Minutes of May 1, 2025

MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS’ MEETING OF May 1, 2025

Current Board Members- 

        North Berwick-  Lauren Janousek, Kate Whalen, Joshua Tabor

                           Berwick- Alison Herlihy, Elva Lovejoy, Peg Wheeler

                           Lebanon- Nancy Sewell, Jeridene Basko, Nancy Neubert

(For a full account of this meeting please review the video here…Link you can choose to view the transcript in progress by clicking CC for subtitles.)

A meeting of the Board of Directors was held in person on May 1, 2025 at 7:00 pm with all members attending except Ms. Whalen.  Ms. Herlihy attended remotely. 

There were 37 members of the public. 

Pledge of Allegiance

Public Input: None at this time. 

Minutes: 

Ms. Janousek  made the motion and it was seconded by Ms. Wheeler  to accept the minutes of  April 17, 2025 meeting as amended. All members voted in favor and the motion was passed. 

Ms. Janousk made the motion and it was seconded by Ms. Lovejoy to add an agenda item for the school nutrition program. All members voted in favor and the motion passed. 

Ms. Wheeler  made the motion and it was seconded by Ms. Janousek to move the executive session scheduled for after this board meeting to 5:30 pm on Thursday May 8th. All members voted in favor and the motion passed. 

Athletics Recognition 

Mr. Aaron Moore, Athletic Director presented the board with several coaches who highlighted the incredible sports seasons that we have had this winter.  He thanked the board for their support, as well as the athletes, coaches and parents who took the time tonight to come to the board and share the highlights of the season. 

Mr. Isaiah Connery, assistant coach for the boys basketball team thanked the audience and teh board for their support this season. He noted his pride for this group of players and the fact that they embody what it means to have class on and off the court.  “I've heard from numerous faculty members and business owners in the community about how well these guys carry themselves and how respectful they are.” He shared a  list of accomplishments as a team and for  individual players. Three players playing at the college level next year. Two all academic team players. One conference player of the year, varsity player of the year, Max Prep's Maine player of the year. 2,000 point scorers. One defensive player of the year, four all conferences players, one all defensive team player, one all rookie team player, two McDonald senior allstars, and then one Mr. Maine basketball, and also Fitzpatrick winner: Jamir Rose. Incredible accomplishments!  

Mr. Pete Bronder, assistant wrestling coach shared thanks and his belief in the student athletes.  “As far as our wrestling season goes, it's been one of the best that I've been a part of. I've been on the coaching staff for 11 years now. And, this year was a worry-free year for us as far as performance goes, but also in student life and academics. We've been lucky in the past handful of years to really not have to worry about things outside of the wrestling room. This year we cap the season off with the regional title, a state tournament title- making it our 16th which ties us for the most in state history with the Sanford teams of the 60s- with most overall state championships. We won our third dual state team championship and we crowned three individual state champions this year.  We had a New England placer, as well as two women state champions and two women New England champions.”

Coach Ryan Hoogterp with our E-sports program. He shared that there has been a significant increase in players; From 18 players in the fall to 25 players this spring. It is continually growing. He discussed the success of the Super Smash Brothers Team, with two great seasons and top three placements. The Mario Kart Team was also strong and of course the Rocket League team has two state titles making it five in a row.  The Rocket League team has maintained a 40-0 record. Mr. Hoogterp also thanked Mr. Moore, the board and all the parents for the ongoing support. 

Mr. Moore stepped back up and thanked the parents and community for ongoing support of the Noble Athletics program. He also thanked the board for their continuing support. 

Farm to School Cook-off Championship

Chef David Vargas and student Andre Roy shared their experience participating in the Farm to School Cook-off this past month.  This began as a regional competition and then moved them to the finals where they competed against other parts of the state. Mr Vargas and Mr. Roy shared their experience and hope to return next year to defend their championship! 

Technology update on old devices: 

Ms. Brigette Dumont, Technology Director, shared with the board the fact that we have some old surplus devices and equipment that we will be putting up for sale based on policy DN which is  School Properties Disposition. Ms Dumont explained the policy, shared that we have a break down of items to be liquidated and that we will be offering them to municipalities first and then staff, etc, per the policy.  This is just a notification that we are in this process.  

