MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS’ MEETING OF January 16, 2025
Current Board Members-
North Berwick- Lauren Janousek, Kate Whalen, Joshua Tabor
Berwick- Alison Herlihy, Elva Lovejoy, Peg Wheeler
Lebanon- Nancy Sewell, Jeridene Basko, Nancy Neubert
(For a full account of this meeting please review the video here…Link you can choose to view the transcript in progress by clicking CC for subtitles.)
A meeting of the Board of Directors was held in person on January 16, 2025 at 7:00 pm with all members attending except Ms. Neubert. Ms. Janousek was present remotely. .
Pledge of Allegiance
There were 6 in the audience.
Ms. Whalen read the public input statement.
Public Input:
Ms. Karen Saracina, of North Berwick, shared with the board her concerns regarding her grandson and concerns about bullying issues.
Minutes:
Ms. Lovejoy made the motion and it was seconded by Ms. Wheeler to accept the minutes of December 19, 2024 meeting. All members voted in favor and the motion was passed.
Approval of the Maine Municipal Bond Bank- ELKS HVAC Project:
Ms. Lovejoy made the motion:
I move that the resolution entitled, “Resolution to Authorize Issuance of $356,350 in General Obligation Bonds to Finance a $356,350 Minor Capital Project,” be adopted in form presented to this meeting and that an attested copy of said Resolution be filed with the minutes of this meeting.
seconded by Ms. Wheeler. All members voted in favor and the motion was passed.
Financial Summary December 2024:
Ms. Denise Van Campen, Business Manager, shared with the board the financial summary for the General Fund as of December 30, 2024. Board members asked some clarifying questions and Ms. Van Campen responded.
Policy Second Reading
The board began the initial policy review of the following connected policies:
ACAA Harassment and Sexual Harassment of Students.
ACAA-R1 Student Discrimination/Harassment and Title IX Sexual Harassment Complaint Procedures.
ACAA-R2 Student Sex Discrimination/Harassment Complaint Procedure
Mr. Tabor made the motion and it was seconded by Ms. Basko to send this policy back to the policy committee due to the recent court decision striking down the rulings. All members voted in favor except Ms. Herlihy, Ms. Janousek, Ms. Wheeler, Ms. Lovejoy and Ms. Whalen. The motion did not pass.
Ms. Herlihy made the motion and it was seconded by Ms. Wheeler to approve the policies as presented this evening. Mr. Tabor shared his concern about spending the time on this tonight with the significant potential for it to have to be reviewed again in the very near future. All members voted in favor except Mr. Tabor, Ms. Sewell and Ms. Basko and the motion passed.
Employment:
Resignation:
Taylor Combs- ELA Teacher Noble Middle School. Ms. Wheeler made the motion and it was seconded by Ms. Lovejoy to approve the resignation of Ms. Combs. All members voted in favor and the motion passed.
Retirement:
Lori Lodge- Assistant Principal Lebanon Elementary Schools (June 30, 2025). Mr. Wheeler made the motion and it was seconded by Ms. Lovejoy to approve the retirement resignation of Ms. Lodge with appreciation and congratulations. All members voted in favor and the motion passed.
James MacDonald- History Teacher Noble High School. Thank you for 38 years of employment with MSAD 60. Ms. Wheeler made the motion and it was seconded by Ms. Lovejoy to approve the retirement resignation of Mr. MacDonald with thanks and congratulations. All members voted in favor and the motion passed.
Superintendent Update:
The Superintendent shared with the board the recent Pre-K baseline survey responses. Very positive return.
Update on the Hussey School CMP issue. The Superintendent shared the situation where a CMP transformer at the Hussey School had failed and was replaced over the holiday break. Unfortunately there was a mistake made with the replacement transformer and it created significant issues at the school. Our vendors and crew worked quickly to address this issue but there are long term impacts that will take a long period of time to sort out. Updates will be provided along the way.
Other:
Ms. Herlihy asked for the district maternity and paternity policies.
She also asked to check into whether the application SeeSaw is still helpful to teachers or has it become burdensome? Is the app still useful? We will follow up.
Community Employer Breakfast is happening next week on Wednesday at 8:30 am and all board members are invited to attend.
Public Input: None
Adjournment:
Ms. Basko made a motion and it was seconded by Ms. Lovejoy to adjourn the meeting. All members voted in favor and the motion passed.
Adjourned at 8:16 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Audra Beauvais