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Portsmouth School District board meeting, date not confirmed yet

1 h 45 min

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What happened

What happened at this meeting

Portsmouth School Board approves updated food service job descriptions 22:15

  • The city's deputy city manager for finance and administration presented an illustration of how the House Bill 1300 tax cap would have applied to the Portsmouth School Department, saying the department was below the cap in 9 of the 10 years reviewed. 27:05
  • A presenter outlined a preliminary continuing services budget estimate of a 5.23% increase, or $3.75 million, to $75.45 million. 1:01:10

Until Nov 4, lines where a board member takes a side don't name the member. Why →

Item by item (14)
  1. Roll call and pledge 15:38
    • A staff member called the roll, and the board recited the Pledge of Allegiance. ~15:48
  2. Announcements and recognitions 16:47
    • A district staff member listed upcoming events, including a Portsmouth Public Library parenting series and a PTA fundraiser with a goal of raising $20,000. 16:54
    • Jennifer Shump recognized October as Dyslexia Awareness Month. 18:46
    • Nancy Novelline Clayburgh said a ranking by Niche placed Portsmouth High School number 4 among New Hampshire high schools. 19:15
  3. Consent agenda minutes 20:46
    • The board took a roll call vote on a motion to approve 2 sets of minutes under the consent agenda. 20:46
    • The staff member calling the roll announced the minutes were approved. 21:20
  4. Public comment and agenda change 21:21
    • No one was present for public comment, and a staff member said no one on Zoom raised a hand. 21:21
    • The board voted on a motion to suspend the rules and move forward to new business. 21:34
    • The motion was approved. ~22:11
  5. Food service job descriptions 22:11
    • The district's human resources director said the department had begun a review of all school job descriptions and that the union had approved the food service descriptions. 22:15
    • A board member asked whether all job descriptions were being updated, and a staff member said the ones needing applicants came first, with custodians and paraeducators to follow soon. 23:38
    • Nancy Novelline Clayburgh asked about salary, and the director said the salary range would be in the job posting, not the description. 25:38
  6. House Bill 1300 tax cap 26:37
    • The deputy city manager for finance and administration said the school department was below the calculated cap in 9 of the 10 years, and exceeded it in fiscal year 25 after a one-time $3.285 million adequate education grant. 27:05
    • Byron Matto asked whether a district could bank room under the cap, and the deputy city manager said the statute does not allow it and that it sunsets. 43:46
  7. Superintendent's report 53:02
    • The superintendent said the Little Harbor playground project was close to finishing, with line painting not done until spring, and that no one appeared to qualify for the early retirement incentive. 53:07
    • A board member asked about use of the Little Harbor playground, and a staff member said kids would have access to the playground soon. 55:08
    • Brian French asked about the teacher effectiveness plan, and the superintendent said it had been reasonably quiet with no big hiccups. 56:47
  8. Continuing services budget estimate 57:38
    • A presenter said the school department's $71.6 million budget is 45.3% of the city's $157 million budget. 1:00:33
    • The presenter estimated a preliminary 5.23% increase, or $3.75 million, to $75.45 million, and told Nancy Novelline Clayburgh that 5.23 was a pretty safe number. 1:01:10
    • One board member said 5% did not seem unreasonable as a floor for continuing operations, noting the figures are preliminary. 1:11:47
  9. Policies for second reading 1:15:22
    • A board member presented 2 policies for second reading and asked for a motion to approve them as a batch. 1:15:33
  10. Policies for first reading 1:16:32
    • A board member said policy JLCD reflected recommendations from a nurse and policy JF added a section on reporting enrollment annually. 1:16:51
    • After a speaker said the wrong version was linked in the agenda, Byron Matto withdrew the motion and moved to pass JLCD only. 1:17:54
    • A board member said JF would be tabled to the next board meeting. ~1:19:20
  11. NHSBA delegate appointment 1:19:31
    • The board considered sending a delegate to the NHSBA delegate assembly on October 17th in Concord. 1:19:31
    • Byron Matto made a motion nominating a board member who had volunteered to attend. 1:21:29
  12. NHSBA resolutions 1:22:47
    • The board approved a motion to have the delegate vote in accordance with all of the continuing and proposed resolutions, with 14 and 15 pulled out for separate discussion. 1:25:43
    • The board approved a motion to support taking no position on a resolution. 1:30:29
    • One board member said they support Congress fully funding IDEA. 1:32:58
    • The motion to not support the resolution was approved 6 to 1. 1:34:03
  13. Budget meeting schedule 1:34:27
    • A district staff member said the board has traditionally held 2 budget hearings, while the charter requires at least one. 1:35:23
    • One board member said they would be in favor of striking the 26th, and another board member recommended moving the hearings further apart. 1:39:30
  14. Committee updates and adjournment 1:42:20
    • Jennifer Shump said the Community Engagement Committee met and that its last farmers market is October 17th. 1:42:36
    • Jennifer Shump said the committee would share upcoming community events with the board. 1:43:30

Written by software from the meeting's transcript and checked sentence by sentence against it.

Who spoke

Who spoke

We can’t yet tell who is speaking at this board’s meetings.

Video: posted by the district as “10.6.2026 School Board”