001e e e School Board uh meeting for Wednesday August 11 2021 call the meeting to order at 7 p.m. let the record reflect that all school board members are present with the exception of school board member tardiff with that like to invite everybody to join us in the Pledge of Allegiance thank you very much uh item three on the agenda approval of school meeting minutes dated July 14 2021 is there a motion to approve the minutes Mr Mayor School Board member Truman I move we approve the school board committee meeting it's dated July 14th 2021 motion's been made is there a second second second by the school board member prebble any discussion roll call vote on approval of the minutes School Board member Shay School Board member prebble yes School Board member Richard yes School
002Board member L Fortune yes School Board member Truman yes School Board member Johnston the motion passes five with one extend exstension brings us to item four adjustments to the agenda is there any adjustments to the agenda tonight Mr Mayor School Board member of Fortune I move we add under item 12 new business nomination of assistant principal SMS and for informational purposes letter from Sako School physician regarding proposal for fall open motion's been made by school board member fortun is there a second second second by School Board member prebble any discussion roll call vote Schoolboard member Shay yes School Board member prebble yes Schoolboard member Richard yes School Board member L Fortune yes Schoolboard member Truman yes and Schoolboard member Johnston yes motion passes 60 brings us to item five of the agenda correspondence I don't
003see any correspondence on the agenda tonight that brings us to item six public comment uh I've grabbed both sheets from the back so we'll call folks up uh order are they signed up so first up is Tom sturgeon again those that wishing to speak please speak directly into the microphone say your name and address for the record please Tom sturgeon 26 ear Road I'm not really sure what the I got notice late as this meeting was taking place and I'm assuming maybe wrongly that there will be a discussion about what how we're going to take these kids to school this fall am I right on that there will be some discussion later on this evening about the return to school plan okay I just have a couple of comments uh I don't know how anybody
004on this board feels but I hope and pray that you don't feel that you have the power to make a decision for these children over the concerns of their mothers and fathers you don't have that power nobody's given it to you and I really hope you check yourselves if you think you do requiring Mass unless you can show me some science that says that it's necessary or show me science that says it's good to lock these children down and make them wear masks and keep them separated from their friends cover their faces when we've already know for a fact that is detrimental to them they all behind academically that's been proven over the what's happened in the last year and a half as well as socially and emotionally they've been hindered and please don't make
005that mistake again let it be up to the parents that's who it belongs to it doesn't belong to any official sitting in front of me or any official in Washington or the state level it's up to the parents and it needs to stay there please thank thank you thank [Applause] you up next is Michael Paul hello I'm Michael Paul I live at 172 flag Pawn uh flag Pawn Road I've been a member of this community for many generations and what's been going on the past year and a half is terrible but when it comes to mask that our children in schools it has to be left up to the parents if they if you feel they have child's unsafe going to school and you want them to wear a mask go ahead let him wear
006a mask I feel safe for my son going to socc middle school without one I do not want him wearing a mask and I know there's other parents that feel the exact same way I do leave it up to the parents please thank you thank you up next is Christine Paul you've already heard from me I sent a little bit of information ahead of time because I have more than three minutes worth uh it's no longer okay to just hide blindly behind the CDC did you know that covid-19 has never been isolated call the CDC and ask did you know that there's no test for the Delta variant call the CDC and ask test me on 7:21 the CDC quietly announced that effective 1231 the PCR test would no longer be approved for use due
007to the high false positive rate last year and its inability to distinguish between covid-19 and the flu there's your flu numbers on a both a medical and legal standpoint there's a lot more scientific proof that shows that mask are not only ineffective but also very dangerous if worn for long periods of time it's like having a petri dish around a very bacteria filled part of of a children's child or anyone's body there have been hundreds of math Studies released over the years showing that influence a transmission over several decades wellestablished fact that masks do not stop viruses they actually remain trapped and can make matters worse all parties mandating the use of face masks are not only willful willfully ignoring established science but are engaging in what amounts to a whol school clinical experimental trial
008it's the scientific opinion pieces that are being pushed by the CDC and others the fact is after reviewing all of the studies worldwide the CDC found no reduction and viral transmission with the use of face masks children have been repeatedly shown not to be drivers of this uh contagion as well not to mention the list of psychological burdens task performance work efficiency has been shown to be affected a national Taiwan University Hospital concluded that the use of n95 not n95 5 mass and healthcare workers had produced a low level of oxygen in the blood and an elevation of carbon dioxide levels for anyone with cancer or any other underlying conditions it can actually cause inflammation and make these things grow and be much more detrimental a mandatory mouth mask in school is a major threat
