Notice of Regular Meeting

MAINE SCHOOL ADMINISTRATIVE DISTRICT #37

February 15, 2017

The Regular Meeting of the Board of Directors of RSU/MSAD #37 was held at Narraguagus Jr/Sr High School, Harrington, Maine on Wednesday, February 15, 2017 to consider and act upon the following items of business:

Board Members Present: Angela Alley, Everett Grant, Beth Hartford, Ronald Kennedy, Debra Murphy, Vance Pineo, Jr., Drusilla Ray, Sarah Wilson, and Mark Wright.

Board Members Absent: Jeffrey Beal, Brandi Lovejoy, and Charles Peterson, Jr.,

Other persons present: Ronald Ramsay, Denise Vose, Lorna Greene, John Daley, Lucille Willey, Susan Meserve, and Sara Ippolito.

MINUTES

A. INTRODUCTORY BUSINESS

1. The meeting was called to order at 7:05 by Chairman Grant.

2. RE: APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Motion by Debra Murphy, second by Mark Wright and voted unanimously to approve the minutes of the January 25, 2017 regular meeting as printed.

3. RE: REPORT—SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS (Including Legislative Updates)

INFORMATION: Supt. Ramsay addressed the Board regarding the recent blizzard and school closing decision. Pictures were presented to the Board of the snow accumulations at some of the schools; entryways were blocked with snow drifts and banks 20 – 30 ft. long and 8- 9 ft. high. Although there had been issues with snow plowing there would have been no way to move the snow needed to clear the entrances for school to take place.

The State has not yet released the preliminary 279. Supt. Ramsay also notified the Board that Gov. Le Page’s suggested budget changes impels all administrative costs, including those at the Central Office, back onto the schools and towns. Currently MSAD 37 is receiving approximately 25% of every dollar in subsidy. In this budget we have about $350K in administrative costs. If the Governor’s suggestions for changes passes as proposed we would no longer receive this 25%. Mr. Wright inquired if we would then need to adjust our local budge to increase our costs of $350K by that 25%. Supt. Ramsay further clarified that the $350 is what is currently needed (including government subsidy) for administrative costs. We would only need to supply an additional $80K, approximately.

There will be a Legislative hearing on March 3rd at 10:00 am. It was suggested that contacting our representatives to express our views on the funding formula and how it impacts our area and schools might be beneficial. Mrs. Murphy asked if there would be anyone present at the Legislative hearings who would testify on our behalf. Although Supt. Ramsay is planning on attending the hearing he has no plans to testify. At this time the wording of the new legislation simply states more money is needed. As stated by Chairman Grant, no details have been provided as to where the additional money would be acquired for disbursement.

4. RE: SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS

INFORMATION:

§ Athletics/Student Activities—none

§ Curriculum & Instruction—none

§ Negotiations & Grievance—Mr. Wright reported that the committee met before the regular board meeting. Supt. Ramsay has been asked for additional information for review to discuss at a later date.

§ Policy & By-laws—none

§ Facilities, Maintenance, Safety, & Transportation—none

5. RE: REVIEW OF FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

INFORMATION: Supt. Ramsay reported that things are going well financially and we are where he would expect us to be this time of year. He did provide clarification on a couple of overages, one being the copier line. This was explained by under-budgeting as well as over usage of color copies in particular. The over usage was supported by the fact that when maintenance has been requested on the copiers the default setting is not automatically set back to black and white but rather to color. When the change in default setting is not discovered quickly many color copies can be accumulated prior to resetting the default to black and white. The increase in color copies causes increased expenses. The other overage Supt. Ramsay explained was that of the Substitute line at the High School. We have had a couple of long term substitutes this year. These were offset though by the decrease in the corresponding teacher salary lines.

6. RE: ADMIN REPORTS INCLUDING ESSA, G/T, AND PROFESSIONAL DEV.

INFORMATION:

· Mrs. Willey provided a written report for activities and events at the High School.

