Stratham board approves Sept. 24 minutes, schedules review of sealed nonpublic minutes

The Stratham School District board voted unanimously to approve the public and nonpublic minutes of its Sept. 24 meeting and agreed to begin a review of sealed nonpublic minutes held by the SAU.

Board members discussed a handful of requested edits to the public minutes, including placement of nonpublic items and an incomplete sentence. After brief discussion the board moved and seconded a single motion to approve both the public and nonpublic minutes; the motion passed by voice vote (5-0-0).

The board then addressed the status of several sets of sealed nonpublic minutes held by the SAU. Administration told the board that a state law now requires periodic review of sealed minutes and that the SAU currently holds seven sealed minutes that should be examined. Administration proposed that the board appoint one or two members (not a quorum) to review the sealed minutes in the SAU office with staff and make recommendations to the full board about which minutes—if any—should be unsealed.

The meeting record shows board members asked whether sealed minutes are visible to future members and were told that sealed minutes are not posted and require a specific review policy and process to be viewed. Administration described typical reasons minutes are sealed, including personnel matters or nonpublic hearings, and said past practice sometimes contained more detailed nonpublic text that subsequent boards later chose to seal.

The board did not unseal any minutes at the meeting; it agreed to select board members to perform the SAU review and return recommendations to the full board for any action.