April 1 Minutes

Minutes of the Regular Board Meeting

of

RSU #74 Board of Directors

Wednesday, April 1, 2020

6:00 p.m.

At

Carrabec Community School

Robert Demchak, Chair, called the meeting to order at 6:05 p.m.

Directors Present: Judi Dunphy, Robert Demchak, Troy Dunphy, Heather Longley, Grace Carreiro, Dwight Barron, Kevin Sousa, David Royce, Bobbi Sue Harrington, Valerie Pinkham, Robert Lindblom, Mike Cahill, Deron Whittemore, Ellen McQuiston, and Laura Layman.

Directors absent with notification: None

Directors Absent without notification: None

Staff Members Present: 8

Students Present: 0

Citizens Present:0

Agenda Item #1 ADJUSTMENTS TO THE AGENDA

Upon motion by Bobbi Sue Harrington and seconded by Ellen McQuiston the Board voted by roll call vote to postpone agenda item #8 the discussion of the closure of Garret Schenck. Motion Passed unanimously.

Agenda Item #2 TO SEE IF THE BOARD WILL APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE REGULAR BOARD MEETING OF MARCH 4, 2020 AND MARCH 11, 2020 AND THE MINUTES OF THE EMERGENCY BOARD MEETING OF MARCH 18, 2020.

Upon motion by Troy Dunphy and seconded by Deron Whittemore the Board voted by roll call vote 14-1- 1 to approve the Minutes of the Regular Board Meeting of March 4, 2020 and March 11, 2020 and the Minutes of the Emergency Board Meeting of March 18, 2020. Ellen McQuiston abstained. Motion Passed.

Agenda Item #3 PRESENTATIONS: None

Agenda Item #4 REPORTS:

A.) Superintendent’s Report

Mr. Tracy spoke about the $3,000 grant from the Jobs for Maine Graduates through the JMG program and about how the Good Shepard Food Bank had delivered 200 food boxes. He also gave an update on LD2167 and how they are waving regular attendance for the school year, paying contracted staff through the budgeted year, postponing the budget process, and continuing remote access meetings. He also touched base on the Teacher’s Negotiations and pushing that to the May meeting, and holding off on the budget and municipal meetings.

1. Appointments: None

2. Resignations:

Lisa Savage – Reading Interventionist - GSS

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?

Victoria Greene called in and asked about substitute teachers and in they can get unemployment. She was told that she would need to contact the unemployment office to find out.

Tammy Murray called in and asked “What did the Board do in reference to agenda item #8. She was told that it was postponed. She also asked about the towns and what happens with the lack of assessments. Mr. Demchak’s response to Mrs. Murray was to reach out to the Superintendent directly to discuss and advise.

Agenda Item #6 TO SEE IF THE BOARD WILL APPROVE THE PUBLIC PROCEEDINGS, INCLUDING SCHOOL BOARD MEETINGS THROUGH REMOTE ACCESS DURING “STATE OF EMERGENCY”.

Upon motion by Valerie Pinkham and seconded by Troy Dunphy the Board voted by unanimous consent to approve the public proceedings, including school board meetings through remote access during “State of Emergency”.

Agenda Item #7 TO SEE IF THE BOARD WILL APPROVE THE USE OF THE DRAFT OF THE DISTANCE/REMOTE LEARNING PLAN.

Upon motion by Troy Dunphy and seconded by Kevin Sousa the Board voted by roll call vote to approve the use of the draft of the distance/remote learning plan. Motion passed unanimously.

Agenda Item #8 TO SEE IF THE BOARD DISCUSS THE CLOSURE OF GARRET SCHENCK SCHOOL.

Upon motion by Bobbi Sue Harrington and seconded by Ellen McQuiston the Board voted by roll call vote to postpone agenda item #8 the discussion of the closure of Garret Schenck. Motion passed unanimously.

Agenda Item #9 ADJOURNMENT

The Board Chair declared the meeting adjourned at 7:32 pm.

________________________________

Michael Tracy

Superintendent