· Mrs. Greene reported enrollment of 104 students at DW Merritt in Addison. The traveling planetarium visited the school and was thoroughly enjoyed by students and staff alike. The boosters had special activities one day for Pre K through grade one students. Valentine’s Day was celebrated with class activities.

· Professional development scheduled for February 1st and 14th were canceled due to weather and will be rescheduled.

· ESSA: Currently there are 150 Title l students.

· Gifted and talented: grades 4 through 8 will attend Wings of Life in Ellsworth on March 3rd.

· Mrs. Meserve reported enrollment of 137 students at Harrington Elementary. Bathroom renovations for the upstairs units are almost complete. New tiles should be laid during February vacation. New lights have been installed in the classrooms along with an upgrade to the fire security. Mrs. Meserve also informed the Board that the 3rd and 4th graders would be going to the Cole’s Museum and picking up the 25 free Kindles they had been awarded by the Cole Foundation. Harrington Elementary also hosted the Spelling Bee which was well attended. Both girls and boys basketball teams did well this year. The school had classroom activities to celebrate Valentine’s Day.

· Mrs. Vose advised the Board that Special Education enrollment numbers continue to remain the same. Seven staff members were sent to Ellsworth to attend SPIRE training and additional staff members were provided with more CPR and First Aid training.

7. RE: AGENDA ADJUSTMENTS

ACTION: Motion by Mark Wright and voted unanimously to table this article as there are no adjustments required.

B. OLD BUSINESS

1. RE: HIRING PEE-WEE CHEERING COACH AT DW MERRITT

ACTION: Motion by Debra Murphy, second by Drusilla Ray and voted unanimously to hire Donna Raineri as the Pee-Wee Cheering Coach at DW Merritt.

2. RE: HIRING GIRLS’ TRAVEL TEAM COACH

ACTION: Motion by Mark Wright and voted unanimously to table this article.

3. RE: HIRING DESTINATION IMAGINATION COACH FOR MILBRIDGE

ACTION: Motion by Mark Wright, second by Debra Murphy voted unanimously to hire Alana Roach as Destination Imagination Coach for Milbridge Elementary.

C. NEW BUSINESS

1. RE: EXTENSION OF ADMINISTRATOR CONTRACTS

a) John Daley, Asst. Principal at Narraguagus (extend to June 30, 2019)

b) Lorna Greene, Elementary Supervisory Principal (extend to June 30, 2019)

c) Susan Meserve, Teaching Principal (extend to August 31, 2018)

d) Maria Frankland, Guidance Director at Narraguagus (extend to June 30, 2019)

e) Ann Roach, K-8 Guidance Counselor/Psychological Examiner (extend to August 31, 2019)

f) Denise Vose, Special Ed Director (extend to June 30, 2019)

g) Maria White, Teaching Principal at Milbridge (extend to August 31, 2018)

h) Lucille Willey, Principal at Narraguagus (extend to June 30, 2018)

ACTION: Motion by Debra Murphy, second by Mark Wright and voted unanimously to accept the extension of administrator contracts as slated above.

2. RE: APPROVAL OF 2017-2018 SCHOOL CALENDAR

ACTION: Motion by Drusilla Ray, second by Beth Hartford and voted unanimously to approve the 2017-2018 school calendar as presented.

3. RE ADJOURNMENT:

ACTION: Motion by Mark Wright and voted unanimously to adjourn the meeting at 7:51 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Ronald C. Ramsay

Secretary to the Board

MEETING SUMMARY, FEBRUARY 15, 2017

A. INTRODUCTORY BUSINESS

2. APPROVED minutes of the January 25, 2017 regular meeting;

7. TABLED agenda adjustments;

B. OLD BUSINESS

1. HIRED Donna Raineri as pee wee cheering coach at DWM;

2. TABLED hiring girls’ travel team coach;

3. HIRED Alahna Roach as DI coach at ML;

C. NEW BUSINESS

1. EXTENDED contracts of the following administrators--

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