MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS’ MEETING OF November 21, 2024
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.)
Ms. Wheeler made the motion and it was seconded by Ms. Whalen to approve the amendment to the agenda removing the executive session that was scheduled for the beginning of the meeting. All members voted in favor and the motion passed.
Ms. Wheeler made the motion and it was seconded by Ms. Whalen to approve the amendment to the agenda removing the executive session that was scheduled for the end of the meeting. All members voted in favor and the motion passed.
Pledge of Allegiance
There were 29 in the audience.
Ms. Whalen read the public input statement.
Public Input:
None at this time.
Minutes:
Ms. Janousek made the motion and it was seconded by Ms. Wheeler to accept the minutes of November 7, 2024 meeting as amended. All members voted in favor and the motion passed.
Norms Checker:
Looking for the volunteer to be the norm checker for the evening. Ms. Janousek volunteered to be the norm checker for this evening.
October Financial Summary:
Ms. Denise Van Campen, Business Manager, shared with the board the financial summary for the General Fund as of October 31, 2024. Board members asked some clarifying questions and Ms. Van Campen responded.
Annual Legislative Check-In:
York County Superintendents Association gathered the local legislators to discuss Education Priorities for York County. The Assistant Superintendent shared with the board an overview of what occurred at the Thursday evening meeting for those who were not able to attend. There was a presentation to the legislators and all who attended regarding the current issues in our county in meeting the needs of our homeless populations. There was emphasis placed on the need to support the local shelters that are exceedingly utilized by a wide range of people in need. Representatives from Caring Unlimited, The York County Shelter in Alfred, York County Community Action and Fair Tide were there to share their experiences as well as The Superintendent of the Sanford Schools to discuss the impact of homelessness on the schools. Following that discussion, the group moved to a school based discussion that was facilitated by the York County Superintendents Association. Concerns regarding the many mandates that have come out of the legislature were discussed as well as unfunded mandates.
Board Goals Discussion:
The Superintendent shared with the board our overall draft goals (See these here). She also shared copies of a few area district goals as a comparison. Ms. Herlihy noted that the goals from York that contained action steps, timeline and evidence were visually appealing and she’d like to have that with ours as well.
Mr. Tabor had a presentation regarding goals that he also would like to share.
Prior to the presentation, the board then had a lengthy discussion regarding information that had been shared on social media and following Board Norms as there were some concerns regarding the accuracy of the information/misperceptions regarding the board not having worked on goals for the past several years. As well, as posting these goals on social media before sharing with the board in general first. The Norm that was noted was “We stand together with our decisions.”
Mr. Josh Tabor shared with the board an overview of his suggestions for goals (see attached). There was discussion about rigorous curriculum, assessments that are criterion referenced and not norm referenced as most of our assessments are a mix of those. (For instance, the state assessment is through the NWEA system and has both criterion referenced as well as norm referenced items). Mr. Tabor and Ms. Sewell felt that solely criterion referenced should be the course. After further discussion regarding goals, Ms. Wheeler made the motion and it was seconded by Ms. Herlihy to adopt the strategic goal plans that the board has been working on with potential formatting that allows for including evidence. All members voted in favor except Mr. Tabor, Ms. Basko and Ms. Sewell who opposed and the motion passed.
Nomination of Food Service Director- Chef David Vargas
The Superintendent shared the nomination of Chef David Vargas as School Nutrition Director. Mr. Tabor made the motion and it was seconded by Ms. Wheeler to approve the nomination of Mr. David Vargas as MSAD 60 School Nutrition Director. All members voted in favor and the motion passed.
Employment: None at this time
Superintendent Update:
MSAD 60 was chosen to receive the Pre-K grant that will allow us to provide Pre-K throughout the district if we choose to accept the grant. More information to follow. Very exciting.
Mark Hubbard, guidance counselor in Lebanon was chosen for the Maine School Counselor Emerging Counselor Award for 2024. Ms. Lori Coleman, guidance counselor as well in Lebanon, nominated Mr. Hubbard. A well deserved honor!
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Brenda Cravens is formally leaving the district tomorrow as a retiree after 42 years. We thank her wholeheartedly for her service!
December 5th Principals will come in to do a quick overview of their safety procedures.
Other:
Celebration! Noble’s basketball team is rated as Number one going into the start of the season. Our Noble Football team did an outstanding job in their playoff game. They fell to the Thornton Academy team but had a fabulous season.
Update from the PTOs regarding their cereal drive.
Knowlton School is doing an ornament drive with sponsoring a child for clothing in our district.
Suggestion setting up a subcommittee on assessment throughout the year.
How do the NWEA individual tests go out to parents? Within report cards at the elementary level. Others were already mailed at the upper levels.
Our website needs to be more up to date. That is definitely a constant work in progress.
Ms. Wheeler noted that North Berwick Elementary School had a lovely Veteran’s Day celebration.
Ms. Sewell asked about our prior board goals. Those will be provided.
Public Input:
Dr. Joe Forte, North Berwick, noted that the board spent a lot of time last year on the budget rather than goals. He shared his concerns regarding the impact of one size fits all statements. For instance, a one size fits all statement about behavior is not reasonable. He encouraged less anecdotal and hearsay. Let’s give them more support and staff, Universal Pre K, etc. He asked
How can we improve trends when you undercut the costs… Why aren’t you supporting educators more and students more?
Note: Mr. Tabor did feel that the statements by Dr. Forte were targeting him personally and asked that the chair ask him to stop. She did note that the attorney had shared that as an elected official, short of very offensive and or abusive language she was not able to stop the public input prior to the three minute cutoff.
Adjournment:
Ms. Janoussek made a motion and it was seconded by Ms. Wheeler to adjourn the meeting. All members voted in favor and the motion passed.
Adjourned at 8:43 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Audra Beauvais