Jan. 6 Minutes

Minutes of the Regular Board Meeting

of

RSU #74 Board of Directors

Wednesday, January 6, 2021

6:00 p.m.

At

Carrabec Community School

Troy Dunphy, Chair, called the meeting to order at 6:02 p.m.

Directors Present: Judi Dunphy, Robert Demchak, Troy Dunphy, Danika Bates, Valerie Pinkham, Robert Lindblom, Larry Dunphy, Ellen McQuiston, Grace Carreiro, Heather Longley, Laura Layman, and Deron Whittemore.

Directors absent with notification: Dwight Barron

Directors Absent without notification: Bobbi Sue Harrington

Staff Members Present: 13

Students Present: 1

Citizens Present: 0

Agenda Item #1 ADJUSTMENTS TO THE AGENDA

4. A.3 Nominations: Wendy Witham – 3/5 District PE Teacher

Billie Lawrence – Reading Interventionist & School Improvement Grant Coordinator - GSS

4.A. 1. Appointments – None

Agenda Item #3 PRESENTATIONS: None

Agenda Item #4 REPORTS:

A.) Superintendent’s Report - Mr. Tracy spoke about the district having more students in person, he talked about the budget timeline, the new EPL law, changing a couple of early release days to regular days, and the collaboration with Somerset Public Health and Somerset Sheriff’s Office.

1. Appointments: None

2. Resignations: None

3. Nominations: Wendy Witham – 3/5 District PE Teacher

Billie Lawrence – Reading Interventionist & School Improvement Grant Coordinator - GSS

Upon motion by Robert Demchack and seconded by Deron Whittemore the Board voted by unanimous consent by roll call vote to approve the nominations. Motion passed.

B.) Administrators: Written Reports were mailed to Board members and are available online at www.carrabec.org.

C.) Committees: Academic Committee met on December 12, 2020 – Laura will report at next meeting

Finance Committee met on December 16, 2020 – Audit Review – Troy Reported

Negotiations Committee met on December 17, 2020 – Troy Reported

Agenda Item #5 PUBLIC PARTICIPATION

On behalf of the RSU #74 Board of Directors, I want to make it clear that we encourage public comment during the Public Comment portion of this meeting. There are restrictions, however, on what is allowed to be discussed publicly. Those comments are limited to policy and procedures in general terms.

Comments or complaints that may pertain to personnel and/or personnel issues should be raised through RSU #74 School Board Policy JII/KI/GBK. This policy outlines the procedures to be followed.

Each individual choosing to speak tonight will be provided with 3 minutes so that we can hear from as many members of the public as possible.

The RSU #74 Board of Directors will follow RSU #74 School Board Policy BEDH/KD in that public participation will be limited to no more than 30 minutes in total length and that all comments at a regular meeting may deal with any topic related to the Board of Directors’ conduct of the schools. The Board of Directors shall give due attention to comments and contributions from the audience but shall not respond or take any immediate action.”

For those who wish to participate, please note that in order to keep things running smoothly, we do have a number of guidelines that people need to follow when making public comment. Those include the following:

1. Please address your thoughts to me, the Chair, and the rest of the School Board.

2. We expect all members of the public to remain civil during the public comment period. This includes the speaker, as well as members of the audience. This means you may not share gossip, make defamatory comments, or use abusive or vulgar language.

3. Individuals should not provide thoughts/reactions/commentary unless recognized by the Chair. We request that you do not clap, boo, or provide similar reactions.

4. Comments about specific individuals, including students and school employees, have the potential to violate the rights of those individuals, and will not be tolerated.

If the Board has specific procedures or policies with respect to the matter on which you are commenting, I may redirect you to those policies rather than allow you to continue. If another commenter discusses the issue you wish you discuss, you may address the Board, but please try to reduce repetition.

Please note that if you violate these rules or exceed the time allotted to you, I may give you a warning or ask you to stop. If you choose to continue, you will be asked to leave and escorted out.

On behalf of the Board, we appreciate your interest and look forward to hearing from you. I will now recognize the first speaker – are there any individuals present that would like to address the Board?

None

Agenda Item #6 TO SEE IF THE BOARD WILL APPROVE A ONE-YEAR EXTENSION TO THE SUPPORT STAFF CBA CONTRACT PER RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE NEGOTIATIONS SUB COMMITTEE.

Upon motion by Robert Demchak and seconded by Deron Whittemore the Board voted 12-0-1 by roll call vote to approve a one-year extension to the Support Staff CBA Contract per recommendations of the Negotiations Sub Committee. Ellen McQuiston abstained. Motion Passed.

Agenda Item #7 TO SEE IF THE BOARD WILL DISCUSS THE OPERATIONAL & ACADEMIC STATUS OF RSU #74 DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC.

Upon motion by Robert Demchak and seconded by Kevin Sousa the Board discussed the Operational & Academic status of RSU #74 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mr. Tracy went over a survey that was going to be sent out to all Teachers in the district.

The Board Chair declared the meeting adjourned at 7:10 pm.

________________________________

Michael Tracy

Superintendent