April 2nd Minutes

Minutes of the Regular Board Meeting

of

RSU #74 Board of Directors

Wednesday, April 2, 2025

6:00 p.m.

At

New Portland Fire Station

Troy Dunphy, Chair, called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.

Directors Present: Troy Dunphy, Judi Dunphy, Kevin Sousa, Dallas Landry, Laura Layman, Brenda Stevens, Robert Lightbody, Georgiana Manzer, David Royce, Pam Mitchell, Eric Ewing, and Tori MacDonald

Directors absent with notification: Grace Carreiro, Doug Cahill, and Keith Plourd

Directors Absent without notification:  None

Staff Members Present: 8

Students Present: 0

Citizens Present:  3

Agenda Item #1. ADJUSTMENTS TO THE AGENDA

Agenda Item #10. To see if the RSU #74 Board of Directors will continue discussion on the 2025-2026 school budget.

Agenda Item #10. A. To see if the RSU #74 Board of Directors will approve a co-op lacrosse team with Mt. Blue.

Agenda Item #4. A.1. Appointments –

                                 John Tierney – Baseball Coach – CCS - $1,479

                                 Tracy Frost – Track Coach – CCS - $1,276

Agenda Item #2. TO SEE IF THE RSU #74 BOARD OF DIRECTORS WILL APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE REGULAR BOARD MEETING OF MARCH 5, 2025 AND THE SPECIAL BOARD MINUTES OF MARCH 19, 2025.

Upon motion by Kevin Sousa and seconded by Brenda Stevens the Board voted by unanimous consent to approve the minutes of the regular board meeting of March 5, 2025 and the special board minutes of March 19, 2025. Motion passed.

Agenda Item #3. PRESENTATIONS: None

Agenda Item #4. REPORTS: 

A.)    Superintendent’s Report

1. Appointments:

                     John Tierney – Baseball Coach – CCS - $1,479

                     Tracy Frost – Track Coach – CCS - $1,276

    2. Resignations: None

3.  Nominations:  None

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

C.)    Committees: Policy Committee met on March 12th

   Finance Committee met on March 12th

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

ACTION ITEMS:

Agenda Item #6. TO SEE IF THE RSU #74 BOARD OF DIRECTORS WILL APPROVE THE SECOND READINGS OF POLICIES IHBGA – HOMESCHOOLING PARTICIPATION IN SCHOOL PROGRAMS, IHCDA – POST-SECONDARY ENROLLMENT OPTION, IJJ – INSTRUCTIONAL AND LIBRARY-MEDIA MATERIALS SELECTION, AND IJJ-E – CHALLENGE OF INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS FORM.

Upon motion by Kevin Sousa and seconded by Brenda Stevens the Board voted by unanimous consent to approve the second readings of policies IHBGA – Homeschooling Participation in School Programs, IHCDA – Post-Secondary Enrollment Option, IJJ – Instructional and Library-Media Materials Selection, and IJJ-E – Challenge of Instructional Material Form. Motion passed.

Agenda Item #7. TO SEE IF THE RSU #74 BOARD OF DIRECTORS WILL APPROVE THE FIRST READING OF POLICY ILA – STUDENT ASSESSMENT.

Upon motion by Kevin Sousa and seconded by Brenda Stevens the Board voted by unanimous consent to approve the first reading of policy ILA – Student Assessment. Motion passed.

Agenda Item #8 TO SEE IF THE RSU #74 BOARD OF DIRECTORS WILL APPROVE THE FIRST READING OF POLICY IKE – PROMOTION, RETENTION, AND ACCELERATION OF STUDENTS.  

Upon motion by Kevin Sousa and seconded by Brenda Stevens the Board voted by unanimous consent to approve the first reading of policy IKE – Promotion, Retention, and Acceleration of Students. Motion passed.

Agenda Item #9 TO SEE IF THE RSU #74 BOARD OF DIRECTORS WILL APPROVE AN OVERNIGHT TRIP FOR 8TH GRADE TO MOOSEHEAD ON AUGUST 28TH AND 29TH, 2025.

Upon motion by Kevin Sousa and seconded by Brenda Stevens the Board voted by unanimous consent to approve an overnight trip for 8th grade to Moosehead on August 28th and 29th, 2025. Motion passed.

Agenda Item #10. A TO SEE IF THE RSU #74 BOARD OF DIRECTORS WILL APPROVE A CO-OP LACROSSE TEAM WITH MT. BLUE.

Upon motion by Kevin Sousa and seconded by Brenda Stevens the Board voted 11-1 to approve a co-op lacrosse team with Mt. Blue. Robert Lightbody voted no. Motion passed.

Agenda Item # 10 TO SEE IF THE RSU #74 BOARD OF DIRECTORS WILL CONTINUE DISCUSSION ON THE 2025-2026 SCHOOL BUDGET.

Upon motion by Kevin Sousa and seconded by Brenda Stevens agenda item #10 was open for discussion.

The Board Chair declared the meeting adjourned at 6:28 p.m.

___________________________

Mark L.  Campbell

Superintendent