009to a child's development with their emotional connection with others as well there are no efficaces standards on Childs siiz masks or respirators under oser but there are proven mic M microbial challenges as well as breathing difficulties that are created requiring children to wear masks that's the stage for Contracting any infection included covid-19 making the consequences of that infection much Graver Mass may very well put children at an increased risk of infection and if so of having a far worse outcome promoting the use of a non-fda approved emergency use authorization mask is unwarranted and illegal this mandate is in direct conflict with Section 360 bbb- three which requires the wearer to be informed of the option to refuse wearing of such device misrepresenting the use of a mask as being intended for antiviral protection or misrepresenting
010mask for use as an infection prevention is a deceptive practice under FTC I also wanted to mention there was a study in Florida where parents sent in six masks and I actually heard these parents speak in Tampa myself one day they used masks three were surgical two were cotton and one was a poly Gator at the end of the day 11 dangerous pathogens showed up on the mass that caused epia pneumonia and menitis five of The Masks were found to be contaminated with parasites fungi and bacteria only one mask was found to contain a virus that can cause a fatal systematic disease in cattle and deer other less harmful pathogens that were found cause ulcers acne and strep throat so I think people need to look into the science and masks should definitely be something
011that the parent should decide my son will not be wearing one thank you up next is Lauren Grenier um my name is Lauren grineer and I live at um 81 Jenkins Road um I am here asking you um that you make masking optional um for this school year uh we have now learned that even if vaccinated covid-19 can still be spread though it can Aid in less severe cases and no hospitalization which mimics a child's reaction to co 19 infection according to the CDC there quote there is some evidence that vaccination may make ill illness less severe in people who get vaccinated but still get sick the same CD CDC says quote hospitalization rates in children are significantly lower than adults suggesting that children may have less severe illness from Co so thr so thr
012the CDC uses the same vocabulary to describe the severity of infection between vaccinated adults and unvaccinated children their recommendations are completely different for each party from the CDC website on July 28th quote fully vaccinated people can participate in many of the activities that they did before the pandemic for some of those activities sorry I'm on my tippy toes so I'm like shaking for some of those activities they may choose to wear a mask the same CDC on the same day said quote CDC recommends Universal indoor masking for all teachers staffs students and visitors to school regardless of vaccination status the CDC website also States on July 28th that fully vaccinated people can resume domestic travel and refrain from testing before or after travel and from and refrain from self quarantine after travel while the same
013CDC is recommending that our children be subjected to pulled covid-19 testing just for sitting at their desks furthermore the mental health of our children has been ignored this entire pandemic and is a travesty and in itself the true pandemic covering a child's face causes anxiety depression emotionless interactions causing distraction from learning and social developments how can you tell me that at recess masks can be optional when the entire playground equipment is open being touched over and over over by multiple children friends can hug each other laugh with each other yell in each other's faces hold hands all while being maskless but when they are three feet apart sitting at a desk reading a book writing an essay doing multiplication they must cover their faces it just does not make sense so please with this in
014mind I am asking you that we use common sense following the footsteps of our fellow main communities such as Turner Dober foxcraft Newport corneth Milo and Lewiston and give us as parents the right to choose the healthiest and best way to send our children to school by making masking optional and at this point I don't know how you cannot after we all just stood up together masked and unmas with our hands on our hearts and said with liberty and justice for all thank you thank you up next is is Jane hilderbrand I hope that I said that correctly thank you I'm gonna read from my phone because my printer stopped working of course um I'm Jane hbr and my address is 40 Oak Street um why am I here today I am here to be
015the voice for my 5-year-old um who he wants nothing to be more nothing than more to be in school and with his friends growing and learning together my son is smart enthusiastic and and empathetic child he excelled last year even though he was forced to wear mask all day he put up with it so he could be in school I would think about him all day while I was working though thinking about him with a mask on his face and just hoping that he would be okay it has been shown that kids may suffer from the following negative effects from wearing a mask all day oxygen deprivation anxiety difficulty breathing headaches rashes feeling isolated fear fatigue decreased socialization doctors from all over the country and the world are talk are talking about the effects and
016the evidence of increased anxiety depression aggression antisocial Behavior there is an increase in ER visits for anxiety up 25% in ages 5 to 11 and 31% in ages 12 to 7 17 compared to 2019 none of this is being discussed the the experts that come on then talk about all they talk about is covid co covid vaccines they don't talk about the mental health impact this has had on our children I might be okay with masks if there was concrete tangible evidence that it actually prevents the spread of covid but due to constantly changing guidance and data I really begin to open my eyes I I've witnessed him come home with rash rashes on his face red eyes increased fatigue from wearing a mask all day but every morning he was still excited to go
017to school and see his friends masks do not signify Freedom they are causing our children to live in fear and isolation and to be compliant that's not Freedom this is a free country we are driving our children of oxygen and social interaction they so desperately need for healthy development kids need to be exposed to common everyday germs to build a healthy immune system we should be concerned with the fact that this is the time when they build their immune systems and what's going to happen when they come into everyday common germs and I have several concerns and recommend that we all ask ourselves how long are we going to do this how long are we going to put our kids through this Corona virus and its variant are never going to go away Dr Stock
