Talbot nominated Vanessa Hayes as SAU19 Board Secretary. Vanessa Hayes accepted the 
nomination. All were in favor of the nomination 
 
Chairman Talbot asked for nominations for SAU19 Board Treasurer. 
Shane Rozamus nominated Kelly Socia for SAU19 Board Treasurer. Hearing no other nominations, Kelly 
Socia opposed the nomination but accepted the position. 
 
Public Comment(s) none 
 
Correspondence none 
 
Approval of the Draft December 11, 2024 SAU19 Board Meeting Minutes: Shane Rozamus motioned to 
approve the December 11, 2024 SAU19 Board meeting minutes as amended, seconded by Nicole Treat. 
Vote: 10-0-3 (Kate Merva, Vanessa Hayes, Laura Fleming abstained) Motion Passed.  Amendment: Dan 
offered to continue to as SAU Treasurer…..                                                                                       
 
  
Manifest and Vouchers – Dec. 2024, January 2025, February 2025, March 2025 
 

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Jack Carbonneau motioned the approval of the December 2024 manifest as presented, seconded by Bill 
Schmidt. Vote: 13-0-0 – All in Favor – Motion Passed. 
 

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Julie Kirklin motioned the approval of the January 2025 manifest as presented, seconded by Reta Chaffee. 
Vote: 13-0-0 – All in Favor – Motion Passed 

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Julie Kirklin motioned the approval of the February 2025 manifest as presented, seconded by Reta Chaffee. 
Vote: 13-0-0 – All in Favor – Motion Passed. 
 
 

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Reta Chaffee motioned the approval of the March 2025 manifest as presented, seconded by Bill Schmidt. 
Vote: 13-0-0 All in Favor – Motion Passed. Kate Magrath clarified for the record that the HealthTrust gift 
cards listed on the manifest is for wellness gift cards that are given to employees. 

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SAU Expenditure Report 2024-2025 and Revenue Status Report: Scott Gross reported that the projections 
made at previous SAU Board meetings were accurate. 
  

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Revenue Report: 

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Federal Grant Summary – Heather Kelley, Brian Balke, Wendy Kohler Reporting:  
 
 

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The current fiscal year does not include projected revenues for next year. We worked hard to procure these 
grants and are unsure of the future of the Title 2A grants. Goffstown’s share would be $100,000 and New 
Boston ‘s would be $30,000+. This grant provides funds for Professional Development training books. Wendy 
Kohler noted that New Boston has the $30,000+ REAP Grant that pays for teacher mentor programs. Brian 
shared the struggle to find certified teachers in special ed, chemistry, and physical ed, and we can use that 
money to target those needs. We take great care to apply for grants, especially if they come from NHED. Tori 
is our point person for the REAP Grant and Wendy is our point person for the Title Grant programs. Heather 
Kelley oversees the final grant and Special Ed products. 
 
Wendy noted that we do have the ability to use Title I money for Bartlett and MVMS use. We are thoughtful 
when applying for competitive grants. These grants pay for specific training such as drug and alcohol 
education and CPI certification for teachers who work with escalated students.  
 
 
Life and Long-Term Disability Renewal  
2025 Life and Long-Term Disability Insurance Vendor Approval: A summary of the recent Life and LTD 
renewal process is provided. We received RFPs from nine carriers, and five of them responded. Our current 
carrier, Lincoln, has offered a 0% increase in rates along with a three-year rate guarantee. While the other 
carriers have bid at reduced rates, Lincoln has been our carrier since July 1, 2012, and there is a significant 
administrative cost to change vendors. 
 
Rate History with Lincoln 
Year 
Life Rate 
Renewed Rate 
Increase 
LTD Rate 
LTD Renewal 
2012 
$0.080/$1,000 
 
 
$0.29/$100 
 
2017 
 
$0.088/$1,000 
10% 
 
$0.29/$100 

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2019* 
 
$0.111/$1,000 
26% 
 
$0.29/$100 
2021 
 
$0.108/$1,000 
-3% 
 
$0.29/$100 
2025 
 
$0.108/$1,000 
0% 
 
$0.29/$100 
 
Renewal Bids 
 
Considering the administrative costs associated with changing carriers, The HR Director recommends we 
continue our business with Lincoln. Changing carriers involves review and execution of contracts, review and 
distribution of plan documents for the 18 different employee classifications, modification of benefit packets 
for each of those classes, new designation of beneficiary forms (and possibly enrollment forms) for all eligible 
employees and filing of those enrollment forms. We are looking for Board authorization to move forward with 
signing a renewal with Lincoln Financial effective July 1, 2025, for three years. Scott shared that there is a 
very significant burden when changing insurance carriers. We have had very good service and reliability from 
Lincoln as our Life and LTD insurance carrier, and I agree with the HR Director that we proceed with 
awarding this to Lincoln Financial knowing that it is not the lowest bid.  
 
