Feb 5 Minutes

Minutes of the Regular Board Meeting

of

RSU #74 Board of Directors

Wednesday, February 5, 2020

6:00 p.m.

At

Solon Elementary School


Robert Demchak, Chair, called the meeting to order at 6:00 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, Deron Whittemore, and Laura Layman.

Directors absent with notification: Mike Cahill and Ellen McQuiston

Directors Absent without notification: None

Staff Members Present: 10

Students Present: 1

Citizens Present:2

Agenda Item #1 ADJUSTMENTS TO THE AGENDA

Agenda Item #4. A)1. Richard Sirois changed to Richard Dwyer

Agenda Item 4.C. Committees: Restructure Committee met on January 22nd

Academic Committee met on January 29th

Finance Committee met on January 29th

Agenda Item #2 TO SEE IF THE BOARD WILL APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE REGULAR BOARD MEETING OF JANUARY 8, 2020.

Upon motion by Troy Dunphy and seconded by Kevin Sousa the Board voted by unanimous consent to approve the minutes of the Regular Board Meeting of January 8, 2020.

Agenda Item #3 PRESENTATIONS: None

Agenda Item #4 REPORTS:

A.) Superintendent’s Report

Mr. Tracy spoke about the current budget freeze, the reductions in the ED279, the NESDEC enrollment report, some letters that were received from the towns, and the Administrative goals.

1. Appointments:

Richard Dwyer – Varsity Softball Coach – CHS – per contract

2. Resignations:

Julie Richard – Athletic Director

3. Nominations:

Jill Shelley – Special Ed Teacher

Upon motion by Troy Dunphy and seconded by DeronWhittemore the Board voted by unanimous consent to approve the nomination.

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

C.) Committees:

Restructure Committee met on January 22nd – Troy Dunphy reported

Academic Committee met on January 29th – Laura Layman reported

Finance Committee met on January 29th – Robert Demchak 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?

None

Agenda Item #6 TO SEE IF THE BOARD WILL APPROVE THE SY 20-21 CALENDAR.

Upon motion by Troy Dunphy and seconded by Deron Whittemore the Board voted by unanimous consent to approve the SY 20-21 calendar.

Agenda Item #7 TO SEE IF THE BOARD WILL APPROVE THE MSMA WORKER’S COMPENSATION TRUST DOCUMENT CHANGES.

Upon motion by Troy Dunphy and seconded by Deron Whittemore the Board voted by unanimous consent to approve the MSMA Worker’s Compensation Trust Document changes.

Agenda Item #8 TO SEE IF THE BOARD WILL APPROVE THE BUDGET TIMELINE CHANGE OF THE REFERENDUM TO JUNE 9, 2020.

Upon motion by Troy Dunphy and seconded by Deron Whittemore the Board voted by unanimous consent to approve the budget timeline change of the Referendum to June 9, 2020.

Agenda Item #9 TO SEE IF THE BOARD WILL MAKE A MOTION TO RECEIVE AN RFP FROM AN ARCHITECT/ENGINEERING/FACILITIES ASSESSMENT FIRM FOR TH EPURPOSE OF SCHOOL RENOVATIONS, SUSTAINABILITY AND FEASABILITY ON GSS AND SOLON ELEMENTARY UP TO $30,000.

No motion was made. Fails from lack of motion.

Agenda Item #10 TO SEE IF THE BOARD WILL APPROVE POLICIES JJIC, JQ, KB, KBF, KHC, KIB, AND KNAA.

Upon motion by Troy Dunphy and seconded by Kevin Sousa the Board voted to discuss.

Upon motion by Bobbi Sue Harrington and seconded by Heather Longley the Board voted 6-7 to strike paragraph G from policy JJIC. Motion failed.

Upon motion by Bobbi Sue Harrington and seconded by Heather Longley the Board discussed possible changes to policy JJIC.

Upon motion by Bobbi Sue Harrington the motion was withdrawn.

Upon motion by Bobbi Sue Harrington and seconded by David Royce the Board voted by unanimous consent to table policy JJIC to the March Board meeting.

Upon motion by Troy Dunphy and seconded by Deron Whittemore the Board voted by unanimous consent to amend the original motion by removing policy JJIC.

Upon motion by Troy Dunphy and seconded by Deron Whittemore the Board voted by unanimous consent to approve the amended original motion.

Agenda Item #11 TO SEE IF THE BOARD WILL ENTER INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION UNDER TITILE 1, SUBCHAPTER 1, SUBSECTION 405.6.d. – DISCUSSION OF LABOR CONTRACTS, ADMINISTRATORS.

Upon motion by Troy Dunphy and seconded by David Royce the Board entered into Executive session at 6:56 pm.

The Board entered back into regular session at 7:12 pm.

In result of executive session, a motion was made to give the current Administrators two year contracts. The vote was 12-1-0. Motion passed.

Agenda Item #8 ADJOURNMENT

The Board Chair declared the meeting adjourned at 7:15 pm.

________________________________

Michael Tracy

Superintendent