MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS’ MEETING OF December 15, 2022
Current Board Members-
North Berwick- Lauren Janousek, Kate Whalen, Lynn Manley
Berwick- Travis Doiron, Elva Lovejoy, Denise Mallett
Lebanon- Victoria Travers, Stephanie Hagenbuch, Nancy Neubert
Student Representative- Echo Balistreri
A meeting of the Board of Directors was held in person in North Berwick, Maine on December 15, 2022 at 6:30 p.m. with all members attending except Mr. Doiron and Ms. Manley. Ms. Travers was remote. There were 3 in the audience.
Ms. Manley joined the meeting at 7:02 pm.
Ms. Lovejoy made the motion and it was seconded to go into executive session pursuant to 405(6)(B) Readmission of a Student. All members voted in favor and the motion passed. In at 6:33 pm. Out at 6:52 pm .
Ms. Lovejoy made the motion and it was seconded by Ms. Neubert to readmit the student under consideration. All members voted in favor and the motion passed.
The vice chair shared the public input statement.
Public Input: None
Ms. Lovejoy made the motion and it was seconded by Ms. Hagenbuch to approve the minutes of December 1, 2022. All members voted in favor except Ms. Neubert, who abstained, and the motion passed.
Student Report: Ms. Echo Balistreri, student board representative, shared with the board the student report.
The National Honors Society hosted a blood drive on Monday, December 12th. The Red Cross was hoping to collect 20 pints of blood and they were pleased to take 22 pints.
Winter Sports are in full swing, students have been showing support by watching the games/meets.
We are very excited for holiday break. The Outing club will be hiking Mt. Moosilauke in the White Mountains on January 1st to welcome in the new year.
Representative Tiffany Roberts shared with the board that she has met with the North Berwick town manager, Dwayne Morin to discuss the school district's ability to bond for up to 30 years rather than 20 years. This would put us in the same vein as municipalities. She also shared a study about truancy and how to put some of these standards into statute. troberts@legislature.gov
Senator Joe Rafferty shared with the board that he has been on the education committee in the past and he is hopeful that he will continue in that realm. The goal is to get education back to a post covid norm. jrafferty@legislature.gov
The Superintendent shared with the legislative guests that one of our major concerns is the shortened probationary period from three years to two years as we make decisions about new teaching staff.
We will ask them to come back and check in with us in March of 2023.
There is a donation from the North Berwick PTO of $1,906 for the Backpack Program which was raised by the PTO at a Friday Night Halloween bash. Ms.Neubert made the motion and it was seconded by Ms. Lovejoy to gratefully accept the donation to the backpack program. All members voted in favor and the motion passed.
HVAC project approval report. Ms. Mallett made a motion and Ms. Lovejoy seconded.
All members voted in favor and the motion passed.
Financial summary Ms. Denise Van Campen, business manager, shared with the board the financial summary and gave a brief overview.
Educational Update:
Student attendance ranged from 84% to 93 % present over the last two weeks. Staff attendance ranged from five out attendance to 3 out per day for illness. Transportation has been an issue this week due to driver’s out for illness. We have had to adjust or cancel some bus runs.
Elementary report cards are going out next week.
Our Noble 4 All committee will be coming in during January or February to update the board on progress within the buildings.
Employment Update:
Mr. Robert Lansing, math teacher at Noble High School submitted a letter of resignation. Ms. Lovejoy made the motion and it was seconded by Ms. Neubert to accept the resignation of Mr. Lansing effective December 22. All members voted in favor and the motion passed.
Other Business:
Ms. Neubert asked about snow days and how we can utilize remote days instead of being off completely. We discussed the distribution of food and how this impacts the easy transition to remote days rather than snow days. We intend to utilize our typical five snow days and if necessary we will add more.
Ms. Janousek provided a quick update from the PTOs around the district.
North Berwick PTO:
Raised $1200 with Wreath & Poinsettia fundraiser
Partnered with the Christmas Project to support a family of 6 for Christmas by collecting presents and clothing and were even able to donate a $200 Walmart gift card to the family with other expenses.
Met with the Backpack Program and helped organize and bring to the other district PTOs the idea for a Cereal Drive to be able to give every backpack student a box of cereal for the holiday break. So far, with the other elementary school PTOs, we’ve been able to collect enough to not only give a box for this vacation, but also for February and April vacas too!
The final plan is still in the works, but we’re going to line them up as Dominos at a few of the schools on Monday to make a “Domino Effect of Kindness” video – I’ll share the video when we do it!
Lebanon PTO:
Also had a Wreath & Poinsettia fundraiser and sold over 300 of them!
They had a Grinch movie night with raffles and concessions – each family received free popcorn and a heart that grows 3 sizes.
Berwick PTO:
Berwick PTO has also been planning a Polar Express Movie Night where parents can drop their children off for 3 hours of Polar Express fun. We currently have 130 children signed up and registered. Mr. Roberts, the Noble Middle School Principal is our Conductor. Mr. Young, the Hussey School gym teacher is our Hobo and many teachers and volunteers are Elves. If mother, nature cooperates, we will have chefs dancing and serving hot chocolate & cookies, as well as dinner for the kids. Santa Claus himself is even making a special guest appearance for the kids and Haley Rose photography will be there to capture special moments. A digital photo gallery will be posted online for the attendees after the event. Lastly, we are showing our Hussey & Knowlton teachers and staff how much we appreciate them this holiday by giving all of them a goodie bag with a $5 Target gift card, candy cane pen and chocolates. An inflatable Frosty the Snowman will deliver all of their goodie bags to them on Tuesday. Espresso Dave will be at Hussey and Knowlton on Monday as well to serve our teachers and staff a holiday coffee menu.
Ms. Lovejoy made the motion and it was seconded by Ms. Janousek to go into executive session pursuant to 1 405(6)(A) contract negotiations. All members voted in favor and the motion passed. In at 8:08 pm. Out at 8:14 pm.
Ms. Neubert made the motion and it was seconded by Ms. Lovejoy to adjourn the meeting. All members voted in favor and the motion passed.
Adjourned at 8:15 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Audra Beauvais