018in Indi Indiana recently stated and it's all over the internet right now the virus cannot be eradicated by a vaccine because it has an animal Reservoir we also recently learned that FDA is recalling the PCR test because it can't differentiate between the flu and covid so how many cases of covid were actually the flu I'm really asking you to look Beyond mainstream because we are being lied to one could draw the conclusion that decisions around covid-19 Mass lockdowns have been based on inflated numbers as a result masks do not prevent the spread of covid the virus particals are too small the only mask that may be somewhat effective is the n95 mask there was a jamama pediatric study that was retracted for political reasons after just 3 minutes of mask wearing the level of CO2
019under children's face masks was deemed to be at an unsafe and unacceptable level their blood oxygen is being deprived of all their organs their brains like this is pure Insanity rebreathing excelled air results in oxygen deprivation it's common sense we want nothing more than to be able to send our children to school in a normal environment and they want nothing more than to be there we cannot justify putting our kids through this I cannot put a mask on my son's face again all year he said Mommy I don't want to wear a mask anymore I don't want to it's it's killing me like me as a parent I can't stand it he has so much potential I'm asking you to let these children reach their maximum potential we really need to ask questions CU we're
020been given incorrect data we should have the right to choose as parents our children should have the right to choose and we need to be the voices for our children in ensuring their health and well-being let kids be kids so they can grow together we are asking for consideration of you you all please Implement an optional Mass policy it should be our decision as parents to oversee the health and well of our children and I fully support anyone who wants to wear a mask that's a personal choice that is freedom of choice this is a free country I will accept any liability for anything that happens to my son if I choose not for him not to wear a mask I'll sign any paper saying that we should have the right to choose so please
021consider it strongly and look Beyond mainstream media thank you thank you uh up next is uh I think it's Aaron Kimble today my name's Aaron Kimble I live at 40 Oak Street this has all been a very stressful situation for everyone and I understand everyone's concerns I truly do the reality of it is is that our constitutional rights do not stop where any one of you feelings begin that's the reality if you feel as though you need to wear a mask by all means please wear a mask wear an wear an n95 mask if you if there's any parent that has a child with a condition that puts them at risk for covid which by the way would also put them at risk for any other virus that a year and a half ago they
022never had to wear a mask and they would still be at risk of suffering some type of complication now all of a sudden we have this magic virus that is going to compromise everyone's immune system because what fouchi said so because CNN told you that you know I Look to You people to be smart and to help us to support us we look to you to give good guidance as well but that good guidance shouldn't just come blindly we expect as parents for all of you to do research real research not just sit up on a board and make decisions that you feel you should make feelings are over I want to see data if you're going to make a decision that affects every child in this school district I want to see factual data
023in if you can't provide that what right do you have to make that decision I ask you please let us as parents who do actually take the time to sit down and actually do research I have been doing research for seven months I have gone to countless sites and looked at countless studies which by the way 18 months ago remember this we all used to look at these prestigious colleges and the most pristine scientific data analysis around the country and we looked at these places for answers and now all of a sudden it's like we're just going to ignore them oh they must be radical right people people they're the same people it's like we've forgotten how to actually do research so please before you decide to make a decision please do a little homework
024we make our kids do homework we're expecting that from you as well so please allow us as the parents who have done research to make our choices for our children thank you thank you very much that is the end of those that have signed up is are there any other public comment if so come forward and be heard moving on from public comment item seven on the agenda superintendent's report superintendent Ray okay a lot of items tonight okay um as we start to think about uh the return to the school year certainly every school district out there has people in needs for substitutes Ed techs teachers so if anybody's out there waa watching that wants to be a substitute teacher please contact the school department we can use you uh we know last year that
025that was one of the challenges that we faced as a school department was uh around having enough substitut and uh please reach out we we'll put you to work um I would ask parents to please update their students bus information it is very difficult on day one as the phones ring for everybody in the transportation office as there's last minute changes so do that now because our job uh to try to do our best on day one um as we look at our sr3 funds uh certainly anyone from the board and the public who has comments about how uh we can use some of those whether that be for Building improvements uh or throughout the district please uh reach out to me and to think about those pieces uh in the purchase uh in the
