March 3rd Minutes

Minutes of the Regular Board Meeting

of

RSU #74 Board of Directors

Wednesday, March 3, 2021

6:00 p.m.

At

Carrabec Community School

Troy Dunphy, Chair, called the meeting to order at 6:10 p.m.

Directors Present: Judi Dunphy, Robert Demchak, Troy Dunphy, Danika Bates, Valerie Pinkham, Larry Dunphy, Ellen McQuiston, Laura Layman, Kevin Sousa, Robert Lindblom, and Deron Whittemore.

Directors absent with notification: Grace Carreiro and Heather Longley,

Directors Absent without notification: Dwight Barron and Bobbi Sue Harrington

Staff Members Present: 7

Students Present: 0

Citizens Present: 0

Agenda Item #1 ADJUSTMENTS TO THE AGENDA

Add agenda item #4. A. 2 Resignation – Ellen McQuiston – Anson Board Member – Effective June 30, 2021

Agenda Item #2 TO SEE IF THE BOARD WILL APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE REGULAR BOARD MEETING OF FEBRUARY 3, 2021.

Upon motion by Robert Demchak and seconded by Deron Whittemore the Board voted 11-0 by roll call vote to approve the minutes of the regular Board Meeting of February 3, 2021. Motioned passed.

Agenda Item #3 PRESENTATIONS: None

Agenda Item #4 REPORTS:

A.) Superintendent’s Report - Mr. Tracy spoke about the budget, graduation requirements, he informed the Board that the Legislature is in session with many bills that could affect education.

1. Appointments: None

2. Resignations:

Isaac Davis – Special Ed. Ed. Tech III – CHS

Ellen McQuiston – Anson Board Member – Effective June 30, 2021

3. Nominations: None

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

C.) Committees: None

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 THE SECOND READING OF POLICY ACAC.

Upon motion by Robert Demchak and seconded by Deron Whittemore the Board voted 11-0 by roll call vote to approve the second reading of policy ACAC. Motioned passed.

Agenda Item #7 TO SEE IF THE BOARD WILL APPROVE THE 21/22 STUDENT CALENDAR.

Upon motion by Robert Demchak and seconded by Deron Whittemore the Board voted 9-2 by roll call vote to approve the 21/22 student calendar. Motion passed.

Agenda Item #8 TO SEE IF THE BOARD WILL MOVE THAT THE SUPERINTENDENT, IN ACCORDANCE WITH POLICIES DJ AND DJ-R, BE AUTHORIZED TO FOREGO COMPETITIVE BIDDING OF CERTAIN PURCHASES TO BE FUNDED BY FEDERAL CORONAVIRUS RELIEF FUND DOLLARS BECAUSE (i) THE PURCHASES ARE ONLY AVAILABLE FROM ONE SOURCE; OR (ii) THE GRANT FUNDING DEADLINE FOR EXPENDITURE OF CRF FUNDS DOES NOT PERMIT THE DELAYS THAT A COMPETITIVE BID PROCESS WOULD CAUSE FOR EMERGENCY PURPOSES, AS DOCUMENTED BY THE SUPERINTENDENT, WHICH SHALL BE INCORPORATED INTO THE SCHOOL BOARD MINUTES.

Upon motion by Robert Demchak and seconded by Deron Whittemore the Board discussed.

Upon motion by Valarie Pinkham and seconded by Deron Whittemore the Board voted 8-3 by roll call vote to move the question. Motion passed.

Upon motion by Robert Demchak and seconded by Deron Whittemore the Board voted 8-3 by roll call vote to move that the Superintendent, in accordance with policies DJ and DJ-R, be authorized to forego competitive bidding of certain purchases to be funded by federal coronavirus relief fund dollars because (i) the purchases are only available from one source; or (ii) the grant funding deadline for expenditure of CRF funds does not permit the delays that a competitive bid process would cause for emergency purposes, as documented by the superintendent, which shall be incorporated into the school board minutes. Motion passed.

Agenda Item #9 TO SEE IF THE BOARD WILL APPROVE A TEMPORARY CLASSROOM STRUCTURE AT CCS WITH THE USE OF FEDERAL GRANT MONEY.

Upon motion by Robert Demchak and seconded by Deron Whittemore the agenda item was asked to be amended to see if the Board will approve plan A and if not allowed implement plan D.

Upon motion by Robert Demchak and seconded by Deron Whittemore the motion to amend was withdrawn.

General discussion among the Board was for the Superintendent to look for internal space within the district.

The Board took no action. Motion died.

AGENDA ITEM #10 TO SEE IF THE BOARD WILL DISCUSS THE DISTRICT ATHLETIC DIRECTOR POSITION.

Upon motion by Robert Demchak and seconded by Deron Whittemore the motion was made to add a stipend for the Athletic Director to the budget.

Upon motion by Robert Demchak and seconded by Deron Whittemore the Board voted 11-0 by roll call vote to approve adding a stipend for the Athletic Director to the budget. Motion passed.

The Board Chair declared the meeting adjourned at 7:55 pm.

______________________________

Michael Tracy

Superintendent