MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS’ MEETING OF May 2, 2024
Current Board Members-
North Berwick- Lauren Janousek, Kate Whalen, Joshua Tabor
Berwick- Travis Doiron, Elva Lovejoy, Peg Wheeler
Lebanon- Victoria Travers, Jeridene Basko, Nancy Neubert
A meeting of the Board of Directors was held in person in North Berwick, Maine on May 2, 2024 at 7:03pm with all members attending in person except Ms. Whalen, Mr. Doiron, and Ms. Basko. There were approx. 9 in the audience.
Public Input
Vice Chair Ms. Nancy Neubert of Lebanon read the public input statement.
Minutes:
Mr. Tabor made the motion and it was seconded by Ms. Janousek to accept the minutes of April 11, 2024 meeting as amended. All members voted in favor and the motion passed.
Lebanon Elementary School Leach Field Proposal
Budget Update
An invitation to the select boards in all three towns has been sent out to come and talk over the proposed budget on May 16th at 6 pm. We look forward to this joint meeting.
The annual report was sent to the printer right before April break and will be being mailed out to all community members shortly. We will provide electronic copies to select board members and our school board members if the hard copies are not available by the 16th.
We will be meeting with the PTOs over the next three weeks to discuss the upcoming meeting schedules regarding the budget.
Nomination of Probationary Teachers:
Probationary 1 to Probationary 2: Ms. Janousek made the motion and it was seconded by Ms. Wheeler to approve the nomination of the presented probationary 1 to probationary 2 teachers. There were some questions that All members voted in favor and the motion passed.
Probationary 2 to Continuing Contract: Ms. Janousek made the motion and it was seconded by Ms. Wheeler to approve the nomination of the presented probationary 2 to continuing contract teachers. All members voted in favor and the motion passed.
Nomination of Special Education Director
Ms. Janousekl made the motion and it was seconded by Ms. Travers to approve the employment of Melissa Adams. All members voted in favor and the motion passed. Ms. Adams shared that she was excited and grateful for the opportunity.
Employment:
Leave Of Absence:
LOA 2024-25
Rosanna Pass-NHS Spanish Teacher. Ms. Wheeler made the motion and it was seconded by Mr. TAbor to approve the LOA of Rosanna Pass. All members voted in favor and the motion passed.
New Hire:
Allison George, Multiple Pathways Science Teacher at Noble High School. Ms. George is a graduate of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and is currently working on her master’s degree from John Hopkins University. Mr. Tabor made the motion and it was seconded by Ms. Travers to approve the employment of Ms. George. All members voted in favor and the motion passed.
Resignations:
Stephanie Nemi, Grade 6 Social Studies Teacher at Noble Middle School. Mr. Tabor made the motion and it was seconded by Ms. Wheeler to approve the resignation of Ms. Nemi. All members voted in favor and the motion passed.
Amanda Liebau, Grade 6 Science Teacher at Noble Middle School. Mr. Tabor made the motion and it was seconded by Ms. Travers to approve the resignation of Ms. Liebau. All members voted in favor and the motion passed.
Karina Chapman, Grade 6 Social Studies Teacher at Noble Middle School. Ms. Wheeler made the motion and it was seconded by Mr. Tabor to approve the resignation of Ms. Chapman with regret. All members voted in favor and the motion passed.
Leigh-Ayer Billing, Speech and Language Pathologist at Lebanon Elementary Schools. Ms. Wheeler made the motion and it was seconded by Ms. Travers to approve the resignation of Ms. Billing. All members voted in favor and the motion passed.
Julia Carr, Kindergarten Teacher at Vivian E Hussey School. Ms. Wheeler made the motion and it was seconded by Mr. Tabor to approve the resignation of Ms. Carr. All members voted in favor and the motion passed.
Retirement:
Ms. Mary Fitzgerald, Assistant Special Education Director. Ms. Fitzgerald, a Noble graduate, has been with MSAD 60 for 34 years. Ms. Wheeler made the motion and it was seconded by Ms. Traversto approve the retirement of Mary Fitzgerald with appreciation and regrets. All members voted in favor and the motion passed
Celebrations:
Noble High School history teacher, Meg Fox, was recently highlighted as part of the 20 Outstanding Women of 2024. Not only does Meg teach here but she also works with three youth in the Ryan Home providing guidance and support as they navigate through high school and life transitions. https://coast931.com/twenty-outstanding-women/meg-fox-20-outstanding-women-of-2024/
Noble Middle School was recently the subject of a Maine Department of Education statewide newsletter which focused on Building Assets Reducing Risks (BARR). BARR began at NMS in 2016. It’s a model that works to build relationships and student engagement by using real time data to focus on student strengths and needs. An important part of the middle school BAAR work has been creating mentoring relationships between students as well as students and adults in the school or larger community.
Three eighth grade students recently participated in the National History Day Competition in Orono. Noah, Mila and Olivia represented Noble well! Mila focused her exhibition on Nelly Bly, who was on the forefront of investigative reporting. Noah placed second in his division for his paper on Fritz Haber, a German Chemist who received the Noble Prize for Chemistry in 1918. Olivia earned first place for her exhibition on World War II Scrap Drives. Both Olivia and Noah will move on to the championship at the University of Maryland in June.
The Noble High School Tech Challenge Robotics team will present their robot at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard tomorrow.
York County Special Olympics… May 10th (rain date of May 17th).
Adult Education Graduation May 30th at 6 pm.
Next week is Teacher Appreciation week.
Public Input: None at this time.
Adjournment:
Ms. Janousek made the motion and it was seconded by Mr. Tabor to adjourn the meeting. All members voted in favor and the motion passed.
Adjourned at 7:33 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Audra Beauvais