| Janet Clemons |
GNG High School graduation will happen on a Wednesday, transportation issues are an ongoing headache, and adminstrators and committees shared updates at the School Board’s October 4 business meeting.
Recognition. Dr. King, Superintendent of Schools, commended two Gray-New Gloucester students, Kylie Thibodeau and Caitlin Sweeney, for receiving Commendation awards from the National Merit Scholars Program. Students who receive the Commendation award have scores among the top 3-5% nationally on the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT) during their junior year of high school.
Gary Harriman recognized and thanked Chanda Turner, Curriculum Coordinator, for the work that she put into a recent teacher in-service day.
English Language teacher hired. The Board hired Jodi Smith to a first probationary contract, K-12 English language teacher for English language learners district-wide.
Facilities data collection update. Dr. King shared information that has been compiled to date on the district’s facilities. In September he shared a framework for tracking data to determine the condition of all of the district’s facilities. Since then, King has enlisted building administrators and various others to establish foundational information about each building. For example, they have compiled data on which year each building was built, when various additions were completed and roofs repaired, and so on.
This data will be used by the Facilities Committee to determine what other information might be needed to make informed decisions about facilities priorities before the upcoming budget and the possible upcoming bond. The report was compiled by the leaders at each building as initial research about information known about the facilities and what is needed for the future of the schools. One board member expressed interest in the life expectancy of certain repairs.
Biannual report on the MSAD 15 Strategic Plan. Dr. King briefly updated the Board about the MSAD 15 Strategic Plan, 2022-27. The district is now well into the second year of the five-year plan. The Board was presented an outline of priorities under each of the four goals to be worked on during this current school year by all professional staff. The work is ongoing and will be done during professional development days, early release, and late start days. The Strategic Plan can be found here. At the completion of the ‘23-’24 school year, a report on the work completed will be presented to the Board.
Ad hoc Transportation Committee. School Board Chair Sam Pfeifle brought forth a proposal for an ad hoc committee to investigate problems and identify solutions for student transportation. The goals of the committee will be to identify short-term solutions for getting all students to and from school, identify long-term strategies to mitigate the bus driver shortage, and provide the school board and administrative team with workable, practical recommendations. The committee will be a group of individuals who will discuss, research, deliberate, and recommend solutions and mitigation efforts.
Dr. King expressed a desire to look to community members outside the school system but within the community. A discussion ensued about how to best populate the committee. Some suggestions included recruiting local business owners and reaching out to local long-distance hauling businesses. The committee will include three Board members: Sam Pfeifle, Lauren Meek, and Jason Hart, from District administration Dr. King, Geoff Robbins, Dunn School Principal/MSAD 15 Special Projects, Diane Boucher, Director of Operations and Finance, and four community members. The Board unanimously approved forming this committee.
Report on Nursing and Health Services. Prior to giving the update on the district’s Health Services, Chanda Turner, Director of Curriculum and Staff Development, wanted to thank the Board, District personnel, and the community for the support her family received during a family health issue. She then discussed the current status of the Nursing and Health Services, which has been in flux due to Covid.
Prior to the pandemic, Turner said, the plan was to move from two district RNs and two medical assistants to three RNs and two medical assistants. RNs supervise the medical assistants. During the pandemic, the district had four RNs and two assistants, and because of remaining federal ESSR funds this remained in place for this year. Recently one of the RNs resigned, leaving the district with three RNs and one medical assistant. There is another medical assistant position open. It was agreed by administration to work to fill the open position and keep staffing within the previously desired goal of three district RNs and two medical assistants.
High School graduation alters School Board calendar. GNG High School graduation will be on Wednesday, June 5, at 5 p.m. at Cross Arena in Portland. Graduation being on a Wednesday is new for the district and conflicts with the June Board business meeting date. That meeting has to happen prior to the budget vote the following week. The Board discussed what to do and agreed to move their June meeting to June 3. The venue and time will be determined.
Maine School Board Association (MSBA) delegate and alternate appointed. The mission of the Maine School Boards Association is to enhance the education of all students in Maine’s public schools by identifying and serving the needs of local school boards through board development, information and support services, and by advocating for all Maine public schools at the state and national levels. Each school board gets a voting delegate who votes on behalf of the entire board. MSBA delegates from across the state meet to review and take positions on proposed legislation. The Board appointed Gary Harriman delegate and Sam Pfiefle as the alternate delegate.
Policies. The Board reviewed a revised version of policy BDF Board Advisory Committees. As the Board is putting an ad hoc committee in place, it made sense to review the policy which has not been updated since 2015. The Board approved the policy as presented.
The Board also considered and approved policy BEDB-R Agenda Format originally adopted in 2015 and updated to address amendments to the agenda and other agenda formatting items.
Committee reports. The Facilities Committee reported that shipping issues have delayed the installation of new playground equipment. After the facilities walk-through in September, the committee shared an overall consensus that the buildings and grounds are in great shape and are being well cared for, with the need for storage and paving issues standing out. A list of repairs and items needing to be replaced at each school was shared as well.
The Finance Committee reviewed the financial reports and an audit update with Finance Director Diane Boucher. One major bit of news is energy savings of over $27,000 for the District since joining a solar consortium. Savings will increase as more of the anticipated solar farms come online.
The Personnel Committee reported that the Technology Director position remains open. Someone who meets the needs of the district has not been found. The former Tech Director is offering eight hours a week, and others within the district are stepping forward to keep things moving as the search for the right fit continues. All newly created positions have been filled and there has been some progress filling Ed Tech positions. The Support Staff Bargaining Unit has notified the Board of their intent to begin negotiating a new contract.
The Curriculum Committee spent their first meeting reviewing their purpose, policies, and procedures. The main purpose of the committee is to give feedback on processes related to curriculum, instruction, and assessment as well as serving as a conduit for communication with the full board when necessary.
The Policy Committee had updated the policies that were approved at this meeting. In addition, they discussed public participation in Board meetings, which will be reviewed again at the next Policy Committee meeting and possibly brought to the full board at the November business meeting.
School Board Chair report. Chair Sam Pfeifle reported on Homecoming events. In particular he praised the Boosters for doing a phenomenal job with the snack shack. He also commented that Homecoming gives a wonderful opportunity to see how amazing the students are, and he recommends that more community members come out next year to see this.
Superintendent’s report. Dr. King shared a list of new hires. Angeline Marcotte is a new Ed Tech II at the High School. Darleen Michalec is the new Interpreter/Intervener also at the High School. Mary-Lou Chambers has been hired as a 1:1 Nurse.
There were also two resignations to report on. William Duffus will be leaving his Bus Driver position for Transportation. Angela Graf has resigned as the School Nurse at the High School.
In addition, Holli Hayes is transferring from an Ed Tech II (Functional Life Skills) position at Memorial School to an Ed Tech II (Self-Contained) position at Russell School.