Nomination of Probationary Teachers:

Probationary 1 to Probationary 2: Ms. Janousek  made the motion and it was seconded by Ms. Lovejoy to approve the nomination of the presented probationary 1 to probationary 2 teachers.  There were some questions and then All members voted in favor and the motion passed. 

Probationary 2 to Continuing Contract:  Ms. Janousek  made the motion and it was seconded by Ms. Lovejoy  to approve the nomination of the presented probationary 2 to continuing contract teachers.  All members voted in favor and the motion passed. 

Employment:

New Hire:

Ashley Baker, Math Teacher at Noble High School. Ms. Baker will be graduating from University of New Hampshire and currently an intern at Noble High School. Ms. Lovejoy made the motion and it was seconded by Mr. Tabor to approve the employment of Ms. Baker All members voted in favor and the motion passed. 

Blake Bolduc, English Teacher at Noble High School. Mr. Bolduc will be graduating from University of New Hampshire and currently an intern at Noble High School.  Ms. Lovejoy made the motion and it was seconded by Mr. Tabor to approve the employment of Mr. Bolduc All members voted in favor and the motion passed. 

Resignation:

Kristen Legere, Math  Teacher at Noble Middle School. Ms. Lovejoy   made the motion and it was seconded by Mr. Tabor  to approve the resignation of Ms. Legere. All members voted in favor and the motion passed. 

William Hahn, Special Education Teacher at Mary Hurd School. Ms. Lovejoy  made the motion and it was seconded by Mr. Tabor  to approve the resignation of Mr. Hahn. All members voted in favor and the motion passed.

Alston Armstrong, Art Teacher at North Berwick Elementary School. Ms. Lovejoy made the motion and it was seconded by Mr. Tabor to approve the resignation of Ms. Armstrong. All members voted in favor and the motion passed.

Kendra Threeton, Kindergarten Teacher at Hanson Elementary School. Ms. Lovejoy made the motion and it was seconded by Ms. Basko to approve the resignation of Ms. Threeton. All members voted in favor and the motion passed

Megan Talbot, Teacher  North Berwick Elementary School. Ms. Lovejoy made the motion and it was seconded by Mr. Wheeler  to approve the resignation of Ms. Talbot. All members voted in favor and the motion passed.

Mr. Tabor asked about a potential curriculum conversation regarding some correspondence that the board had received from an employee.  

The board then reviewed data compiled regarding impact of salaries and benefits and overall costs for the transportation contract that was approved at the previous meeting. She also shared information about the two other contracts that are being finalized. The Assistant Superintendent shared the overview and discussed the multiyear contracts, the percent increases per contract and any additional funds that were included in the contracts for things like perfect attendance bonuses, etc.  She noted that the teacher contracts are a bit easier to specifically calculate increases per year because of the salary based figures rather than hourly figures which can fluctuate each payroll.  We did estimate though based on generalizations. 

The board then discussed the support staff contract which had been negotiated and presented to the support staff for their approval. They had voted in favor of it.  There were some questions regarding specificity regarding a stipend for support staff in the self-contained programs. Mr. Tabor asked for increased specificity prior to voting on the contract. We will represent the contract on May 15th with the specific wording.  

Superintendent Update: 

Update regarding the Open Houses at the Knowlton School and the Middle Schools. Both were very well attended and were very positive. We will share the slides from those events with the board here: Knowlton School and NMS 

7 / 8 Open House next Tuesday at 5:30 pm right before the NMS band/chorus concert in the auditorium. 

Other:  

Requesting grant information on the district budget book in the future. The information is in tab 17 of the budget binders and we will discuss the placement of the information in the budget booklet going forward. 

Public Input: 

James Dupuis of Lebanon asked about the enrollment figures as they didn’t seem to trend correctly. A clarification was provided. 

Adjournment: 

Ms. Janousek  made a motion and it was seconded by Ms. Wheeler  to adjourn the meeting. All members voted in favor and the motion passed. 

Adjourned at 8:19 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Audra Beauvais