September 1 Minutes

Minutes of the Regular Board Meeting

of

RSU #74 Board of Directors

Wednesday, September 1, 2021

6:00 p.m.

At

Carrabec Community School

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

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

Directors absent with notification: Deron Whittemore

Directors Absent without notification:

Staff Members Present: 16

Students Present: 3

Citizens Present: 15

Agenda Item #1 ADJUSTMENTS TO THE AGENDA

Upon motion by Larry Dunpy and seconded by David Royce the Board voted 14-0 by roll call vote to add agenda item 6a. To see if the Board will approve the RSU #74 School-Level Response Plan. Motion passed.

Agenda Item #2 TO SEE IF THE BOARD WILL APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE REGULAR BOARD MEETING OF AUGUST 5, 2021.

Upon motion by Kevin Sousa and seconded by Judi Dunphy the Board voted 14-0 by roll call vote to approve the minutes of the Regular Board Meeting of August 5, 2021.

Agenda Item #3 PRESENTATIONS: Academic Goals – Mr. Tracy (moved to next regular meeting).

Agenda Item #4 REPORTS:

A.) Superintendent’s Report - Mr. Tracy gave a background on masks and then read a letter that he sent to Dr. Shah. He then reported how there were 38 children in Maine under the age of 20 had been hospitalized and 1 death in 18 months. He then cited the law on immunizations, talked about the duties of the Superintendent, and a call he had with Drummond Woodsum about how schools can legally mandate masks. He also went over the changes to the Maine CDC’s SOP, and gave the exemptions from having to quarantine.

1. Appointments:

Brian Twitchell – Instructional Coach - $5000 stipend

Heather Austin – Fourth Grade Teacher – GSS *hired in August

2. Resignations:

Wendy Witham – Ed Tech III – CCS

3. Nominations: None

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

C.) Committees: None

Upon motion by Bobbi Sue and seconded by Kevin Sousa the Board voted 12-2 by roll call vote to move agenda item #5b after 6, amended to be places during item 6a. Motion passed.

Upon motion by Robert Lindblom and seconded by Kevin Sousa the Board voted 14-0 by roll call vote to amend the motion to move the public comment to after agenda item #6a. Motion passed.

Agenda Item #5a. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION ESSER III/CARES III Funding

Jean gave an updated.

Larry Dunphy asked about the roof project and the use of federal money.

Agenda Item #6 TO SEE IF THE BOARD WILL APPROVE THE YEARLY UPDATE TO THE COMPREHENSIVE EMERGENCY PLAN.

Upon motion by Eric Ewing and seconded by Kevin Sousa the Board voted 14-0 by roll call vote to approve the yearly Comprehensive Emergency Plan. Motion passed.

Agenda Item #6a. TO SEE IF THE BOARD WILL APPROVE THE RSU #74 SCHOOL-LEVEL RESPONSE PLAN.

Agenda Item #5b. 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?

Mr. Coro spoke against the RSU #74 School-Level Response Plan.

Ms. Greene Spoke about considering splitting the Junior High into two sections with this plan.

Mr. Day spoke against the RSU #74 School-Level Response Plan, and other concerns with the accuracy of data.

Mr. Swihart spoke against the RSU #74 School-Level Response Plan.

Mr. Atwood spoke about the RSU #74 School-Level Response Plan.

Upon motion by Robert Lindblom and seconded by Kevin Sousa the Board voted 0-14 by roll call vote to approve the RSU #74 School-Level Response Plan. Motion failed.

Upon motion by Bobbi Sue Harrington and seconded by Valarie Pinkham the Board voted 3-11 by roll call vote to see if the Board would adjourn. Motion failed.

Upon motion by David Royce and seconded by Larry Dunphy the Board voted 13-1 by roll call vote to move the question. Motion passes.

Upon motion by Bobbie Sue Harrington and seconded by Kevin Sousa the Board voted 9-4 by roll call vote to stay in green until the CDC tells us to shut down. Motion passed.

The Board Chair declared the meeting adjourned at 9:00 pm.

______________________________

Michael Tracy

Superintendent