Nov. 3rd Minutes

Minutes of the Regular Board Meeting

of

RSU #74 Board of Directors

Wednesday, November 3, 2021

6:00 p.m.

At

Carrabec Community School

Troy Dunphy, Chair, called the meeting to order at 6:05 p.m.

Directors Present: Troy Dunphy, Judi Dunphy, Grace Carreiro, Pamela Mitchell, Larry Dunphy, Eric Ewing, Kevin Sousa, Valerie Pinkham, Bobbi sue Harrington, Robert Lindblom, Laura Layman, Amy Price, Deron Whittemore, and David Royce.

Directors absent with notification: Heather Longley

Directors Absent without notification: None

Staff Members Present: 14

Students Present: 1

Citizens Present: 10

Agenda Item #1 ADJUSTMENTS TO THE AGENDA

Upon motion by Amy Price and seconded by Robert Lindblom the Board voted by unanimous consent to remove item #6 from the agenda. Motion passed

Agenda Item #2 TO SEE IF THE BOARD WILL APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE REGULAR BOARD MEETING OF OCTOBER 6, 2021.

Upon motion by Amy Price and seconded by Kevin Sousa the Board voted by unanimous consent to approve the minutes of the regular board meeting of October 6, 2021. Motion passed.

Agenda Item #3 PRESENTATIONS: None

Agenda Item #4 REPORTS:

A.) Superintendent’s Report - Mr. Tracy spoke about the COVID-19 antigen testing that we are doing in the district, and the upcoming November 12^th PD day.

1. Appointments:

Jenney Rollins – After School Program - $1000 stipend

Loren Soucie – Part-Time Nurse – District – per contract

Kent Garland – Maintenance/Grounds – District – per contract

2. Resignations:

Doug Larlee – Grade 2 Teacher – CCS – end of school year

Priscilla Ellis – Grade 7 Teacher – CCS – end of school year

Lynn Smith – Ed Tech III – CCS – end of school year

3. Nominations: None

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

C.) Committees:

Academic Sub Committee met on October 13^th at 6pm – Laura Layman 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?

Trinity Slate spoke about a survey she did on masks at CHS.

Joyce Flanagan spoke about the number of kids missing from school due to be close contacts, and wanting to have masks and social distancing.

Jess Schobel spoke about masks and asked why it would work and keep more kids in school.

Ellen McQuiston spoke about the benefits of masking and support staff benefits.

Charlie Day spoke about our school being Tier III and why. He also wanted to know why we should have a mask mandate.

Donald Chretien spoke about his kids wearing masks for too long and what the alternative was if he pulled them out of school.

Henry Swihart spoke about masks, and how he did not think they worked or agree with a mask mandate.

Agenda Item #7 TO SEE IF THE BOARD WILL APPROVE A UNIVERSAL MAKS MANDATE THROUGH JANUARY 5^TH.

Upon motion by Laura Layman and seconded by David Royce agenda item #7 was open for discussion.

Upon motion by Amy Price and seconded by Judi Dunphy the Board voted 11-3 to move the question. Motion passed.

Upon motion by Upon motion by Laura Layman and seconded by David Royce the Board voted 8-6 to approve a universal mask mandate until January 5^th. Motion Passed.

Upon motion by Bobbi Sue Harrington and seconded by Larry Dunphy the Board voted by unanimous consent to direct the Superintendent to meet and consult with the Association to offer a synchronous learning option for all students prior to Thanksgiving break. Motion passed

Agenda Item #8 TO SEE IF THE BOARD WILL ENTER IN EXECUTIVE SESSION, TITLE 1, CHAPTER 13, SUBSECTION 405, PARAGRAPH 6.A. SUPERINTENDENT EVALUATION.

Upon motion by Kevin Sousa and seconded by Valerie Pinkham the Board entered into executive session at 8:08 pm.

Entered back into regular session at 8:39 pm

The Board Chair declared the meeting adjourned at 8:40 pm.

______________________________

Michael Tracy

Superintendent