026process of looking at tents uh for schools this year last last fall we had uh some tents that uh flew around a little bit and I've been working with Ryan to figure out how we can have uh tents so that we can use those all year round uh within our community and Ryan's looking at storage uh for those that are of a higher quality um also wanted to talk to uh the board and just discuss that uh we are doing some evaluations of front doors of schools and the lock system uh and throughout all of our district it's pretty much a different key for a different lack uh we don't have a swipe card system and I think that's a real weakness for us here and uh we are doing some evaluations of what that
027would cost and how we could use federal fun to pay for those pieces either Sr two or Sr three um some good news that is out there as well is that the state has announced uh the opening of applications for revolving Renovations funds so on top of U the ability that we know we have a school building project coming up revolving Renovations funds will be uh due to the state on I think it's October 29th and what those look at is a lot of ADA things some um deficiencies in roofings Windows um air quality and you'll put together applications um where if your project is funded because Sako is a receiver of about 50% funding you have the ability to accept a loan so let's say that uh we had qualified for $250,000 worth of
028a roof replacement and that was acceptable and we went out and get that work done uh the school department or the city of Sako would only have to cover 50% of that or what their funding level is on a 10-year interest free loan with the rest being covered by the state so while we know that we have a situation uh for young school that's on the replacement list we can look at all of our other buildings where we know have significant needs and try to put some of those together uh and get work done for essentially half of the C cost um on a zero interest loan over 10 years so uh we'll be doing a lot of work on on that piece um the other pieces that I'd like to uh talk about is
029that cooperatively uh between uh bitterford Sako and Dayton we were able to uh write successfully a grant uh to help with a hiring a liaison for our homeless population uh we have a lot of kids throughout the school year who end up in homeless status and uh you know uh accessing school is a real barrier for them and so we were successful in writing a grant where we can hire somebody uh to help with some of those transitions for families because many times kids spend you know a week while school districts work together and we would like to speed up that process so that kids aren't waiting to get back into school um the other big piece that we have here tonight is that we have been able to have two meetings for the school
030construction project with the Department of Education um and the Department of Education has given us the go-ahead to start um a site inventory list so when we think about what is a site inventory list and you think about all over town of what you need for the possibility of a new school it's a little more complicated than you would think um so the first thing that we need to do uh as a school department in City is to get our group together develop that site inventory team and begin looking at all Parcels of land that are city-owned School owned and available uh we will need to engage Property Owners uh real estate uh because the interesting piece that we learned in this is that let's say that we're looking to uh say we're building an
031elementary school to go on that state list they're looking for a site that could be one property or a combination of you know maybe there's back-to-back properties out there that that join that can be parceled into a 20 acre lot plus one acre for every hundred students so if you're looking for a lot for 300 student school you're looking at 23 acres is what they're want to see happen now throughout this process while it's really important and I Envision this as a you know a big map of Sako that says you know in one color here's the city owned properties and here's some school owned properties and here's the current site uh and then doing all of that work to say okay what else is available we would then need to evaluate the sites for
032sewer water power what are all those options what does traffic flow look like what does walkability look like what are all of those pieces because at the end of it the state determines whether they're going to fund that part of the project or not at their set rate per acre uh they also look at smaller Lots about whether it would be safe to have kids in school on that lot during time or uh Redevelopment uh or or are trying to move them throughout that um we have a target of trying to through the process there would be site selection grade level uh piece there would be several SP uh straw poles in the community and then as you would move towards the construction project many people think that these projects are just 100% funded by
033the state there will be part part of the project that the community will have um I guess it's options for lack of better words like when you're buying a car you have you have some options that uh you can add on one of those might be for let's say the state says we will fund a 500 seat Auditorium but your community says that you know it would be great to have a thousand seat Auditorium so there are some pieces of the project that don't receive 100% uh State funding so we' have a Target date to go out to bond uh not to bond uh for a vote on the project for November of 22 now that's an aggressive timeline but we have to start looking at what's available for properties and what's not the other
034interesting thing that faces us as a board that we have to uh review uh with the city and have conversations with parks and wreck and and Public Works is that in order for this property wherever that may be uh to be funded by the state it has to be a school-owned property not a city owned they won't buy it for the city they buy it for the school and I know that we have some agreements about what work and and ownership of what gets done uh 10 feet outside the building and so through this process we're going to have to really think about how that all works and examine that um you know through a different through possibly a different lens um so a lot on school construction that we've started uh we have uh
