MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS’ MEETING January 16, 2020
A meeting of the Board of Directors was held at Noble High School in North Berwick, Maine on January 16, 2020 at 7:00 pm, with all members present except Mr. Doiron. There were 9 people in the audience.
Ms. Mallett, Vice Chair shared the explanatory statements regarding public input.
Public Input: None at this time.
The minutes of December 19th were reviewed. Ms. Beal made the motion and it was seconded by Ms. Neubert to accept the minutes of December 19th. All members voted in favor except Ms. Potter who abstained and the motion passed.
The minutes of January 2, 2020 were reviewed. Ms. Neubert made the motion and it was seconded by Ms. Beal to accept the minutes of January 2, 2020. All members voted in favor except Ms. Schaeffer, Ms. Manley, and Ms. Hopper who abstained and the motion passed.
Mr. Kelton Smith, student at Noble High School, shared with the board a powerpoint presentation in regard to extending the student lunch period.
Ms. Denise Van Campen introduced Ms. Amy Chasse from RKO, Runyon Kersteen Ouellette, our accounting firm, who then shared with the board the audit that was conducted and a financial overview of the district. (insert the powerpoint here) She shared with the board the general process of what an audit looks for and noted that the district had no findings which means that all information presented to the board is accurate. There are some internal control comments that will be shared and modifications may be made going forward in a few areas in relation to activity accounts. Ms. Chasse then walked through the documents and took questions.
Ms. Jen England shared with the board a presentation regarding the Multiple Pathways program at Noble High School that she directs. She gave a history of the program, described the students who thrive there as well as the wonderful staff who support the students. The board asked many questions regarding the programming and shared the positive feedback that they have received over the course of time regarding MP.
The board then reviewed the second reading of Policies.
ADC(r)-Use and Possession of Tobacco Products and Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems. As well as the Procedure. The board discussed the policy and procedure. Ms Potter made the motion and it was seconded by Ms. Beal to approve policy ADC(r). All members voted in favor and the motion passed.
Ms. Beal made the motion and it was seconded by Ms. Potter to approve procedure JJE Student Fundraising and the approval form as presented. All members voted in favor and the motion passed.
The Board then discussed policy JICK, Bullying.
There were some edits needed regarding quotation marks (those were removed). Ms. Potter made the motion and it was seconded by Ms. Neubert to accept policy JICK as amended. All members voted in favor and the motion passed.
The board then held first readings of the following policies:
EDC-Use of District Vehicles and Equipment
EHB-School Records Retention
JJIBC/KLA Relations with Booster Clubs
The Superintendent shared the resignation of educational technician Faye McDounough who worked at the Hussey School. We wish her the best.
Ms. Corliss made the motion and Ms. Beal seconded to accept the generous donation from Omni of $563.62 towards the back pack program. All members voted in favor and the motion passed. The board expressed their sincere gratitude for this very supportive donation.
The assistant superintendent shared that she has followed up with Ms. Dudley about the idea of a race liaison. The assistant superintendent will be connecting again with Ms. Dudley in the next week if they can make a connection and will share information at a future board meeting.
Ms. Beal asked about the potential of Blizzard Bags for the District and/or state of Maine. At this point we are aware some districts have opted to pilot Blizzard Bags, but we have not heard any updates on that. The major holdup that we recall is the requirement that teachers be readily accessible for students if we are able to count those days.
Ms. Beal also asked about the potential referendum vote focused on construction in September of this year and wanted to understand the reasoning why we were voting separate from the November national election. Ms. Beal shared that she was speaking on behalf of several citizens who brought this concern to her attention. Ms. Potter noted that she and Mr. Connolly had explained the reasoning behind this at a Lebanon Selectmen’s meeting. Mr. Connolly shared that the logic behind this is to be sure that the citizens have a clear understanding of the expenditures in regards to the elementary school renovations, etc. and have the ability to vote on it singly. Also, the timeline for summer scheduling of work requires an earlier start than a November referendum.
Second Public input: Ms. Terry Wright shared with the board an update regarding top ten videos that were provided… in the top five was our Dec. 19th 2019 school board meeting. She shared some statistics regarding the data.
Ms. Beal made the motion and it was seconded by Ms. Neubert to adjourn. All members voted in favor and the motion passed.
Adjourned at 8:49 pm.
Respectfully Submitted,
Steve Connolly
Secretary of the Board