Board approves contracts, personnel slate, PD plan and principals’ contract; multiple voice votes pass

At its March meeting the Nashua School District board approved multiple contracts and routine business items by voice vote.

What the board approved

- Athletic training services: The board approved a three‑year contract with CPTE for athletic training services at Nashua High School North and South, at $120,000 for year 1 (no increase from the current year), $124,200 for year 2 and $128,550 for year 3. Board discussion noted the vendor’s prior performance supporting concussion management and day‑to‑day athletic care; members discussed the cost of hiring equivalent staff directly and concluded the contract remains the district’s chosen approach.

- ASL interpreter services: The board approved a special education contract with Faxus for American Sign Language interpreter services for the remainder of the 2025–26 school year, amount not to exceed $34,500.

- Transfer reports: The board approved the January and February FY26 transfer reports; staff noted that the most notable movement was wages shifted into other lines in the operating budget.

- IT licensing and network upgrades: To preserve eligibility for E‑rate reimbursement the board approved a package of IT contracts with Interest/Intra Systems for renewal licensing of APs, switches and firewalls (amount not to exceed $136,562.90), a network core switch for Nashua High School in an amount not to exceed $119,649.60, and a course‑switch upgrade for five schools not to exceed $42,572.19. Staff said full bid comparisons and procurement documentation will be shared after the April 1 E‑rate deadline.

- Child Advocacy Center MOU: The board approved a memorandum of understanding with the Child Advocacy Center of Hillsborough to formalize coordination; the agreement requires parental/guardian permission before the center receives student information and does not change statutory reporting obligations to DCYF or police.

- Professional Development Master Plan: The board authorized submission of the district’s 2026–2031 Professional Development Master Plan to the New Hampshire Department of Education. The update moves the district toward an hours‑based recertification system while retaining evidence/binder paths for additional certifications; administrators said the plan will be shared with staff once approved by the Department of Education.

- Principals’ contract: The board approved a collective bargaining agreement with the National Association of School Principals covering 2026–2030. Highlights include a recruitment‑oriented first‑year increase for assistant elementary principals and an increase in the assistant elementary work year from 199 to 204 days; an education reimbursement benefit of up to $500 per administrator was also included.

- Personnel recommendations: The board voted to approve personnel actions included in the meeting packet; board members asked about public access to the personnel list and were told the list becomes part of the minutes after the vote.

Votes and procedure

Most items were approved by voice vote; meeting minutes do not include roll‑call tallies for these motions. Where bid comparisons or additional procurement details were requested (IT contracts), staff committed to provide the underlying proposals to board members after the meeting. The board scheduled follow‑up review of JSSBC project reconciliations at the finance & operations meeting in April to confirm returned funds and accounting reconciliations.

Next steps

Staff will share bid comparison materials for the IT procurements, post the PDMP when the Department of Education approves it and provide the requested reconciliation of capital project returns at the next finance meeting. The superintendent also flagged upcoming public budget hearings on May 5 and June 8 and possible final passage on June 23.