MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS’ MEETING OF September 8, 2022
A meeting of the Board of Directors was held in person in North Berwick, Maine on September 8, 2022 at 7:00 p.m. with all members attending except Mr. Doiron. There were 3 in the audience.
The vice chair shared the public input statement.
Public Input: None at this time.
Ms. Neubert made the motion and it was seconded by Ms. Lovejoy to approve the minutes of August 30th as amended. All members voted in favor except Ms. Manly, who abstained, and the motion passed.
The Superintendent shared an update regarding the beginning of school. It has been a very positive opening across the board. There have been four open houses already. North Berwick, Hussey, Knowlton and the High School have already occurred. They were all well attended and it was exciting to see the parents and students in the buildings in person.
The Superintendent shared enrollment figures:
Hussey School 363
Knowlton School 244 (includes NB 5th grade)
North Berwick 256
Hanson School 262
Lebanon Elementary 157
Noble Middle School 440
Noble High School 1212
Total of 2934 This is a 2% decrease from last year where we had 2997.
Policy Second Reading: IHBAI: SPECIAL EDUCATION INDEPENDENT EVALUATION POLICY
The policy committee met on 9/7 to discuss the policy and there are few changes that still need to be finalized before it’s ready to be presented to the board for approval. We will follow up in the next few days and it will be in front of the board on 9/22/22.
The board then discussed the statement of respect for public input. The proposed language is: “We pledge to treat each other as we wish to be treated. We pledge to seek understanding when there may be disagreement. Regardless of outcomes or opinions, we pledge to move forward with respect.” There was conversation about how to ensure that the community is a part of the “we.” We added “as a community” to the beginning. And it will read… “We, as a community, pledge to treat each other as we wish to be treated. We pledge to seek understanding when there may be disagreement. Regardless of outcomes or opinions, we pledge to move forward with respect.”
Ms. Travers made the motion and it was seconded by Ms. Neubert to approve the language of respect as amended. All members voted in favor and the motion passed.
Update on the RFQ. We had an interview committee to determine the firm that will facilitate the ventilation projects in the upcoming year. The firm of Mechanical Services was chosen and we will be working with Don Bresnahan to move through the projects over the next several months. All work will be scheduled for the summer of 2023.
No employment updates.
Other Business:
The Superintendent shared an email from Heather Brown with a donation for $1600 that is to be split between the Lebanon Schools Art and Music program.
Hello my name is Heather Marie Brown... I recently have held a fundraiser in hopes of raising money for the Lebanon Maine Elementary School music and art programs. The fundraiser was held over the past 2 weekends at 2 different events (Higher Education Music and Art festival and The 4×4 Mud Runs) that happened within Lebanon Maine. I worked very hard over the last few months collecting prize donations not only from within the community but from companies all over the United States!! I also went and spoke to the Select Board and contacted the State of Maine to make sure I was doing everything right. I had also reached out the Elementary School and spoke to someone that didn't realize I needed to contact MSAD60 to let them know so I immediately did this once I found out.
The original plan was to hold the fundraiser during the event focused on music and art but due to absolutely horrible weather and a few other logistical issues I only had a few hours on that Sunday to do any fundraising and felt that was not enough! So after communicating with the owners of the proving grounds it was decided the best thing I could do in order to raise the most amount of money was to come to their event the following weekend to finish out the fundraiser. I have kept the community updated every step of the way using Social Media.
The fundraiser collected donations through several methods... A raffle for prizes, a 50/50 raffle and cash donations. I'm proud to say that between the 2 events I was able to raise $1600!!! ($500 at the first event...$100 cash dropped off at my house and $1000 at the second event) The intent of the money is to be split equally between the Lebanon Maine Elementary School music and art programs. That's $800 to each program!!! I truly hope the teachers will be excited and will be able to do some wonderful things with the money!! Study after study shows that children exposed to music and arts benefit through assistance with memory language and creativity. All areas of extreme importance for a developing brain. I hope everyone can recognize how much effort I have put into this project and truly how much community involvement went into it as well!!! I am forever grateful for this opportunity and the kindness shown by both event owners in regards to giving me the space to achieve this goal! I also truly appreciate the local and national businesses that stepped up to the challenge and provided raffle prizes!!! To me this is a prime example of how we can come together for the greater good!!
Thank you for your time.
Thank you,
Heather Marie Brown
Ms. Mallett made the motion and it was seconded by Ms. Lovejoy to accept the donation of $1600 for the LES/Hanson music and art program. All members voted in favor and the motion passed.
The board had conversation about accessibility of information.
Second Public Input:
Ms. Lovejoy made the motion and it was seconded by Ms. Neubert to adjourn the meeting. All members voted in favor and the motion passed.
Adjourned at 7:54 pm
Respectfully submitted,
Audra Beauvais