Maine School Administrative District No. 35

Board of Directors - Regular Meeting

Marshwood High School - 7:00 pm

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

            CITIZENS ARE INVITED TO MAKE COMMENTS ON ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA USING THE CARDS LOCATED NEXT TO THE AGENDAS.  A BOARD MEMBER WILL RESPOND TO ALL WRITTEN COMMENTS WITHIN A WEEK.

7:00      Call to Order

Present:            Mrs. Helene Cass, Mrs. Ellen Breed, Mrs. Susan Pullar, Mrs. Martha

                         Leathe, Mr. Ralph Stevens, Dr. Gerald Clockedile and Ms. Gail Sullivan

Also present:     Mrs. Shepherd, Mrs. Valerie McKenney, Mr. Randy Stewart, Mrs. Vicki

                         Stewart, Mr. Richard Buzzell, Ms. Sally Lewin, Ms. Deanna Rix, and

                         interested members of the public and press

Pledge of Allegiance

Scheduled Audience to the Public- None

            Members of the public who wish to schedule an audience with the Board should contact the Superintendent of Schools three days in advance of a meeting.

Report of the Secretary:

1.         Consideration and action to approve the minutes of  the regular meeting of May 3, 2006 and the special meeting of May 5, 2006.

            Motion:  Mrs. Pullar  Second:  Mrs. Breed  Vote: 5-0

Report of the Chairperson:

Rep. Sally Lewin presented a commendation to Deanna Rix. Rep. Lewin explained that on Nov. 16, 2005 the Sentiment was read into the legislative record. The Sentiment recognizes Deanna's many accomplishments as a wrestler.  It recognized her as the 2005 Girl Wrestler of the Year. The Sentiment was read into the record by Senator Andrews, Rep. Dick Brown and Rep. Sally Lewin.

Mrs. Cass confirmed what each Board member would be reviewing for the public hearing on May 31st.

Superintendent’s Report:

Dr. Clockedile said that there was a very special event at Eliot Elementary School this morning. Mrs. Shepherd went on to explain that she had nominated Julie MacGown for the Seadogs/UNUM Provident Teacher Hall of Fame Award. It was a surprise to Julie and the school that she had won. She is one of nine teachers selected for this honor in Maine. She will be recognized at a Seadogs game on June 9th. She will get her own uniform, four tickets to the game, and a skybox seat.  She will get to throw out the first pitch and she will also receive $500.

Dr. Clockedile summarized the last two days. He complimented the district bus drivers for working with us to establish alternate routes, since many of the roads were closed. The drivers went out on Tuesday and drove the routes to make sure there wouldn't be any problems. Things went remarkably well today. In fact, attendance was slightly higher than normal. By tomorrow we will have access to all roads in South Berwick.

a.         Pandemic Influenza Planning - Dr. Clockedile explained that although there have been no cases yet, State officials are encouraging people to start planning. The Governor will name county coordinators to work with the school districts. The challenge for the district will be to figure out how to continue education for students when school is not in session and everyone is at home.

b.         Changes in Dropout Calculations - Dr. Clockedile said that we participated in a teleconference with the Commissioner  to discuss the implications of the new dropout calculations. This new calculation starts with entering freshman.

c.         PLATO - year end update - The Board packet included summary information about the PLATO program. Performance data so far seems to indicate that students are benefiting from PLATO remediation. We have also seen significant gains for SAT's and PSAT'S in students who worked on the PLATO preparation program.

d.         York Institute Program - We have several teachers who have signed up for various courses at the York Institute, including Skillfull Teacher, Everyday Math and Differentiation.

e.         USM ETEP Program - Involvement - We want to get involved in the ETEP Program in the hopes that good interns will stay with us as full time teachers, especially in the areas of science and math.

f.          Chemical Disposal Coop - We have found small amounts of chemicals in our audit that need to be disposed. Through the Coop we will get the best pricing for disposals.

g.         Resignations:  Dr. Clockedile has accepted the resignation of Zachary McLaughlin, MHS social studies teacher, Merrill Cousens, MHS English Teacher and Dept. Chair at Marshwood High School and the resignation of Wanda Avery, Assistant Principal at Marshwood Junior High School, who has been offered a job in Kittery as a Principal.

h.         MLTI Conference at MHS - This has been cancelled.

Correspondence -

We received a thank you card for the flowers sent to the nurses for Nurse Appreciation Day.

Report of Committees:

1.         Report of the Finance and Facilities Committee - None

2.         Report of the Educational Policy Committee - The policies that we are looking at tonight are as a result of the committee's work.

3.         Report of the Community Relations Committee - The committee met and mapped out ideas for the next issue of the Newsline. There will be a letter from the Superintendent, a letter from the Board, a profile of a school volunteer and other articles.

New Business:

1.         Consideration and action to approve the 2006-2007 School Calendar.

            Motion: Mrs. Breed  Second: Mr. Stevens Vote: 5-0

2.         Consideration and action to approve field hockey positions at MJHS.

            Motion: Mrs. Pullar  Second: Mrs. Leathe  Vote: 5-0

3.         Consideration and action to approve the following personnel items:

            Nominations:

            Florence Larson, Director of Technology, effective 9/5/2006

            Penny Gagnon, OT/COTA - First Teacher Probationary to Second Teacher Probationary Contract

            Motion:  Mr. Stevens  Second: Mrs. Pullar   Vote: 5-0

4.         Consideration and action to approve “The MSAD #35 Assessment Philosophy and Practice Statement.”

            Motion: Mrs. Pullar Second: Mrs. Breed Vote: 5-0

            There were numerous suggestions about how to change and correct the statement, so we will review it again at the next meeting.

5.         Consideration and action to approve policy IJND/IJND-R, MSAD #35 Website and Guidelines, first reading.

            Motion: Mrs. Breed  Second:  Mrs. Pullar  Vote: 5-0

            The board wishes pagination on that policy.

6.         Consideration and action to approve policy JICEC School-Sponsored and Non-School Sponsored Student Publications, first reading.

            Motion: Mrs. Breed Second: Mr. Stevens  Vote: 5-0

7.         Consideration and action to approve the MHS Softball Boosters fundraiser.

            Motion: Mrs. Pullar  Second: Mr. Stevens  Vote: 5-0

Mrs. Stewart said that they had volunteers working to spruce up their garden at Central School over the weekend. She informed the Board that the "Hike Thru History" had been postponed until May 25th. Mrs. Cass acknowledged the accomplishments of the Girls' Tennis team, which is currently number two, the girls' lacrosse team, which is currently three, and the girls' softball team, which is currently in the middle of the pack.

Adjournment

Motion: Mrs. Breed  Second:  Mr. Stevens  Vote: 5-0

The Board adjourned at 8:05 pm.

Attest:  True Record

Dr. Gerald S. Clockedile

Secretary to the Board of Directors