MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS’ MEETING OF June 1, 2023
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 June 1, 2023 at 7:00 p.m. with all members attending except Mr. Doiron and Ms. Manley.
Ms. Janousek made the motion and it was seconded by Ms. Travers to go into executive session pursuant to 1 MRSA §405(6)(A) Employment of Employee. All members voted in favor and the motion passed. In at 7:02 pm. Out at 7:15 pm.
Ms. Lovejoy made the motion and it was seconded by Ms. Hagenbuch to go into executive session pursuant to 1 MRSA §405(6)(A) Employment of Employee. All members voted in favor and the motion passed. In at 7:15 pm. Out at 7:25 pm.
Moving into the regular meeting. There were 8 in the audience.
The vice chair read the public input statement.
Public Input:
Mr. Mark Cahoon of North Berwick asked questions about the difference between 8% increase to the budget in April and the reduction to 5.6% and how did that occur. He also asked about the reduction of teaching positions and whether or not there were any administrative changes as well. He would also like information on the designated and undesignated funds.
The Superintendent shared that she would invite Mr. Cahoon into the office to go over his specific questions in detail and provide the answers.
Minutes: The board reviewed the minutes from May 18, 2023 and Ms. Neubert made the motion and it was seconded by Ms. Lovejoy to approve the minutes as amended. All members voted in favor except Ms. Janousek who abstained and the motion passed.
Minutes: The board reviewed the minutes from May 25, 2023 and Ms. Lovejoy made the motion and it was seconded by Ms. Hagenbuch to approve the minutes as amended. All members voted in favor except Ms. Janousek who abstained and the motion passed.
Student Report:
Seniors are taking their finals this week along with enjoying their last days as graduation approaches rapidly
Ms. Whalen thanked Echo for being an outstanding student board member. She presented her with a plant, chocolate and a card in appreciation of her service.
Adult Education Criminal History Records Check/ Fingerprinting:
The board then discussed the concerns around having our adult education staff (academic and enrichment) be required to have their fingerprints.
The crux of the issue is that all MSAD 60 staff members are required to have their fingerprinting and Criminal History Records Check. The department of education states that all staff over the age of 18 working in a Maine school must be fingerprinted. We have always fingerprinted our academic staff in the adult education department but not our enrichment instructors. The administration feels it’s important for our district to follow the process for all rather than waive it for some. There is concern from those one time or small business instructors who really are doing the work to just provide a positive experience and service for our community that it is asking too much for them to have to go through the process and up front pay $50 for the fingerprinting costs. There was a lot of conversation and the board asked the administration to develop a process that could be shared at the following meeting.
Adult Education Graduation:
Ms. Nichole Ivey, Adult Education Director, shared an overview of the adult education graduation. She shared that it was an amazing celebratory evening. Several board members were present and concurred.
Elementary Social Studies and Science Overview:
Policy Third Reading:
The policy committee met on May 16, 2023 to discuss the following policies: JICK-R Bullying and Cyberbullying Prevention in Schools Administrative Procedure.
Ms. Hagenbuch made the motion and it was seconded by Ms. Janousek to approve policy JICK-R. All members voted in favor and the motion passed.
Nomination of Vivian E Hussey School Assistant Principal
Ms. Neubert made the motion and it was seconded by Ms. Janousek to approve the employment of Mike Roberts. All members voted in favor and the motion passed.
Employment:
New Hire:
Nicole Brierley: ELKS Resource Room. Ms. Hagenbuch made the motion and it was seconded by Ms. Lovejoy to approve the employment of Nicole Brierley. All members voted in favor and the motion passed.
Hannah Farley: VEH Life Skills. Ms. Neubert made the motion and it was seconded by Ms. Hagenbuch to approve the employment of Hannah Farley. All members voted in favor and the motion passed.
Shelby Hagan: NBES Music Teacher. Ms. Lovejoy made the motion and it was seconded by Ms. Neubert to approve the employment of Shelby Hagan. All members voted in favor and the motion passed.
Allion Beach: .6 Excel. Ms. Lovejoy made the motion and it was seconded by Ms. Neubert to approve the employment of Allion Beach. All members voted in favor and the motion passed.
Hillary Peraner: NMS ELA 1 year Only Ms. Lovejoy made the motion and it was seconded by Ms. Neubert to approve the employment of Hillary Peraner. All members voted in favor and the
motion passed.
Linda Jarochym: NMS Special Education. Ms. Lovejoy made the motion and it was seconded by Ms. Janousek to approve the employment of Linda Jarochym. All members voted in favor and the motion passed.
Resignation:
Sam Lenson: NMS Physical Education. Ms. Hagenbuch made the motion and it was seconded by Ms. Travers to approve the resignation of Sam Lenson. All members voted in favor and the motion passed.
Brittany Reed-Martin: NHS Social Worker. Ms. Neubert made the motion and it was seconded by Ms. Lovejoy to approve the resignation of Brittany Reed-Martin. All members voted in favor and the motion passed.
Adina Hunter: Excel Director/Teacher. Ms. Lovejoy made the motion and it was seconded by Ms. Travers to approve the resignation of Adina Hunter. All members voted in favor and the motion passed.
Superintendent Update:
Just a reminder that graduation for our seniors is Friday June 9, 2023
July 18th workshop date start at 2 pm and working through to a regular board meeting that evening.
Other:
Lebanon Art Show was tonight and Ms. Hagenbuch shared how wonderful it was. The Teachers were all there, the band played and the creativity was throughout!
NBES has their annual bike to school event in the am starting at the Millfield and biking to the North Berwick Elementary School.
Public Input:
Kelly Monroe, Lebanon resident, shared with the board her concerns regarding the cost of the fingerprinting for those instructors who work within the enrichment program at Noble Adult and Community Education. She’d like to give new teachers an opportunity to experiment with getting a new program started before having to pay for fingerprinting. She states that the programs are great community outreach and we’d like to encourage our instructors to continue.
Adjournment:
Ms. Janousek 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 8:32 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Audra Beauvais