Scott shared that the administrative costs would be in the thousands of dollars as everything pertaining to the 
HR and Business Office must be redone. All Lincoln Financial entries for the three entities will need to be 
changed in our systems and will result in about $3,000 - $5,000 labor cost to complete that portion of the 
change. Caroline Racine motioned to approve the Life and Long-Term Disability Renewal effective July 1, 
2025 as presented, seconded by Heather Trzepacz. Vote: 12-1-0 (Vanessa Hayes opposed). Motion Passed. 
 
Board Ratification of Policy BFD – SAU19 Board Authorizations: It has been past practice of the SAU#19 
Board to grant authorizations to the Superintendent of Schools and their designees to conduct business on the 
Board’s behalf. The following authorizations are granted to the Superintendent of Schools and/or designees to 
conduct SAU#19 business between regularly scheduled Board meetings. 
1. 
Authorization for the Superintendent and/or designees to act on commodity and capital project bid(s) 
that have been previously approved. 
2. 
Authorization for the Superintendent and/or designees to sign any and all available grants. 
3. 
Authorization for the Business Administrator working in conjunction with the SAU#19 Board 
Treasurer/Deputy Treasurer to pay bills and sign checks until the next SAU Board meeting. 
4. 
Authorization for the Business Administrator to make budget transfers during the summer months in 
accordance with SAU Policy DJB and to notify the Board at the next SAU Board meeting. 
5. 
Authorization for the Superintendent or designee to hire staff as needed between SAU Meetings. 
6. 
Authorization for the Superintendent and/or designees to adjust SAU#19 summer working hours. 
7. 
Authorization for the SAU Board Chair to sign off on Federal Grant Assurances. 
8. 
Ratified by the SAU Board annually at the organizational meeting in April. 

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Julie Kirklin motioned to ratify Policy BFD – SAU19 Board Authorizations, seconded by Shane Rozamus. 
Vote: 13-0-0 – All in Favor – Motion Passed. 
 
  
 
Deputy Treasurer Appointment – Although Dan Cloutier did not run for re-election, he continued serving as 
the SAU19 Treasurer during the transition period between the 2025 March vote and the 2025 April SAU 
Board meeting. The intent of the motion is to cover that transition period until the next SAU19 Board 
Treasurer is appointed at the 2026 April SAU Board meeting. Shane Rozamus appointed Heather Kelley as 
the SAU Board Treasurer, seconded by Bill Schmidt. Vote: 13-0-0- All in Favor – Motion Passed. 
 
SAU Audit Overview – Scott Gross Reporting: An actuarial study will be needed if the SAU considers a 
bond. Doug Totten’s former school district hired Moody for that purpose. Reta questioned the importance of 
perhaps stating this somewhere in the audit report so that the public will be aware of why we do not have an 
actuarial study conducted. Scott stated that he would mention this to the auditing firm, and it would make 
sense that it comes from them.  
 
Adoption of Policy ACAC – Title IX Sexual Harassment Policy – Brian Balke Reporting: We have not 
held an SAU Policy Review meeting since last year. There have been many changes made in the law which 
affected Policy ACAC which is the Title IX policy. We are requesting the Board’s consideration to adopt this 
policy this evening on an emergency basis as the next SAU Board meeting will be held in October. It is 
important that this policy be adopted in a timely manner to remain in compliance with Title IX Law. Both 
School Districts are on the path for adopting the Policy at their upcoming School Board meeting. Julie Kirklin 
motioned to adopt Policy ACAC on an emergency basis and revisit the policy at the October Board meeting, 
seconded by Kelly Socia Vote: 12-0-0 All in Favor – Motion Passed (Vanessa Hayes left the meeting during 
this discussion which changed the vote)  
 
Superintendent Report 
• Lindsay Phillips was selected by the South Central region and will be recognized as an emerging 
leader in special education  
• The New Boston Board has requested to have a New Boston School Board Representative at the A&F 
and P&C subcommittee meetings. Goffstown welcomed New Boston to join them on those 
committees. It was noted that New Boston is also represented on the Goffstown Policy Review 
Committee and the C&E Committee meetings.   
• Recommending that the AREA Subcommittee meeting in June to discuss the possibility of a tuition 
MOU for sending students between the Districts outside of the AREA. 
• We need to schedule a few SAU Policy Review Committee meetings to update policies. 
• New project for Administration to review “optional” policies in both districts and the SAU and 
confirm if they are still needed.  
• The SAU Board may recall that we budgeted for access to a new residency database for next year 
called Clear -The intent is to have a dedicated registrar in both Districts.  
• Two updates from last night’s New Boston Board meeting. Randy has been working on the Playground 
project bids anticipating holding a brief meeting on April 23rd to review the bid results.  
• An omission was made on the NB Teachers Staffing sheet that was approved at last night’s meeting. 
Anne Boisvert was omitted as a .5 kindergarten teacher, and we will need to re-issue her a contract 
prior to April 15th. This will be added as a notification on the May staffing sheet. Apologies for the 
omission. 
• There are a few SAU Building projects in the queue. We are costing out a fire suppression system and 
integrated fire alarm options as there are life-safety evacuation concerns. Brian confirmed that the 
building is not listed in the Historical Registry and will not affect the system purchased. 
• Recommend that in June, the AREA subcommittee meet to discuss the possibility of a tuition MOU for 
sending students between the districts outside of the AREA.   