035talking about getting that uh building committee updated membership with a couple of new people added tonight and then thinking about how we get to that site selection committee uh because that's the work over the next three to four months that we need to get out to the community of what are all the possible uh places barriers do a clear study in The Matrix to evaluate all of those sites with all of those different options that came that comes with it from busing to walkability to water to sewer to power to what makes sense for the city because at the end of the day what the board and the community has in front of them is you know really a 50 to 75 year decision of what will be the best site location in school to
036have and this is an outstanding opportunity for the community uh to do that um and then finally um last thing just to uh two things to report is have a list of things from uh Mr gity that I can share with you as the Maintenance and Facilities department has been extremely busy this summer preparing for back to five uh and uh doing a lot of work that's been uh needed throughout the district uh and then I think uh big congratulations uh to our T Little League team today who took a tough loss uh again but uh they really made us proud down there and uh uh great job boys and great job uh for the families that committed to them they did they did a really nice job playing in the heat today thank you
037thank you very much any question for superintendent Ray see no question moving on to uh item eight chair's report CH of Fortune I have nothing nothing from the chair uh brings us to there are no staff reports on item nine tonight item 10 there are no board subcommittee meeting minutes moves us on to item 11 old business there's a second reading of policies is there a motion Mr Mayor Mr Mayor School Board member Shay um I uh move that we approve the second reading of policy J LCB immunization of students BCC nepotism CC administrative organization and CCA Sako school department organizational chart thank you second School Board member Johnson is a second any discussion on the second reading of policies seeing no discussion roll call vote School Board member Shay yes School Board member prebble
038yes School Board member Richard yes School Board member Le Fortune yes School Board member Truman yes School Board member Johnston yes motion passes 70 brings us to item 12 of the agenda which is new business we have item a new hires Mr Mayor board member problem I move we approve the nomination of mallerie Patton special education teacher waves program Heather dumass prek edtech teacher and Jamie Walker prek coordinator and issue a contract for the 2021 2022 school year second motion's been made by school board member Pebble second by School Board member Truman any discussion on new hires roll call vote School Board member Shay yes School Board member prebble yes School Board member Richard yes School Board member La Fortune yes School Board member Truman yes School Board member Johnston yes motion passes 70 welcome
039board uh Item B resignations there a motion mayor Mr Mayor School Board member L Fortune I move we accept the resignation of Denise lond special education secretary Josh or honor assistant principal Burn School Tom Partridge assistant principal Sako Middle School Valerie traon Wellness teacher Sak Middle School Dan rousell third grade teacher Burns school and Jennifer Bishop Burns Library second motion's been made by school board member La Fortune second by School Board member Truman any discussion on resignations roll call vote School Board member Shay yes School Board member Preble yes School Board member Richard yes School Board member La Fortune yes School Board member Truman yes School Board member Johnston yes motion passes 70 moving on to item c a building committee membership update superintendent Ray yes last meeting we came um with an initial group
040of individuals for uh the building committee and uh we wanted to make sure that we had an opportunity to add councelor Mike Burman and uh Community member Heather bfor uh to that list to represent us on the school on the building committee uh it's also important to realize that that is a building committee that reports directly to the school depart uh the school board which will make uh fin decisions and that there is going to be a lot of subcommittees in this process that we will need people's help on starting with site inventory uh in land and site inventory uh being the kickoff piece thank you superintendent Ray are you looking for a vote to add those folks on yes I would like to thank you is there a motion to add Heather Heather bfor
041and councelor Mike Burman Mr Mayor School Board member of the fortune I move that we add Mike Burman city council and Heather bfor to building committee motion's been made by school board member L Forin second second by School Board member Jay very much any discussion roll call vote School Board member Shay yes School Board member prebble yes School Board member Richard yes School Board member L Fortune yes School Board member Truman yes School Board member Johnston yes motion passes brings us to item D msma policy manual review superintendent Ray yes uh one of the items that we have kind of noticed since our start here is that there are several uh policies that are not up to date or are missing that are required policies for a school committee and so I reached out to
042main School management and asked for them uh what it what it would be to have a policy review it's an $1,800 cost um that will go from front to back to make sure that we have all required policies in and uh I recommend passage of this uh to make sure that we have those in place thank you are you looking for a vote on that I am is there Schoolboard member willing to make a motion Mr Mayor Schoolboard member Shay um I um make the motion that we um approve this msma policy uh manual review for the cost of not to exceed $1800 thank you the motion's been made by Schoolboard member Shay is there a second second second by School Board member Johnston any discussion Mr Mayor School Board member of forun just a
043quick clarifying that um motion is for the initial amount of up to correct I'm assuming that if as part of that policy review they need to they recommend some more extensive work that um requires more money that that would ultimately come back to us correct I think we do we're doing the initial phase and then see where we get and then have a conversation thank you any further discussion roll call vote School Board member Shay yes School Board member prebble yes School Board member Richard yes School Board member Le Fortune yes School Board member Truman yes Schoolboard member Johnston yes motion passes 70 brings us to item e nomination of assistant principal for CK Burns there a motion Mr Mayor School Board member sh Schoolboard member Truman I think I saw Schoolboard member Shay's hand
