MY CRYSTAL BALL DID NOT FAIL ME - SCHOOL BOARD MEETING 6/22

The meeting was called to order by Chairman Varnum promptly at 6:30pm. Chris Ficket, rep from Clifton; Therese Anderson, rep from Eddington; Sylvia Ellis, rep from Holden; Ray Hart, Interim Superintendent; Don Varnum, rep from Holden; Karen Clark, rep from Eddington; Pam Dorr, rep from Eddington; and Kevin Mills, new rep from Holden, were in attendance. (NOTE: I have listed them in their seating order started from left to right.) Mario Teisl, rep from Holden, will return from authorized leave on August 24.

Immediately following the Flag Salute and Moment of Silence, Varnum called for Nominations for Chairman and it was "game on." Karen Clark nominated Kevin Mills. No one seconded the motion. The silence was deafening. Then Sylvia Ellis nominated Don Varnum and Therese Anderson seconded the motion. Varnum called for the vote which ended up as 5 For - 1 Opposed (Clark) and 1 Abstained (Dorr).

Then Varnum called for Nominations for Vice Chair. Sylvia Ellis nominated Therese Anderson. Chris Ficket seconded the motion. There were no other nominations. Varnum called for the vote which ended up as 5 For - 1 Opposed (Clark) and 1 Abstained (Dorr).

At that point the printed Agenda was changed to allow for the earlier than scheduled presentation of a Plaque of Appreciation to former Board rep Robert Kiah (from Holden) to Mrs. Kiah and two of the Kiah children who were anxious to get to the ball game next door to the Holden school. Mr. Kiah could not be present because he was at work.

Each of the three principals introduced a new teacher being recommended for appointment for his respective school.

Ashley Allen was introduced as the new Grade 1 Teacher for Eddington Elementary School. Ms. Allen is working toward her Master's degree in Intervention in Literacy and was highly recommended by her references and the Eddington School Principal.

Kara Emmons was introduced as the new Kindergarten Teacher for Holden Elementary School. Her background showed a progressive amount of experience and a desire to be a Kindergarten teacher since she was a child herself. She, too, was highly recommended for the position by the Holden School Principal.

Tanya Belanger was introduced as the new Grade 6 Teacher for the Holbrook Middle School. Mrs. Belanger has her Master's degree and is moving to this area from Fort Fairfield. One of her references stated that we might find someone as qualified but no one more so. She was highly recommended by the Holbrook Middle School Principal.

All three teachers were approved for the positions by the School Board.

Since the Board agreed to Varnum's suggestion for the Board to take the month of July off (meaning to hold no Board meetings) and will not meet until August 24, it was agreed that Hart would be given the authority to recruit an Ed. Tech for the Eddington School and a replacement Science Teacher for the Holbrook School, with the expectation that the Board will approve these individuals at the August Board meeting since school is expected to begin about that same time). It is hoped that all five of these new teachers, as well as all of the teachers at the district's three schools, will have the opportunity to be observed for no less than one full class during the next school year by both their principal and the Interim Superintendent.

At this point, it should be noted that in addition to those individuals already noted being present, there were two members from the Clifton Board of Selectmen in attendance, a representative of the Citizens Advisory Committee to the School Board's Budget and Finance Committee, the Eddington Town Manager and an Eddington Selectman, along with the district's Operations and Maintenance Manager and the district's technology specialist, as well as yours truly.

When it came to Committee Meetings, the Budget and Finance Committee meeting originally scheduled for July 8 has been put off to August 9 at 6:00p.m. at the Holbrook School. It was pointed out by Karen Clark that, under school law/policy, since Sylvia Ellis is the district's Warrant Officer, as such, she could not be the Interim Chair for the Budget & Finance committee simultaneously. (Mario will resume the position of Chair once he returns August 24.) Varnum seemed to think the rules could be waived for the July meeting but Karen pressed the issue that it was a matter of law. Things seemed to come to a standstill as though no one had a thought how to solve the dilemma until Hart proposed Therese Anderson, a member of the Budget and Finance Committee could take over the Chair position for the one meeting and that would resolve the situation. With the proviso that it would be for just one meeting, Therese agreed.

The Operations Committee meeting originally scheduled for June 22 has been put off to August 24 at 5:45 p.m. at the Holbrook School.

The Policy, Technology and RSU Consolidation Planning Committee meetings are all TBD (to be determined).

Therese stated the reason why the Curriculum Committee hasn't met for over a year is because they don't want to set any curriculum standards because other schools in the "potential/yet to be" consolidated school district may mandate their own curriculum. However, if any Principals have a problem currently, they can contact the Committee which will address whatever issue(s) may exist. In the meantime, the Principals are just dealing with the State DOE mandates. (Seems to me the rush to consolidation by the DOE was only concerned with fiscal issues. Nothing was said re: quality of education issues. So I'd be concerned re: focusing on State DOE curriculum mandates. I thought that was the purpose of a Board Curriculum Committee in the first place - and having two teachers on it. At least that's what Dorr campaigned on.)

The explanation, on its face, sounded reasonable but-if the Committee hasn't had at least two meetings in the last twelve months - and doesn't plan any for the next twelve for the same reason as given last night - why have such a committee at all? To go two years with no Curriculum Committee meeting on the possibility - even Mr. Hart's expectation - that there will be some kind of K-8 consolidated district when the quality of education is supposed to be the Board's current priority seems incongruous.

