MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS’ MEETING OF Sept. 16, 2021
A meeting of the Board of Directors was held in person in North Berwick, Maine on September 2, 2021 at 6:00 p.m. with all members present except Ms. Manley and Ms. Neubert. The student representative was absent.
Mr. Doiron made the motion and it was seconded to go into Executive Session Pursuant to 1M.R.S.A. §405(6) Duties of the School Board. All members voted in favor and the motion passed. In at 6:03 pm. Out at 6:59
Public Input:
Kathy Sheedy, Berwick, shared a letter from her niece, Morgan, a senior at Noble High. She shared her belief in masking and also that she’d like to keep the masking mandate in place to ensure that we are able to stay in school.
Matthew Leggett, Lebanon, shared his belief in not having the mask mandate. He asked to have people look at Texas.Gov and review those statistics.
Charlie Galemmo, North Berwick, spoke of masked mandates and lower infection rates among children. He expressed his beliefs that the board did the right thing by mandating masks.
Rick Pelletier, Lebanon, expressed his concerns about the mask mandate and his beliefs about parent rights.
Melissa Cormier, Berwick, proparent choice. Concerned about mask breaks and how they are not being appropriately provided. Has the board looked at other approaches to address covid?
Craig, of Lebanon, shared his thank you to the board for the work that they did. As a nurse, he believes masks are effective due to evidence based practices in the medical field.
Ashley Richardson, Berwick, shared her belief that masks don’t work. She shared that her children are not able to pay attention in class, and were easily tired and annoyed. Cut into her childrens’ learning time.
Madison , Lebanon senior at Noble High School. She shared that she believes that we should be wearing masks in school. Vaccinations are also important. She feels that she has had no issues with her learning except that when they went on remote.
Amanda Turner, North Berwick, for parent choice. She shared that her son had been punished for non masking.
Janelle Couture, Berwick, daughter was a Kindergarten student, last year, had a very positive experience. As a 1st grader, she is doing so well. The Board is trying to do what’s best for everyone.
Mike Barker, North Berwick, shared with the board his concerns regarding masking and distancing policies. Sometimes tough questions need to be asked. The board needs to get out in front of it.
Elizabeth Sawyer, Lebanon, shared her concerns about the masking of her children. In her opinion, Covid will not go away. She feels that parents should have the choice about masking. She believes parents should be allowed their child to mask and get sick or unmask and get sick. COVID is no longer preventable, we need to work on treatments.
Jessica Brooks, Lebanon. Shared her concerns about her daughter. Her daughter is not allowed breathing treatments in school and denied her education. Her son does not get mask breaks. In addition to masking concerns she feels that her family is being bullied because they have different views and morals. She would like to know where it is stated in the school board policy that a confederate flag can’t be in school.
Lindsay Quigley, Lebanon shared her concerns about taking parents rights away.
Kyle Chandler, North Berwick, asked about why students are being discriminated against if they have not been vaccinated. He is concerned about what happens with close contacts at school and how that impacts sports.
Miranda Mulligan, Berwick, shared with the board that her children are struggling because they have to wear a mask.
Jasmine Rowan, Lebanon shared her concerns about how the pandemic has affected her education.
Peg Wheeler, Berwick, shared her thank you to the board for keeping. Wearing masks isn’t about oneself, it's about protecting others.
The board reviewed the minutes from August 19, 2021 and September 2, 2021.
Mr. Doiron made the motion and it was seconded by Ms. Hagenbuch to approve the minutes of August 19, 2021 as amended. All members voted in favor except Ms. Mallett who abstained, and the motion passed.
Ms. Mallett made the motion and it was seconded by Ms. Lovejoy to approve the minutes of Sept. 2, 2021. All members voted in favor and the motion passed.
Educational Summary:
Superintendent Beauvais asked the Principals to report how the first few weeks of school have been.
Michelle Keniston, Principal of the Knowlton School in Berwick. Staff are so happy to be back in their home buildings. For the second summer in a row teachers packed up their classrooms and moved by our amazing custodial staff.