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• The entire SAU staff recently had a safety meeting reviewing safety protocols and expectations – our 
next meeting will focus on table-top safety scenarios and evacuation drills. 
 
Annual Review of Administrative Regulations (Policy BFCA) – Brian Balke Reporting: All remains the 
same, there is nothing new to report.  
 
June Joint AREA Committee: We will float a June date for Joint AREA Committee meeting. 
 
  
 
Staffing 
 
Notification(s): 
Summer Intern (effective 5/19/2025): 
Brayden Hollinrake……….SAU…………..Business Office  
Great opportunity to have a college finance student – FTE Review  
 
Approvals: 
Professional Staff Proposed Salary Increases: - Nonpublic Discussion 
Dania Jackson……………Out of District Coordinator 
Denise Morin …………….Executive Administrative Assistant 
Jill Parenteau …………….Home/School Liaison 
 
Support Staff Proposed Salary Increases: Nonpublic Discussion 
Susan Ainsworth………… Administrative Secretary 
Karen Campbell………… Secretary of Finance and Transportation 
Michele Croteau………… Staff Accountant II 
Pamela Forcier………….. Payroll Coordinator 
Rebecca Fragos…………. HR Administrative Assistant 
Sherri Gardner…………. Staff Accountant I 
Cynthia Lucas ………….. Custodian 
Tracey Ouellette………… HR Generalist 
Beth Quinn……………… Administrative Secretary 
 
Other: Authorization to process vacation payout for Scott Gross from fund balance on or before 
6/30/2025. Bill Schmidt motioned to authorize the vacation payout for Scott Gross from Fund Balance on 
or before 6/30/2025, seconded Kelly Socia. Vote: 12-0-0 – All in Favor – Motion Passed.  
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
Any Other Business That May Legally Come Before the Board: None 
 
Non-Public Session RSA 91-A:3II(a)The dismissal, promotion, or compensation of any public employee or 
the disciplining of such employee, or the investigation of any charges against him or her, unless the 
employee affected (1) has a right to a meeting and (2) requests that the meeting be open, in which case the 
request shall be granted.  
 
 
Shane Rozamus motioned to enter nonpublic session pursuant to RSA 91-A:3II(a) at 7:05pm, seconded by 
Reta Chaffee. An individual voice vote was called. Bill Schmidt (yes), Julie Kirklin (yes), Kate Merva (yes), 
Kelly Socia (yes), Nicole Treat (yes), Heather Trzepacz (yes), Shane Rozamus (yes), Jack Carbonneau (yes), 
Jared Talbot (yes), Caroline Racine (yes), Reta Chaffee (yes), Laura Fleming (yes). Vote: 12-0-0 – All in 
Favor- Motion Passed  
  
Heather Trzepacz motioned to leave nonpublic session pursuant to RSA 91A:3II(a) at 8:35pm, seconded by 
Kelly Socia. An individual voice vote was called. Bill Schmidt (yes), Julie Kirklin (yes), Kate Merva (yes), 

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Kelly Socia (yes), Nicole Treat (yes), Heather Trzepacz (yes), Shane Rozamus (yes), Jack Carbonneau (yes), 
Jared Talbot (yes), Caroline Racine (yes), Reta Chaffee (yes), Laura Fleming (yes). Vote:12-0-0 All in 
Favor – Motion Passed. 
  
Bill Schmidt motioned to seal the nonpublic minutes until the contracts are executed, seconded by Julie 
Kirklin. Vote: 12-0-0 – All in Favor – Motion Passed. 
 
Heather Trzepacz motioned to approve the nominations as discussed in nonpublic for professional and 
support staff, seconded by Shane Rozamus. Vote: 12-0-0- All in Favor – Motion Passed.  
 
Reta Chaffee motioned to adjourn at 8:37pm, seconded by Bill Schmidt. Vote 12-0-0 - All in Favor - Motion 
Passed. 
 
Respectfully submitted by, 
 
Denise F. Morin 
Recording Secretary