MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS’ MEETING OF November 17, 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 November 17, 2022 at 7:00 p.m. with all members attending except Ms. Travers and Ms. Mallett. Ms. Hagenbuch was remote. 18 in the audience.
The vice chair shared the public input statement.
Public Input: Ms. Christina Brown, representing the North Berwick PTO, shared the fundraising highlights of the group for this year and what the funds were used for.
Ms. Holly Dupuis, representing the Berwick PTO, shared the fundraising highlights of her group for this year and the past.
Melissa Wentworth, representing the Lebanon PTO, shared the highlights of their fundraising as well as what the funds were used for.
Brady Berger of Lebanon, shared her thanks for the work that was done on Tuesday. However she did have some concerns regarding the information that was shared with students and how it was shared. She also felt that the communication was slower than it should be. Lessons learned need to be reviewed and procedures need to be implemented. She also shared her concern regarding an incident that occurred on Monday with bullets being brought to school.
Resource officers in the elementary school should be reviewed. She shared that she feels there should be SROs in all of the elementary schools.
Mr. Jeremiah Mulligan of Berwick, shared with the board his feelings that Sanford did an excellent job with handling the situation. He did note that the SROs from each of our schools went on the call and that it would benefit us to have our SROs stay in our home schools. There is also the question of whether or not taking phones is a good practice. He also shared that a positive movement forward would be if the on shift police officers make a planned stop at each of the schools on a daily basis.
Corrine Stewart of Lebanon shared a thank you for the work that the district had done on behalf of students and the crisis situation on Tuesday. She noted that the SROs are so positive and provide support to our students. She asked who provides back up if the SRO is out for the day? And what could we do to support SROs in all of our schools?
Ms. Lovejoy made the motion and it was seconded by Ms. Neubert to approve the minutes of November 3 as amended. 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:
11/15: I feel I don’t need to go too deep into addressing the affects the events 11/15 has had on anxiety levels and fear.
Widespread- An announcement beginning with “Noble High School” on Wednesday brought a bit of panic.
Lunch: Students leave feeling hungry- hamburger buns have been used to supplement for the lack of rice to fill each student's need.
Positive: Grateful for next week to bring Thanksgiving Break- time to bring renewal and recollection as well as spending time with family and eating food.
The National Honors Society hosted a food drive for local pantries to aid in filling up people’s tables over the holiday.
The Superintendent shared with the board a donation from Libby Scott Paving of $1700 worth of paving for the Noble Flex Yurt. Ms.Neubert made the motion and it was seconded by Ms. Lovejoy to gratefully accept the donation of paving. All members voted in favor and the motion passed.
Ms Beauvais shared another donation of $977 made by West Lebanon Community Ladies Circle- Empty Bowls Fundraiser for the MSAD 60 Backpack Program. Ms. Lovejoy made the motion and it was seconded by Ms Janousek to accept the generous donation. All members voted in favor and the motion passed. .
Employment Update:
The Superintendent highlighted the achievement of Ms. Brigette Dumont, our nominee for Technology Director beginning in December of 2022. Ms. Hagenbuch made the motion and it was seconded Ms. Janousek to accept the nomination of Ms. Brigette Dumont as technology Director. All members voted in favor and the motion passed.
Teaching and Learning Presentation. Ms Shannon Swiger, Director of Teaching and Learning and Ms. Alison Kearney, Assistant Principal and Director of Studies at Noble High School shared with the board an overview of how the district fared academically and social emotionally in the past few years.
The Superintendent shared with the board the trifold for board meetings that we have been editing for the past several meetings. Mr. Doiron made the motion and it was seconded by Ms. Neubert to approve the document as presented this evening. All members voted in favor and the motion passed.
Other Business:
The Superintendent shared with the board a brief update regarding the situation at Sanford High School on Tuesday. Mr. Dufort and Ms. Kearney shared with the board the whole situation as it played out that day. The conversation turned to debriefing and understanding the high level of impact a situation like this has on all of our community. There was a lot of board discussion around learning from this experience, working on honing our communication skills and analyzing the situation so that we can be even more prepared in the future.
Strategic Plan overview… The Assistant Superintendent shared with the board a timeline for the strategic planning work that will be undertaken after the new year. We are looking at a 5-7 year plan potentially taking us into the year 2030. She asked the board to be thinking about the various constituents within the community and potential representatives for a large meeting in January. More to follow.
Tiffany Roberts, house representative asked to join the board meeting on Dec. 1 to answer any questions.
Ms. Janousek asked about the Noble Flex program and its future based on Ms. Dumont’s appointment as Director of Technology. We will continue the program under Ms. Dumont’s new role and determine the best next steps in the months ahead.
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 9:01 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Audra Beauvais