Patti Gilley, Principal of Hanson and Lebanon Elementary Schools. Arrival and Dismissal routines continue to improve each day. Pick my kid has streamlined dismissal and we appreciate the support received from parents who use the app. The entire transportation Department has worked to problem solve the beginning of school glitches. Students will participate in safety presentations provided by our dedicated bus drivers.
Melissa Caldwell, Principal of Hussey Elementary School, Students and Staff are working on stamina, both physically and academically, as this is the first 5 day week since March 2020. Teachers are working maximum growth and creating engaging curriculum.
Michael Archambault, Principal North Berwick Elementary School, Shout out to the Custodial Staff who have put in endless hours in the buildings. Students are excited to be in school and thank you for the ongoing support from the Board and Community. Things are going really well in the K-5 land!
Mike Roberts, Principal Noble Middle School, Top Ten Comments from Noble Middle School, engaged students, variety of opinions, positive intentions, positive relationships being built, students playing outside with smiles, pickup and drop off are going great, students and staff working hard and we are all tired.
AJ Dufort, Principal Noble High School. Glad to be back five days per week. Enrollment is high, appreciative for late start Wednesday, building stamina of the students, teachers are helping students re-engage, establishing relationships, great to see them interacting with each other. Homecoming week is next week culminating with the fireworks Friday night.
Update on Fall Athletics at Noble:
Football is off to a 2-0 start! The team travels to Portland tomorrow night. If they beat Portland, they will take the first place spot in the Class B South standings. This will be the first time in a long time that Noble has held the top spot in the Football standings.
Accompanying football, Fall cheer is always a pleasure to watch! Coach Davis and our cheerleaders have put a lot of time into their routines.
Field Hockey was recently in the news as a team to watch. Although they are 1-2 so far, the girls have kept the games close and are always exciting to watch.
Boys and Girls Cross Country is off to an amazing start. Both boys and girls teams took home the win in their first meet and have not stopped producing successful meets since.
Golf is 2-2 so far this year. The team is incredibly talented and fun to watch.
Girls Soccer is 2-2 so far and Boys Soccer is 1-2-1. Both teams have incredible talent on both sides of the field and are fun to watch.
The Noble/Sanford Co-Op Volleyball team is 3-1! Noble currently has more than a dozen girls representing Noble. The Volleyball team plays all of their home matches at Sanford High School.
Noble also offers E-Sports through Play Versus. League of Legends starts this Fall! The E-Sports team is coached by Coach Saucier, Coach McKenna & Coach Morrow.
Next week is homecoming week! The Noble Athletic Department looks forward to hosting all of our homecoming games and seeing the community members who are in attendance.
The Athletic Department would also like to recognize and thank all of the parents and volunteers who are a part of our programs. From running our boosters to helping out with special events, we could not do it without the support of our community.
Opening Enrollment: The Superintendent shared the following Opening Day information with the Board,
The Noble Antiracist Collaborative shared a presentation around the work that they are doing.
Employment:
Mr. Doiron made the motion and Ms. Travers seconded the motion to accept the resignation of Ms. Jayne Perkins. All members voted in favor and the motion passed
Public Input..
Jocelyn of Lebanon, shared her concerns about Critical Race Theory along her concerns about masking.
Ms. Lisa Powers, of Berwick, shared with the board her thanks and appreciation for the board and that the decisions were made. She shared information about masking, vaccinations, etc.
Ms. Victoria Savary, shared with the board her belief about the board needing to represent the constituents and that she is pro choice.
Rachel Matusky, Lebanon, shared her support and appreciation of the board. She wished that parents would use this as a teaching tool. She considers this a small inconvenience. She also spoke to the responsibility piece and encouraged parents to get involved positively.
Mr. Mike Barker, shared that the flags were not flown at half mast on 9/11.
Other Business:
The Superintendent shared with the board the results of the pooled testing survey that was sent out. Of 407 responses 53.6% voted no and 46.4% voted yes. We will follow up with Amy Creighton and share with the board the process.
Mr. Doiron made a motion and it was seconded by Ms. Lovejoy to adjourn the meeting. All members voted in favor and the motion passed. Out at 9:17 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Audra Beauvais