Since Karen Clark resigned from being the Board's rep on the Brewer High School Board (after being "protected" out of the Vice Chair position for having too many Committee assignments) Varnum took on that assignment when no one else volunteered. The "not my problem" look on Ms. Ellis' face was noted.

Committee Assignments (made at the close of the meeting):
Policy: Karen Clark, Chair; Pam Dorr, Therese Anderson
Budget & Finance: Mario Teisl, Chair; Sylvia Ellis, Therese Anderson
Operations: Sylvia Ellis, Chair; Karen Clark, Chris Ficket
Curriculum: Therese Anderson, Chair; Pam Dorr, Kevin Mills
UTC: Karen Clark, delegate
Technology Committee: George Cummings, SAD63 Technology Coordinator, Chair; Karen Clark, Sylvia Ellis
Brewer High School Board: Don Varnum, delegate
RSU: No appointments (see notes in other areas re: this issue)
Teachers Contract Negotiations: No appointments

Since Hart firmly believes the state's voting public will affirm in November the need for school consolidation (I don't agree), he also believes that SAD63 should have a consolidation plan in place that can be submitted to the Superintendent of DOE for approval shortly after the November election. By law, prior to such submission, Public Hearings and a Public Vote in each town that would be in said consolidation will be required - all of which will take time to conduct.

However, NO RSU Committee was initiated at last night's meeting - no members of the Board were even named to an RSU Committee - even though Kevin Mills' interest in being on that committee was acknowledged by Varnum and Karen Clark has previously stated her interest. Since Ms. Ellis served on the prior RSU Committee she can be expected to want to serve as well.

Question: Since the Board doesn't plan to meet again until August 24, and the public will be voting on the state-wide consolidation issue in November, how much work will an RSU Committee accomplish in only three months? Or - does Mr. Hart plan to develop his own plan and then expect the Board/RSU Committee to rubber stamp it? Or is such a plan not expected to be ready for submission to the public until late next Spring?

Somewhere along the road SOMEONE better plan to include the taxpayers/voters in this plan's development because the voters are the ones who will make the final and real decision. The voters may appear to be uninterested in Board activities but they are just sleeping tigers. They didn't buy into the last one and shouldn't be expected to buy into one where they are excluded from the table this time either. School Board members err when they believe they are not accountable to the taxpayers.

Jennifer Cammack, School Board member from Otis, introduced herself to the Board. Otis is in the area of Mariaville. Mariaville voted TO consolidate with Ellsworth last year. Otis voted NOT to consolidate. For the interim, Otis and Mariaville are utilizing the same building with some temporary financial arrangements. However, Otis is seeking options for consolidation partners. Otis currently has approximately 50 students. The SAD63 Board agreed to include Otis in any RSU discussions "TBD." An AOS format was the focus of last night's discussion (which appears to be a K-8 arrangement which (1) shares central office & administrative services, (2) maintains its own school boards, and (3) includes the high school option). It should be known that there's talk in the three towns by individuals are saying that with rising costs there may come a time when some changes will have to be put on the table re: the high school option - either reducing the number of schools in the "option" or requiring families to pay some amount above the state-based tuition, i.e., John Bapst rate that is approximately $1574 above the state-based tuition.

The 2010 census will provide critical information which School Boards will need to take into consideration when establishing salaries for all positions. Small towns simply do not have the income base to support higher salaries for either unionized or salaried positions. As an example, Clifton has a population of less than 800 people. Currently that town is contributing $47,000+ monthly toward the school budget. - For 158 students! If my numbers are correct (and I believe the monthly contribution will be increasing), that averages $3,570. per year per student. For a town with a population that has an average income significantly below the state's average income (with many retired on a fixed income - a major portion being social security), the tax base can be crippling. The School Board DOES have a responsibility to pay attention to this regardless of what some Board members appear to think.

LD285 - To Defer Penalties "Non-consolidation penalties" for One Year - the Governor signed the Executive Order which had been approved by the House and Senate (originally written to defer penalties for two years but via negotiations was reduced to one year). The incentive here is to give school districts one more year to come into compliance with the mandate to consolidate.

What will this mean to Clifton, Eddington, and Holden? The Good News = the State will not deduct the penalty assessed to our three towns = $163,167. from the State's allocation to the SAD63 school Budget. In theory this would reduce the amount of money each town would have to contribute to meet the approved budget. HOWEVER, since the voters did approve the budget as submitted which was $139,411 higher than 2008-2009, eliminating the penalty should bring the 2009-2010 budget in lower than the 2008-2009 budget. Except - since the budget was passed at the higher rate (without the waiver of the penalty assessment), does this mean we will be taxed to cover the higher school budget so the district can "pocket" the extra $163,167? We can only wait and see what our Town Managers can tell us after they get the bill from the school district's central office. One more reason why the School Board needs to understand their relationship to the taxpayers/voters in their home towns.

*****

In my "past life", meaning my career in California, the use of the word Interesting in a review of anything (a play, a piece of proposed legislation, the narrative included in a criminal's record that accompanies him/her to prison, an attorney's presentation to the jury, etc.) is basically the equivalent of raised eyebrows. It is not a glowing review. So when I say that attending School Board meetings and watching the human dynamics is Interesting, you know what I mean. More voters/taxpayers should start attending these meetings. You don't need to do anything but go and sit there in silence - just observe YOUR elected representatives "at work". And then remember when the time comes to vote for your town's next representative.