044up and I heard SCH Truman uh I moov we were approve the nomination of Thomas Partridge assistant principal for SE K burn school and issue a contract for the 2021 22 school year thank you second second by School Board member Richard any discussion roll call vote School Board member Shay yes School Board member Preble yes School Board member Richard yes School Board member La Fortune yes School Board member Truman yes School Board member johnst yes motion passes that brings us to item F EV cars superintendent Ray yes so there is a program that is uh working with efficiency main to provide municipalities or school department EV cars at a three-year lease uh for basically no cost 400 $400 total uh and you have three years uh 30,000 miles uh to use on these and I'd
045recommend that we enter in a lease for these uh for two of these uh for the school department and the biggest reason that uh this could actually be a savings for us here in the school department is that one we have people who attend trainings and go to many things that we wind up paying 56 cents a mon to someone which this would be a reduced cost but on the side of the building project we've you know in one month we've made two trips to Augusta already which in mileage costs in tolls is you know almost at $100 and so over the course of the next three years having the ability to to not have that cost use the electric vehicle uh would just be a savings towards the building Pro uh project so I
046uh recommend that we enter into into these uh into these leases for these vehicles to use for uh projects of out a district travel to save money thank you superintendent Ray uh are you looking for a vote on this yes I am thank you very much is there a school board member willing to make the motion M Mr Mayor School Board member Shay um I um make a motion that we approve um the uh EV car lease um for the three years um for now thank you is there a second second by School Board member Johnston any discussion roll call vote School Board member Shay yes Schoolboard member prebble yes Schoolboard member Richard yes School Board member Le Fortune yes School Board member Truman yes School Board member Johnston yes motion passes Z and I
047apologize the last four votes have been 6 Z votes not 70 votes for the record with that item G nomination of assistant superintendent is there a motion Mr Mayor School Board member Truman uh I move we approve the nomination of Margaret Parkhurst assistant superintendent and issue a contract for the 2021 22 school year motion's been made by school board member Truman second by Schoolboard member Johnston need discussion roll call vote Schoolboard member Shay yes School Board member prebble yes School Board member Richard yes School Board member L Fortune yes School Board member Truman yes School Board member Johnston yes motion passes 60 brings us to item h a return to school recommendation there's several parts of this it's a return to school plan Health requirements for reopening School pool testing pool test and frequently asked
048questions and CDC recommendations for return to school superintendent R okay so we certainly didn't have a lot of people here come to listen to the EV car memo uh versus this one oh sorry yep so people didn't come to read the EV car memo uh memo and we're all interested about returning to school uh when we came on board back in April uh as a community there were pretty much one thing that a lot of people are asking for like figure out how to get the kids back to school five days a week um and that was a piece that uh we' had some experience with and a piece that is necessary our kids need to be in school uh and we need to do that every single day fading get cl to micone I'll
049do my I'll do my best I'll do my best yeah please uh so look we want to get kids back to school in this community uh and as a parent myself I wanted to have my kids in school we need to have our kids in there but at the same time uh we have the recommendations that come our way we have the fact that no one enjoyed making the qu quarantine calls to families to say what is the most inconvenient thing that could happen is that your kids home for 10 days uh those are tough and so when we developed that plan last spring uh we put a plan together to and it was voted on accepted by this community to reopen schools five days a week we talked about investing some of our federal
050funds to improve our classroom spaces which we've done look at more storage to make sure that we have proper distancing as recommended we have kids eating in our classrooms not uh not in the cafeteria the same time uh we voted to continue to follow all main doe regulations that apply uh and updated the US and Main CDC guidance for our plan uh throughout keep the three feet a distance instead of six feet um Implement pool testing uh for those who will choose to be part of that uh return all after school activities our kids need after school activities they need to be part of those things uh make sure that we have uh meals available for our kids and our community and that we would keep our current configuration as we did not see that
051moving kids all over the city would be in the best interest um at that time or buying a bunch of Portables um and so as we put that together last spring uh we had a commitment uh at that time to follow those CDC recommendations and I know that's a hard one that's a hard one for people the whole issue is hard nobody wants to be where we're at um and at the same time I want to make sure that we do everything and we can to keep our kids at school five days in a row every week and for us not to get off to a false start I fear that is that we start school we have outbreaks and we close school we still have those requirements of three um cases become an outbreak
052uh which can shut a school down for 28 days so we certainly had some experiences in a different Community working on five days a week last year and you know we did some things that uh by following the guidelines of we use masking we use handwashing we stayed home when you're sick um we kept the distance and I think we had a pretty successful year and I want to see that happen here because I think our kids just in the last 18 months just missed so much School uh and we know that iners is best uh and then we look at this fall and we look at what we're facing and I don't want to get off to a false start uh and so I have to make a recommendation to you guys tonight that
