MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS’ MEETING March 19, 2020
A meeting of the Board of Directors was held at Noble High School in North Berwick, Maine on March 19, 2020 at 6:00 pm, with all members present except Ms. Corliss. There were 4 people in the audience.
Ms. Beal made the motion and it was seconded by Ms. Neubert to go into executive session for 405 6B readmission of a student. All members voted in favor and the motion passed. In at 6:02 pm. Out at 6:34 pm.
Ms. Mallett made the motion and it was seconded by Ms. Potter to readmit the student under consideration. All members voted in favor and the motion passed.
Ms. Mallett made the motion and it was seconded by Ms. Neubert to go into executive session for 4056D, negotiations with the teachers association. All members voted in favor and the motion passed. In at 6:42 pm. Out at 7:00 pm
The public meeting had 20 in the audience
Ms. Mallett, Berwick Board Member shared the explanatory statements regarding public input.
Public Input:
Ms. Jaime Halbmaier-Stuart, Lebanon teacher and resident, shared with the board the appreciation that she and other teachers have regarding the support given to them and to their students as they are adjusting to the online learning format. Parents and Administrators have been very supportive
She did ask about accountability for students being on line and completing their work and was hopeful that there might be more guidance in the future.
Ms. Neubert made the motion and it was seconded by Mr. Doiron to table the minutes of Feb. 27th, 2020 until the next meeting. All members voted in favor and the motion passed.
Sam Grant shared the student report for this week. It has been difficult and stressful. However there is a lot of support and students are able to utilize google classroom etc. There is a lot of teacher support and the students feel like they can maintain their connections with staff and peers. This is a tough situation for all students but particularly the seniors.
The superintendent and principals gave an overview of remote learning at this point. Mr. Mike Archambault gave a tip of the hat to technology, as did Ms. Patti Gilley and Ms. Audra Beauvais. They discussed the food distribution, the packet distribution as well as the moving into the SeeSaw applications and Google Classroom. The technology department has really gone above and beyond.
Teachers are continuing to meet and work together virtually. Ms. Abbey Pellietier shared with the board the food distribution beginnings. The back pack program will also be beginning tomorrow thanks to the transportation program providing delivery. Andrew Elwell, co principal at MHA shared more information about the back pack program, thanked a lot of people and shared that the volunteerism has been outstanding to watch. He also told the board that MHA was ready to go remote on Monday. Mr. Chris Russo, technology director, shared with the board the incredible amount of positive momentum he is seeing with the staff, teachers, admin, everyone has been unbelievable. For a group of teachers to retool over basically 72 hours and be up and running for their kids almost immediately has been phenomenal to watch. Mr. Russo did state clearly that we should be able to end the need for snow days going forward now that we have this capability. Ms. Michelle Keniston, from ELKS, noted how impressed she is with the teachers with regards to google classroom etc. All of her teachers were ready to roll on Monday. Parent interaction has gone through the roof and is overwhelmingly positive. The level of collaboration has been outstanding. Mr. Joe Findlay, principal of NHS, shared that this might have been the longest week of his career! However, the staff and students are now prepared for full on remote learning on Monday. One more time, shout out to technology, for their incredible support and hard work. Ms. Ali Kearney, assistant principal at NHS, also wanted to send a positive thank you for the technology staff and the work that has been done. She noted that they have been pushing out the need to take care of “self-care” for our staff, students and community members. Susan Macri, special ed. Director, shared an update from the land of special education. There have been over 40 remote IEP meetings. Staff and students are working hard and she will be sending out a note to all parents about students making appropriate conferences
MIke Roberts, Principal of NMS, also shared support for the technology department and how awesome the attitudes have been. The communication that is out to the district has been incredibly positive and we feel like we are in great shape going forward.
Ms. Denise Van Campen shared and the superintendent shared with the board the financial summary for February. We are unsure as to how the Covid-19 shut down will impact us going forward. Stay tuned for adventure. The Superintendent then shared with the board a budget summary after adjustments have been made. The board went into a “workshop” style session regarding the budget needing to be presented to the community. The board asked a few questions regarding specific cuts or also the impact of this current crisis. Many of the questions are not answerable at this time as there are so many unknowns. We are currently thinking it will balance out, but we don’t know for sure. We can’t count on it at this time, one way or the other. Mr. Doiron asked about any other current revenue increases aside from the Title V funds that have been reinstated at some level. The board then reviewed the decision sheet one by one to determine which of these to cut or keep. The board felt it was important to keep the van and the half time guidance position in Lebanon. They also felt like it was important for us to keep the Knowlton School Fountas and Pennell kits. The insurance deductible is one that we can cut. The board then discussed reducing the supply budgets but not as deeply. The board discussed the MHA garage and settled on reducing the amount to $30,000 to get the project started.
The Assistant Superintendent then shared with the board an update on the superintendent’s search. We have had feedback provided through exit tickets from the three candidate’s visits and will share that with board members. Currently our plan is to do the interviewing virtually on April 9th.
Other… Ms. Schaeffer shared that she received an email for MSBA to extend the current e-rate to more households. She is encouraging folks to sign this to support technology at this time.
Mr. Doiron noted that as a parent and as a school board member, thank you to our admin and our staff for all the hard work and keeping this going. So appreciated. Ms. Beal wanted to send out a shout out to parents for the hard work that they are doing in these difficult times.
Ms. Neubert made the motion and it was seconded by Ms. Beal to adjourn. All members voted in favor and the motion passed.
Adjourned at 9:05 pm.
Respectfully Submitted,
Steve Connolly
Secretary of the Board