01.26.2026 BSB Minutes - Final.pdf
The Board voted 3:1 against placing a warrant article for Open Enrollment on the March ballot. Warrant articles were finalized without this inclusion. Kara LaMarche moved to approve the 2026-2027 School District Calendar, passed 4:0, keeping October 9th off as planned. Bill Foote moved to allocate one BHS parking space to Bedford Friends of Recreation for a fundraiser, passed 4:0. Kara LaMarche moved to increase the District Tuition rate for 2026-27 from $18,400 to $19,650 and the Cardigan fee from $85 to $100 per child, passed 4:0. Minutes from January 12 and 13 were amended and approved 4:0. The consent agenda manifest for January 27 was approved 4:0. A draft response plan for sexual misconduct was noted alongside two resolved unfounded incidents. Source: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1eP47YTPLGytgvQfd7ABAyjAU0ATNpUrx/view
The mission of the Bedford School District is to develop a community of learners who are curious, resourceful, and respectful.Academicachievement is the district's highest priority. ____________________________________________________________________________ BEDFORD SCHOOL BOARD MEETING Monday, January 26, 2026 SAU Office Board Room 103 County Road, Bedford NH 03110 6:30 p.m. MINUTES - Final _________________________________________________________________________ 1. Call to Order/Pledge of Allegiance/Roll Call Chair Sue Jennato called the January 13, 2026 Bedford School Board meeting to order at 6:30pm. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited at that time. Present were: School Board members Andrea Campbell (remotely), Bill Foote, Sue Jennato, Kara LaMarche; Superintendent Michael Fournier, Assistant Superintendent Tom Laliberte, and Business Administrator Lisa Ambrosio (remotely). 2. Affirm Agenda Items An agenda revision was that the non-public session was tabled. 3. Public Input Mr. Jay Nash submitted public input via attached email. 4.Open Enrollment Warrant Article There was discussion on whether to place a warrant article regarding Open Enrollment on the March ballot. Legal counsel felt that Bedford did not stand to lose in this situation; if no warrant article was done, it would mean that up to 100% of students could go to another district that had open enrollment. Students would not be entered for revenue through open enrollment but it would continue under out-of-district tuition. Options were reviewed including allowing open enrollment for the BHS IB program with a policy on criteria. Discussion included possible confusion to voters, revenue, parameters, risks (e.g. students going to an open enrollment district at BSD’s/voters’ expense), the allowing 0% to leave BSD, etc. There were other opportunities for alternative learning (choice). The Board decided (3:1) not to have a warrant article regarding open enrollment. Supporting Documents: ● Draft Warrant Article 07 Options 5.Finalize Warrant Articles Warrant articles were finalized without adding the one on open enrollment. 6.Policy Updates Mr. Fournier presented the Board with policy updates. Highlights follow. First Read: Policy JCA - Change of Class or School Assignment - Best Interests and Manifest Hardship ● Restructuring of section A with an updated title. It provided opportunities for families for change of schools in-district. Language was added regarding determinations that were made outside of the school district. ● Current Version ● Side by Side Comparison ● Clean JCA (Recommended by NHSBA) Policy JICK - Pupil Safety and Violence Prevention ● Changes included: putting bullying prevention in the title; cross-district and cross-state bullying; and requirement to send substantiated and unsubstantiated reports to the Superintendent. The procedure remained the same. The policy would be reviewed for additional information/possible added notation. ● Current Version ● Side by Side Comparison ● Clean JICK (Recommended by NHSBA) Policy JLCJA - Emergency Plan for Sports Related Injuries and Additional Protocols for Athletics Participation ● Changes included: employees trained in CPR/First Aid in conjunction with the American Heart Association as well as regulations around AEDs. RAL and BHS Websites would need to include a list of people who were trained. ● Current Version ● Side by Side Comparison ● Clean JLCJA (Recommended by NHSBA) 7.2026/27 Draft Calendar - Second Read Mr. Fournier presented the proposed 2026/2027 school district calendar for discussion and potential approval. There was PTG feedback about the October 9th day off for a 4 day weekend around Columbus Day instead of having September 8th as a workshop day but it was explained that it was election day and if the 9th was off, a day would need to be taken from vacation or on