MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS’ MEETING OF October 5, 2023
Current Board Members-
North Berwick- Lauren Janousek, Kate Whalen, Joshua Tabor
Berwick- Travis Doiron, Elva Lovejoy, Peg Wheeler
Lebanon- Victoria Travers, Jeridene Basko, Nancy Neubert
A meeting of the Board of Directors was held in person in Berwick, Maine on October 5, 2023 at 7:00 p.m. with all members attending except Ms. Lovejoy and Ms. Neubert. Ms. Whalen took the chair position. In future we will have a nomination and vote for the coverage of the chair position if both the chair and vice chair are absent.
The board took a short recess of about 25 minutes to have a tour of the Noble Middle school facilities. Board members met with the NMS administrative team, Mike Archambault and Melinda Luders and they gave the tour of the building strengths and needs. The board thanked the administrators for their time and input and were appreciative of the information provided through the tour.
There were 9 in the audience.
Ms. Janousek read the public input statement.
Public Input:
None at this time.
Minutes:
Ms. Janousek made the motion and it was seconded by Ms. Wheeler to accept the minutes of the Sept. 7th meeting. All members voted in favor except Ms. Basko and Ms. Whalen and the motion passed.
Ms. Wheeler made the motion and it was seconded by Ms. Janousek to accept the minutes of the September 21st meeting. There are not enough members who were present at the September 21st meeting to fully vote on the minutes at this point so the minutes of September 21st will be tabled until the meeting of October 19th, 2023.
Emergency Plans
The Superintendent shared with the board an overview of our district and school level emergency preparedness plans. The school administrators submit their plans to the superintendent’s office with signatures from our local fire departments and police departments to ensure that they meet the local standards as well as the school standards. Mr. Tabor asked if we had input from the county EMS teams and we shared that we do work with Director Art Cleves of the York County Emergency Management Agency.
Delegate Assembly
The Superintendent then shared with the board that the Maine School Board Association sends out a call for delegates from each school board to participate in a review of resolutions and have conversations about those resolutions. Typically each board nominates and elects a representative to participate. We are asking for nominations for this year’s delegate. Mr. Tabor shared his thoughts on the MSBA organization and that he is not necessarily in favor of allowing them to reflect his own thinking. This is a volunteer participation activity so if we have no one interested in attending, we do not need to force it. Ultimately, MSBA does currently represent school boards at the state level. It proposes resolutions to be brought to the state level and potentially to legislation. It might be good to have a voice in those resolutions. Anyone interested in participating should reach out to Ms. Jennifer Flewelling, our administrative assistant.
Strategic Plan Overview and Update
The Assistant Superintendent shared a brief overview of the 2023-2030 Strategic Plan. She went through the following handouts and discussed the process that was undertaken to solicit feedback and determine goals and indicators of success. She shared the overarching goals for the strategic plan and then gave an example from the Community Engagement goal and how we have already implemented activities to increase our connections. We will continue to work with our schools and community going forward and have reviews of the strategic plan on a yearly basis.
Employment:
No new teacher hires
Other:
None at this time
Public Input:
Ms. Lauren Janousek of North Berwick shared updates for the district PTOs…
Berwick PTO (Now Knowlton, Hussey, and NMS):
10/17- 1st NMS Color Run…
Raised $18,000.00 so far!
10/13- October Movie Night Hotel Transylvania (free for Hussey & Knowlton families)
10/27- Halloween Dance Party at Hussey- costume contest, pumpkin contest, fortune teller, make & take crafts and more!
Lebanon PTO:
10/5 - Walk for Wellness walkathon at the Hanson school.
10/20 Dance for 4th and 5th graders
11/3 Wentworth Greenhouse wreath sale
North Berwick PTO:
Held annual Mum Fundraiser in September. Are sharing working to share wishlists for nurse needs, soccer nets & balls and new calming space that Ms. Jolly has had success with and wants to implement at NBES. For custodian appreciation day, the PTO ordered & delivered NoBo for the custodians. Been busy fulfilling teacher requests as all teachers get $50 from the PTO to help fulfill classroom needs.
Ms. Holly Dupuis of Berwick shared her excitement about the strategic plan and the branding of the district. She also noted that spirit week throughout the district was really positive. Berwick Media has also been a positive force in sharing information about the district.
None at this time.
Adjournment:
Ms. Janousek made the motion and it was seconded by Ms. Travers to adjourn the meeting. All members voted in favor and the motion passed.
Adjourned at 8:10 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Audra Beauvais