PLEASE NOTE THAT THE MINUTES WILL NTO BE FINAL UNTIL

THE BOARD HAS APPROVED THEM AT ITS NEXT MEETING.

 

March 8, 2007

 

The Board of Directors of Maine School Administrative District No. 75 held a regular meeting at Mt. Ararat High School on Thursday, March 8, 2007.

 

The following Directors were present:  Robert W. Hill, Chairman; Maryane Burns; Dorothy “Dee” Carrier; Dorothy Gardner; Sheila Havey; David A. Johnson; Jane Meisenbach; Andrea Najarian; Joanne Rogers; Donald A. Russell; Rebekah Stimpson; and Kim Totten.

 

Not present were Gwen Thomas and Roland Tufts.

 

Also present was Sara Todd, student representative to the Board of Directors.  Student representative Sam Prindall was not present.

 

1.         Call to order

 

            The meeting was called to order by Chairman Hill at 6:30 p.m.

 

2.         Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag

 

            The Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag was recited by those present.

 

3.         To consider action relative to additions or adjustments to the agenda and to ask for comments from the audience

 

There were no comments from the audience.  The following addition to the agenda was noted:

 

            (add to recognitions)

√          Sara Todd, Mt. Ararat High School senior – Recipient of 2007 Principal’s Award

 

3.1       RECOGNITIONS &  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:

 

√          Reuben Fischer-Baum, Mt. Ararat High School senior – Semi-finalist for the  National Merit Scholarship Program

 

√          Al Graffam and the Mt. Ararat High School Band – Invited to play with the University of Maine Pep Band at the UMO Black Bears Women’s basketball game

 

√          Jim Wilkens, Transportation Director – Recipient of $6,000 grant to put preschool seats in M.S.A.D. No.75 buses

 

√          Joanne Mitchell, Bowdoinham Community School custodian – Recognized in the Bowdoinham News for her contribution to Bowdoinham Community School’s recycling efforts

                       

√          Sara Todd, Mt. Ararat High School senior – Recipient of 2007 Principal’s Award – Ms. Todd was congratulated and received a round of applause from the Board of Directors.

 

4.         To take action relative to accepting as printed the minutes of the February 15, 2007, regular meeting of the Board of Directors

 

            It was moved by Mrs. Gardner, seconded by Mr. Johnson, and VOTED (587 yeas, 0 nays, 134 abstentions, and 279 absent) to accept as printed the minutes of the February 15, 2007, regular meeting of the Board of Directors.

 

            Voting yea were Ms. Burns, Mrs. Gardner, Ms. Havey, Mr. Hill, Mr. Johnson, Ms. Najarian, Mr. Russell, and Mrs. Totten.

 

            There were no nay votes.

            Abstaining from voting were Mrs. Carrier and Mrs. Rogers.

 

            Absent were Mrs. Meisenbach and Ms. Stimpson (who had not yet arrived), Ms. Thomas, and Mr. Tufts.

 

5.         OLD BUSINESS:

 

…        Mrs. Meisenbach arrived at 6:35 p.m.

 

6.         NEW BUSINESS:

 

To hear an update on school consolidation and pending legislation

 

This item was deferred until later in the agenda.

 

6.2       To accept the resignation of Amy Hall, Woodside Elementary School special education teacher, effective August 31, 2007

 

It was moved by Mrs. Gardner, seconded by Ms. Najarian, and VOTED (unanimously) to accept the resignation of Amy Hall, Woodside Elementary School special education teacher, effective August 31, 2007.

 

6.3       To accept the resignation of Christina Schoenberg, Williams- Cone School nurse, effective August 31, 2007

 

            It was moved by Mrs. Carrier, seconded by Mr. Johnson, and VOTED (unanimously) to accept the resignation of Christina Schoenberg, Williams-Cone School nurse, effective August 31, 2007.

 

6.4       To consider a request by Mt. Ararat High School to alter the school calendar for juniors taking the SAT on Saturday, May 5, 2007

 

            As last year, juniors will take the SAT on a Saturday, and school administration is requesting that May 5 replace May 29 as a school day for juniors.

 

            It was moved by Mrs. Rogers, seconded by Mrs. Gardner, and VOTED (unanimously) to grant a request by Mt. Ararat High School to alter the school calendar for juniors taking the SAT on Saturday, May 5, 2007 {with juniors not attending school on May 29, as explained above}.

 

6.5       To hear a report from Craig King on the Maine Readiness Campaign

 

            This item was deferred until later in the meeting, pending Dr. King’s arrival.

 

6.6       To seek Board members to serve on a committee to establish a school calendar for 2007-2008

 

Mrs. Carrier and Mr. Johnson volunteered to serve on this committee.  The Committee will meet on Thursday, March 15th; and a proposed calendar will receive two readings before final approval by the Board of Directors.

 

6.7       To consider ending the current lease with Head Start for use of the Pejepscot School

 

Superintendent Wilhelm explained that M.S.A.D. No. 75 is deeded use of Pejepscot School as long as it is utilized for educational purposes.  The District currently leases the facility to Head Start.   At this time Head Start is questioning whether it still wants to move into Williams-Cone School, where space exists to run the program.