the Monday in June so October 9th would remain. Attendance for this year: Dec. 23rd - 5x more students absent vs. any other day Dec. 22nd - 2nd highest absence day Nov. 25th - 3rd highest absence day Therefore, an early release might not change the number. Kara LaMarche made a motion to approve the 2026-2027 School District Calendar as presented. Bill Foote seconded the motion. Motion passed 4:0. Roll call vote. Supporting Documents ● District Calendar ● SY 25-26 Attendance View 8.Student Parking Spot Raffle Request Mr. Fournier sought the Board’s approval to allocate one BHS student parking space to Bedford Friends of Recreation (BFOR) for use in an upcoming fundraiser. The space would be raffled off with proceeds benefiting BFOR’s community initiatives. Bill Foote made a motion to approve the allocation of one BHS student parking space to BFOR as presented. Kara LaMarche seconded the motion. Motion passed 4:0. Roll call vote. Supporting Documents ● BFOR Memo 9.District Goals Update There was a review of the Bedford School District's goals (2024-2027). Performance Goals Increase Student Achievement #4: Paras given professional development and start of mentor program. #6: Standardized Assessments: BHS looking into SAT and SAS assessments; vertical meetings planned between schools (March PD day: BHS/RAL and RAL/MIS). This might lead to some SCTI work regarding curriculum work from one building to another. Operational Goals School Safety Changes included:Regarding alarms, the Emergency Planning Team felt that there were hurdles to overcome since schools were used frequently. There was a charge for each time the alarm went off. Staff Attainment and Retention Ongoing: finding ways to acknowledge staff and recognize their accomplishments. A form was being created for staff to complete and note their accomplishments. ROTC This week will show what numbers were going from this year into next year. Strategic Goals Mental Health & Behavioral Wellbeing Ongoing: work with schools and agencies to put programs/trainings together. There was talk about trauma informed instruction as a district-wide initiative. Homework Communication - inconsistency with Google Classroom - improvements were made (#11- use of parent guardian and #12-Administration monitoring). Sexual Misconduct (New goal) Policy ACAC ● A Response Plan draft was made. ● 2 incidents occurred and were resolved (unfounded). ● Possibility of looking at training (per state law = 3 years) - augment this. ● Need to create new partnerships for collaboration. ● Improvement of lighting/surveillance in budget. ● Cell phone guidelines (covered by policy/law on cell phone ban). ● Ongoing publicizing and promotion of self-care resources for staff/faculty. ● Debriefing processes for staff in handling disclosures. Supporting Documents ● BSD District Goals 10.Tuition Rates and Fee Setting for 2026/27 Ms. Ambrosio presented her proposed rate change for non-resident and other in-district tuition and fees for the 2026/2027 school year for the Board’s approval. There was discussion about possibly increasing the graduation fee for next year. Kara LaMarche made a motion to approve a change in the District Tuition rate for the 2026-27 school year from $18,400 to $19,650 and the Cardigan fee increase from $85 per child to $100. Bill Foote seconded the motion. Motion passed 4:0. Roll call vote. Supporting Documents: ●Proposed Non-Resident Tuition Rate, Other In-DistrictTuition & Fees 11.Minutes Changes to the minutes of the January 13, 2026 public hearing were: p. 2: FY27 default budget (11th bullet should read $0.10/$1,000); and public commenter name edit to Linda Camarota. Bill Foote made a motion to approve the minutes of January 12, 2026 as amended. Kara LaMarche seconded the motion. Motion passed 4:0. Roll call vote. ● Draft Minutes of 01.12.2026 ● Draft Minutes of 01.13.2026 Public Hearing 12.Materials Included ● Policy GBEBB - Employee-Student Relations ○ #14 - language reverted back to the original. 13.Consent Agenda Bill Foote made a motion to approve the manifest of January 27, 2026 as presented. Kara LaMarche seconded the motion. Motion passed 4:0. Roll call vote. ● Manifest of 01.27.2026 14.Short Subjects and Good News Notes 15.Nonpublic Session PerRSA 91-A:3, II( c ) N/A Mr. Fournier said there would be a 2-hour delay tomorrow due to the snow storm. Mr. Laliberte noted that Model UN students went to Lexington, MA on Saturday. Over 300 students participated, two of whom were Best Delegate, two of whom were Outstanding Delegate, one of whom had Honorable Mention and one of whom had Commendation. 16.Adjournment At 7:30pm, Bill Foote made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Kara LaMarche seconded the motion. Motion passed 4:0. Roll call vote.