MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS’ MEETING OF November 7, 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.)
A meeting of the Board of Directors was held in person on November 7, 2024 at 7:00 pm with all members attending.
Pledge of Allegiance
There were 15 in the audience.
Ms. Whalen read the public input statement.
Public Input:
None at this time.
Minutes:
Ms. Wheeler made the motion and it was seconded by Ms. Basko to accept the minutes of October 17, 2024 meeting as amended. All members voted in favor and the motion passed.
Spanish Trip Approval 2025- Rossana Pass :
Ms. Rossana Pass sheared with the board a presentation from the Spanish Department regarding a school trip to Costa Rica.
Ms. Wheeler made the motion and it was seconded by Ms. Janousek to approve the Noble High School Spanish Trip to Costa Rica. There was some discussion regarding the cost of the trip and potential donations to support the trip. All members voted in favor and the motion passed.
Pre-K Discussion:
Dr. Shannon Swiger, Director of Teaching and Learning and Mr. AJ Dufort, Principal of NHS, presented an exploration of Pre-K programming in the district. The Department of Education in Maine had put forward the Pre-K Expansion Grant and we took the opportunity to write the grant and submit it. It was a very quick turn around and if we do receive the funding the board will have the opportunity to accept or reject the funds.
Curriculum Update:
Update regarding the Curriculum Review for the board. In 24-25 we will be reviewing the 6-8th grade mathematics curriculum as well as the K-3 writing pilot.
Norms:
The board then had a lengthy discussion regarding board norms, respectfully sharing with each other how to work together, with varying opinions, and move forward. Some board members shared that they were not feeling comfortable with the tone of some emails and of the tone of some conversations. Others shared thoughts on solutions to these concerns and how to be sure that requested information and agenda items were specifically filtered through the board chair for placement on upcoming agendas. Many board members were able to express their opinions and beliefs. Ultimately a process to add agenda items was clarified and it was determined that any issues should be sent to the Superintendent and the board chair to be placed on a future agenda. It was also recommended that items be sent along with ample time so that the agenda could be developed. The agenda goes out the Friday before the next board meeting. Board members circled back around to the use of Norms and being sure that we do check in on those norms throughout the meeting and that we look to be sure that we review norms at the end of the meeting.
Draft Goals from Two Remaining Strategic Plan Priorities:
As a recap, in the beginning of the year we discussed board goals and paralleling those with the strategic plan goals. Goals were drafted that were shared with the board and these last two goals are represented here. There are some questions regarding the process of taking the priorities of the strategic plan and putting them into goals for the board. The superintendent shared that these last two goals are finalizing the original task. The remaining two areas are community engagement and school safety goals. The Superintendent shared the draft SMART Goals Mr. Tabor noted that he’d like overarching goals rather than specific goals. The board will review all four draft goals at the next meeting and more discussion will occur on next steps
Employment:
Retirement:
Terri Nelson, Noble High School Math Teacher. Ms. Wheeler made the motion and it was seconded by Ms. Lovejoy to approve the retirement of Ms. Nelson with thanks and regrets. All members voted in favor and the motion passed.
Sharon Taylor, MSAD 60 Librarian. Ms. Wheeler made the motion and it was seconded by Ms. Lovejoy to approve the retirement of Ms. Taylor with thanks and regrets. All members voted in favor and the motion passed.
Resignation:
Abbey Hubbell- School Nutrition Director. Ms Lovejoy. made the motion and it was seconded by Ms. Wheeler to approve the resignation of Ms. Hubbell. All members voted in favor and the motion passed.
Superintendent Update:
Patriotic Concert Nov. 14th, Thursday evening.
Little Mermaid is being presented Nov. 8 th, 9th and 10th.
Knights UKnight! Field Hockey Boosters Received $400 in food donations and 2 truck worths of food for the Back Pack Program.
District 1 music festival… 31 students accepted
3 for the Maine Jazz festival
Golf Finished their season at the beginning of October. Our team competed well during the regular season but fell a few strokes short qualifying for the State Championship. We had 19 Golfers this season and was one of the largest teams in the State.
Boys Soccer finished up their season missing playoffs by one spot. This was their best season in a number of years.
Girls Soccer had a great season and also missed the playoffs by one spot.
Field Hockey also finished their season missing the playoffs by one spot.
Volleyball made the playoffs for the first time in program history and traveled to Hampden Academy for the first round of playoffs.
Cross Country - Cassidy O’Dee qualified for the Girls State Championship. Cassidy finished 48th at the State meet with a time of 22:32.
Football /Fall Cheer - Varsity Football finished as the 3rd seed in Class A South and travels to Bonny Eagle on Friday for the Class A South Semi-Final. Game begins at 7:00pm. Jamier Rose has once again been nominated as a candidate for the Maine State Gatorade Player of the Year in Football. The State Winner will be announced in December.
Esports - Esports has been competing in Rocket League and Super Smash this year. Our teams will look to make another State Championship run at the end of the month.
Winter Sports begin on November 18th. School “messengers” have gone out to all 6-12 families and information has been put over social media.
Enrichment programs and schedule: The board asked some questions regarding the minute breakdown etc. Hardcopies of the schedules were provided.
Update regarding the incident at NHS on Tuesday November, 5, 2024. Principal Dufort gave an overview of the situation that occurred and how the students, staff and first responders handled the swatting situation. Thankfully it was a hoax and our students and staff were safe.
Other:
Ms. Herlihy shared with the board her experience at the Maine School Management School Board conference. She felt that it was a really positive experience and other board members would also benefit from it in the future. She has hopes that the board will build in some team building activities to create a more collaborative board environment for the future.
Public Input:
Shawn Works, North Berwick encouraged the SWOT process ( strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) to process the recent situation at the high school on Tuesday.
Mr. Works also noted the transportation needs for the athletic department and asked about coaches being able to drive.
Jeff Minihan, resident of South Berwick, great job for the work that you’re doing. He encouraged all the board members to review the board meeting video (particularly the section regarding Board Norms) and step out of it for a few minutes to watch how it played through live.
Executive Session 1 MRSA §405(6)(D) Labor Contract Negotiations- Ms. Basko made the motion and it was seconded by Ms. Wheeler to go into executive session pursuant to Executive Session 1 MRSA 405§(6)(D) Labor Contract Negotiations- Support Staff.
All members voted in favor and the motion passed. In at 9:59 pm. Out at 10:22 pm.
Adjournment:
Ms. Janousek made a motion and it was seconded by Ms. Herlihy to adjourn the meeting. All members voted in favor and the motion passed.
Adjourned at 10:22 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Audra Beauvais