053I think face coverings are important for us to do that does that mean that it's forever home I think that we revisit these things and we continue to revisit these pieces as we look at transmission and data and how those change I think that we were able to build a plan where there was three foot of distance throughout our school districts in Des I do not uh think that death Shields are necessary for kids um at all um and that's not a recommendation from the CDC is to have those um I think that our kids can be outside at recess and follow follow those recommendations with out of mask um we know that surface contamination is not one of the issues that has come up over the course this seems to be airborne one of
054the other challenges that we have as a school department is that there is a federal requirement that in all public transportation there is a requirement of masking so any of the kids that would uh take a school bus um we need to have a mask on regardless as that's a federal requirement right now that uh is on top of us um I also have been working with the transportation department trying to because I know that like last year we had a situation we had one kid per seat and there's not that same recommendation uh this year and it's really tough for families to have like one drop off spot that doesn't that's that's tough because at the end of the day a lot of people are working and you have to to send your kid
055to daycare uh so really trying to make sure that we have rooms on buses so that we can have uh the ability for parents to send their kids to daycare on a different bus on the way home now certainly some of that may be limited by space as dayare is closed they new ones opened uh and the transportation department will work with that um as we look at Food Service uh and lunches I think one of the things that is going to benefit our kids is that all kids in uh prek through eight schools who have the ability to access free lunch and breakfast um and that we will eat at this point in time in the classroom does it mean that um lunchrooms are out for the year certainly not I think that we
056can look at ways to use those uh as hopefully we're in a couple of months we're in a different place um I think that it's really important uh for us to to be be back and looking at all of our extracurricular for kids that was something that they missed last year and we need to get them back involved and look at how the mpa sends out recommendations throughout the year of what we can do and and cannot do and when we're in uh locker rooms uh or team meetings uh indoors mask up uh and then we looked at remote instruction and last spring when we surveyed families we had seven families that were interested in remote instruction and really creates a situation where in order to do that well we need to have a critical
057mass uh that's available there and you know through the decisions that we make in the next you know tonight and over the next week that number may go up that number may go down as a school department we'll need to be flexible and fluid uh and look at the and look at how we serve our you know population of students the best that we can um in addition to those recommendations on there there is pool testing that is available for people to participate in um I 100% still need to wrap my mind around pool testing and how that organizationally in the school would work that there is a a pool of students um that would self swab if if they chose to participate and then those would test out and come back and then there
058would be additional testing but uh there's a there's a chart uh in your package and again when we look at any of these recommendations of what I'm recommending to you guys that are trying to accomplish I just want to keep kids in school as much as possible I don't believe that quarantining is good um we need to look at ways that we can keep kids from having to quarantine um the close contact thing was a very hard thing for our nurses and for everybody uh throughout the process and uh just want our kids there uh we are looking at using some of our federal funds throughout the three districts to Pro provide some additional nurse support uh if we go into pool testing um not only do our nurses and School departments faced with the
059pool testing piece we're also faced with the law that requires vaccination uh of of kids for the required ones that the state put out and that's an additional chore that our nurses will have um as I make these recommendations to you tonight there's a letter in your packet um from our school physician uh that you have seen and got email to you uh look and I understand this is not easy people feel very differently about some things there are some things that I struggle with myself um but at the end of the day it's my job to make a recommend ation that I can live with and put forward and you know when I lay my head down at night uh have to be responsible for um and so I put that recommendation to you
060that we continue to follow the CDC guidelines yes and no and when they get looser we we loosen up and if things get worse you know we don't want to be there but we follow them and it gives us uh something that can be more fluid throughout the year um and so that is my recommendation to the board thank you very much uh Schoolboard member Shay Mr superintendent um I do have a question regarding um masks yep if we were to say uh masks are optional and uh you had a classroom masks were optional we'll make it e 50/50 we're wearing 50/50 we're not um and there was a an out or there was a positive uh case in that classroom how does that change or does that change anything as far as the quarantining
061the pool testing Etc so my understanding is that with the universal masking that there may be some changes to the quarantine piece but that has not been released um and I don't know that would I heard that what it means now is that if there is a positive case in a classroom um that two different situations could apply if we were participating in pool testing that pool would be tested uh and if we have 30% of the individuals in that school participating in that if there was a positive case and everybody else would then have the ability to test out of quarantine okay so if you are uh following the chart that they put out those who um who don't have to qu uh quarantine would be vaccinated individuals and those participating in in pool
