July 9, 2025
To: RSU #74 Board of Directors
From: Mark L. Campbell, Superintendent
Re: Special July Meeting
We have called this meeting to seek your support for nominations to fill vacancies in positions you have had prior knowledge of. We have had a couple more resignations recently that we need to advertise for and fill over the remainder of the summer. As well, we have a few more items to close out the last fiscal year which I will explain in this letter.
Appointments:
When co-curricular nominees were requested last spring, Marc Collard’s math coach position was left off the list. The success of the Math Team under Marc speaks for itself.
Angela filled this position for us last year.
Resignations:
Julie Clark submitted her resignation from grade 4 in Anson. I wish to publically thank Julie for taking the risk last fall to switch from Title I to the classroom where she did a wonderful job.
Nominations:
Julie Clark has requested to fill the vacant Title I position at Garret Schenck. Her strong work with students at CCS in Title I makes her an excellent choice for this position.
Angela Dunton is being recommended to fill the vacant Special Education position in Solon.
Sarah Dutch is being recommended to fill the vacant 6th grade position at CCS. Sarah has several years of experience in the classroom. Her reference shared her effectiveness in the classroom was due to her strong efforts to build relationships with her students. Her lessons are developed to build student interest and improve student engagement.
Action Items:
Item 6 is to see if you will sign the town assessments for the 2025-2026 budget.
Item 7 is asking for your support of our nominee for Dean of Students/AD. We had several candidates for this position and were happy with the qualities of candidates who we interviewed. We are recommending Rachel Merrill. Rachel has spent the last 8 years as the Principal at the Maine Arts Academy originally at Snow Pond and currently operating out of Augusta. An alumni of Carrabec, Rachel is looking to return to Carrabec to fill a combined position. Her references praised her for the work she has been doing at the Arts Academy to provide a learning environment that is safe and promotes a positive learning environment.
Item 8 is asking for your support of our nominee for Director of Special Education. Again, we had a pool of applicants with extensive experience in Special Education and are happy to send forth Tammy Wyman as our nominee. After spending 3 decades in the classrooms supporting students with IEPs, Tammy has spent the last several years as the Special Education Director for the charter school based out of Skowhegan. Her current caseload in the charter school is only slightly smaller than the RSU 74 caseload. Her experiences in her current position and actions taken in this role, makes her an excellent candidate to be our new director. An advocate for students with needs, but focused on following the legal processes to ensure the plans are written to suppor their academic and social/emotional needs.
Item 9 is asking for transfer of funds to cover an overage in Maintenance. I was presented with 3 options to correct an accidental payment of an extra payment on the energy loan taken out by one of my predecessors about 11 years ago. The payment is roughly $250,000. We made the payment for the last fiscal year in July when it is due. We received the invoice for the current fiscal year in early June so it was added to a June warrant. Although there are ways to clear this up with journal transfers, leaving it as is with the current balance forward, we build a cushion in the Maintenance budget for unforeseen expenditures. If no such expenses arise, the money will become part of our balance forward for the next fiscal year. This is my recommendation. We can transfer up to 5% between lines. The balance in Regular Education is in excess of the amount needed and 5% of that line is in excess of $400,000. This transfer will leave us with a positive balance in both lines.
Item 10 is a similar transfer. Again, the numbers all work out to leave positive balances in both lines. I expected when this first arose in the fall that over time it would work out to balance but with limited personnel in this line. The lining of the contract for the CCS principal for the fiscal year caused the issue. The prior administrator’s contract began in September and the current administrator’s contract is July 1. With no other changes in personnel, paying two people for the same position did not permit for the double salary to see recovery hence the overdraft.
Item 11 will allow me to update the Board on pending legal matters.