 

Dr. Wilhelm stated that the District would rather not own Pejepscot School, as maintenance on this old building is the responsibility of the District.  If  M.S.A.D. No. 75 ends its lease, ownership of Pejepscot School property will no longer be the District’s.  However, the District is having the title reviewed to better understand to whom the property would revert.

 

…                    Ms. Stimpson arrived at 6:40 p.m.

 

Mrs. Carrier noted that during its most recent annual tour of the District’s buildings, the Facilities Committee had strongly suggested remaining vigilant of the issues with this very old building and advocated making a decision within the near future on whether to retain the building.  Issues facing the District are handicapped accessibility and potential furnace problems.  She urged the Board to take action before the District has to put substantial money into repairs.                          

 

            6.1       To hear an update on school consolidation and pending legislation

 

Regarding consolidation, Kerri Prescott and Seth Berry were present to update the Board.

 

The Education Committee has submitted its proposal to the Appropriations Committee.  Ms. Prescott said the plan calls for 60-80 districts (as opposed to the original 26 in the Governor’s proposal), and the planning alliances are still centered around the 26 vocational regions.

 

She said that collaboration will be voluntary and consolidation mandatory, with the plan going into effect 2009-2010.

 

Mr. Berry stated that this district is large and would likely stand alone, as the student enrollment would warrant.   He said the Education Committee is not where it had expected to be with the Appropriations Committee and is asking for more time to complete its work.  He said that health care costs continue to drive up the costs of education and that everyone (to varying degrees) concurs that other areas for savings need to be explored.

 

Ms. Prescott revisited a previous discussion of equity, using the example of whether KinderStart would be eliminated in M.S.A.D. No. 75 or instituted in Freeport and Brunswick (if those three districts were to be consolidated).  She also cited the issue of some districts not having football (as does Mt. Ararat) and whether some sports would be lost.

 

Superintendent Wilhelm expressed concern about the proposed cuts in subsidy and about the District’s ability to deliver programs with the reduced subsidy. 

 

Mr. Berry told the Board that the Superintendent had explained to him the inequity of reducing subsidy, stating that there are some districts receiving little or no subsidy.

 

Ms. Prescott stated the issue is not about party lines, but finding a solution everyone can live with.

 

Dr. Wilhelm asked if there’s a deadline before the new proposal goes to the Legislature for a vote, and Mr. Berry stated that a placeholder budget has to be in place by April 1.

 

6.5       To hear a report from Craig King on the Maine Readiness Campaign

 

High School Principal Craig King reviewed for the Board the activities of the Maine Readiness Campaign.  The thrust of this program is to assure each student in Maine is ready for career, college and citizenship.  The media campaign demonstrated that the optimum time for students to begin thinking about their college plans is in the eighth grade.  The community partnership, composed of educators and community members, held nine Monday evening meetings.  Dr. King stated that the partnership findings included recognizing the importance of working on the culture of schools, relative to aspirations of attending college, and that “high school” is not an end (to education) but a benchmark.

 

The two major parts to the proposed plan are to expand Junior Achievement and to adapt the “Career Pathways” model to the District.

 

…                    Sara Todd left the meeting at 7:10 p.m.

 

The importance of development of more formal student/community member internships was expressed.  Mrs. Gardner expressed her feeling that the potential of Region Ten is not capitalized upon as much as possible. 

 

6.8       To view the segment from Channel Six news on the District’s Special Education “Center”

 

Dr. Patrick Moore showed to Board members this segment, which had been done as part of a report on efforts to work with autistic students.  He related that the parents of one of the students in the clip had worked with the program for three weeks to aid in the transition of his child into the program. 

 

Board members were impressed and suggested sending copies of this tape to legislators currently working on the Governor’s consolidation proposal, as the success of this program is certainly evidence of collaboration and savings.

 

7.         COMMITTEE REPORTS:

 

7.1       MVR 10 Cooperative Board – Ms. Najarian reported that the Cooperative Board on March 1st heard Director Shirley Hartwell’s presentation of the budget.

 

Board budget workshops – Mrs. Totten reported that the Finance Committee has heard program presentations, and that the Committee at its March 12th meeting will hear presentations from Adult Education, Transportation, Facilities & Projects, and Administration.

 

8.         SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT:

 

8.1       Land transfer update – Superintendent Wilhelm reported to the Board that the transfer will probably occur this summer, as the process is awaiting some Highlands permitting.  The deadline which the Board set for the transaction to be completed is December 2007.

 

8.2       Correspondence – Board members had received a copy of a communication from NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress) which was complimentary of the students tested.

 

Matrix – High school students will meet on March 2nd with Matrix, the organization processing input on possible uses for the Topsham Annex.

 

8.4       LRA – Superintendent Wilhelm noted that this past Monday a meeting was held at the Topsham Public Library for non-profit organizations to learn how this process will work.  To have a proposal (for use of property) be a part of the LRA proposal, the local LRA would have to approve it.

 

Town Planner Rich Roedner can meet with the Board to further explore the Board’s options.  Superintendent Wilhelm has been notified by federal authorities that the District’s application deadline is May 15th .  He noted that stakeholders for the homeless population will meet on Wednesday, March 14th .

 

PowerPoint – At 7:45 p.m. Superintendent Wilhelm shared with the Board the PowerPoint presentation he has been making to all school faculties regarding the future of the 21st century workforce.

 

9.         The Board meeting was adjourned following Item 8.5.               /bb/minutes3082007