By GLYNIS HART
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CLAREMONT – Career and Technology teacher Scott Pope received a big thank-you from the district at Wednesday’s school board meeting, when board chair Frank Sprague presented him with a plaque to express the district’s appreciation for his work.
Pope was named one of two Teachers of the Year for New Hampshire for his work with the CTE program, especially the work he has done linking the classroom to Whelen manufacturing. Students from the CTE program visit Whelen and have the opportunity for internships and hands-on learning in addition to simply finding out what jobs in manufacturing are like.
“When I was principal I had the opportunity to observe Mr. Scott Pope in his class,” said Sprague. “He is a truly extraordinary teacher. A lifelong machinist himself, his programs with Whelen have been pivotal.”
Pope said, “This award means a lot. I’ve worked with some fantastic people, Frank being one of them, and I can say it’s always been a team effort.”
Interim Superinten-dent Keith Pfeifer, who has served in that capacity for several school districts, said he has really appreciated that Claremont has community-based learning. “Scott Pope is truly an innovator, providing opportunities for learning outside our four walls.”
In other business before the board, Pfeifer noted that the special education department is understaffed. “We are doing our best to hire more staff,” he said.
“Our special education personnel are working hard to maintain our compliance with special laws, rules, and regulations. I very much appreciate their hard work.”
Pfeifer encouraged everyone to attend the Fall Festival on Saturday, Oct. 6. “We will have a booth, so come by and say Hello. We want to be a part of this community and we want to be visible in this community.”
The board also voted to accept a grant from the Jack and Dorothy Byrne Foundation: The foundation gifted $15,000 to the Sugar River Valley Regional Tech Center. As an amount that size cannot be accepted without a public hearing, a public hearing was briefly held. No members of the public spoke.
In other school board business, the board voted to raise the cost of tuition at Claremont schools to $15,000, up $500 from the previous cost. School business administrator Mike O’Neill said Fall Mountain’s tuition is $13,220 and Newport’s is $15,000; Sunapee is $14,500 and Windsor, Vermont is over $17,000.
As Steve Horsky has resigned from the board, his spot on the superintendent search committee will need to be filled. Marjorie Erickson, chair of the SAU#6 board, said a lot of work needs to be done before the board can advertise for a new superintendent.
“We need community forums,” said Erickson.
Erickson reminded everyone of the timeline. “If we do not find a candidate we’re all happy with this year, this may continue past March. I’m kind of hopeful it won’t, but it would be nice to have consistency.”
Thus, anyone temporarily filling Horsky’s seat might not be elected in March. The search committee will comprise seven people. Erickson said there would be a meeting on Thursday to discuss the committee, and sound everyone out for their flexibility and a good time to meet.
“That’s part of the reason we wanted to keep it a small committee,” she said. “Even with seven people we’re going to have trouble getting everybody to every meeting.”
Carolyn Towle, Michael Petrin and Michelle Pierce all offered to be on the committee. Towle received the most votes, so she will serve.
Jason Benware was appointed to the Region 10 Advisory Board, which oversees the shared Sugar River Valley Career and Technology center.
Benware said he would like the CTE Director, Alex Herzog, to address a meeting of the board and share the school’s goals and plans for the future. That was moved to the agenda of the first meeting in November.
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