062testing so you'd have that ability to test out of that if not kiddos in that classroom is where shut down for 10 days again um and I think that's the hard part for staff and it's a hard part for parents and it's difficult to work um and there's all of those factors that come into those pieces that uh if we're not there and you know my greatest concern is that we start the school year we have uh a bunch of situations that require quarantines and we're home again and uh that's not what I want to see for students any further questions for superintendent Ray yes I don't have a question but I have a comment I just want fortune I just want to rephrase what you what you said Jeremy and that you're not introducing
063a topic tonight you are essentially restating and repeating what was released on the 19th of May there's no change to the primary there are no changes to the primary bullets that were released about five days in school following CDC guidelines and so on it's the same exact thing that was released in May that everyone loved so when you say I'm I'm bringing something before you tonight I just want it to be clear that what you're bringing to us is the same thing that we've that we had before us in May with some adjustments made to follow what guidance has changed since then that's 100% correct thank you any further questions superintendent Ray are you asking for a vote on this this evening or is this just truly an update I think we should uh you
064know I think we should reaffirm our commitment to the reopening plan is what I'm looking for I have a question Schoolboard member Truman um in regards to the uh remote learning because we uh surveyed everybody back in the spring when everybody was getting vaccinations and numbers were in a happy place is that something that you're considering resurvey ing families to see if there's any change of heart I suspect that we're going to see get plenty of feedback of our decision uh and we'll take that feedback one way or the other and again there's been an uptick in both group's feelings of what should happen and what could happen um I think one of the difficult pieces is that um that critical mass in order to run remote needs to be there um because we also
065entered the plan and again when we came and we worked release that plan in uh May the entire Focus was making sure that our kids could get back to five because that was needed at the same time we KN last year we had a lot of Staff who were on the remote side of things and we needed to make sure that our classrooms stayed under 18 kids per teacher so that you can meet the spacing requirements uh and so the rules that we were in guidance that we were operating in that time we really tried to make that work and that's why we were using every space that we could in all of our buildings um and so I suspect that like with anything we'll need to be flexible and need to Pivot and need
066to work together and I've had some conversations with other school leaders in the area that are kind of feeling like they're in the same boat uh and we may have to do something in the next couple of weeks is there a school board member Johnson Mr superintendent my question has to do with um there's there's a note here on our confidentials that there's going to be maybe I've missed it maybe I'm not hearing it but the question about staff inations correct I'm curious as to where we are at this point in time and um if that you know in spite of the fact that teachers may be vaccinated would the protocol not also be for them to continue wearing Mass especially since we're starting to see this new um so yes the pro the the
067recommendation from the CDC is that all staff and all people uh not not taken into account a vaccination staff so all people would be uh required to have face coverings um the DHHS uh created a procedure for schools that we need to follow where we need to send our staff uh vaccination data to them on a monthly basis staff will be asked to fill out a questionnaire that is non-identifiable and so that we would report um the percentage of the school which then uh and District which would then be uploaded to the website um and that's a process that is now a requirement uh for School departments is there a school board member willing to make the motion to reconfirm the return to school recommendation Mr Mayor School Board member L Fortune I move that
068we reaffirm the back to five plan as presented including the addition of um the recommendation to have full masking in buildings and on Transportation motion's been made by school board of member of Fortune is there a second second second by School Board member Truman any discussion we talk this open for discussion this is not open for discussion your time for comments is during public session you always have the opportunity to reach you always have the are without reseted with this meeting we're just supposed to swall quiet is that work Mr Mayor just speaking for myself don't assume for a second that because we didn't arrive at the same conclusion that you did that we didn't do any research okay we've had research yes absolutely I have so you have the science that I was just
069talking about saying that on the decision that you're going to make that we would like to see as parents and we deserve to see the data scientific data that you apparently have we would like to see it this this data that is available is available to everyone it's on the main CDC site it's on the federal CDC site and just because you don't like the answer doesn't mean that it's not valid why are this is this is not over this fight is not over with thank you and good luck getting bonded thank you that right now that's coming to you thank you thank you take to the B thank you thank you stand up your freedoms are being thank you every day do you research look at the actual science that's going on thank you
070any discussion on the motion again the motion's been made by school board member of Fortune second by School Board member Truman any further discussion School Board member Johnston just a clarification I believe that what we have said what superintendent has said is that as things change we will revisit if there if there's any reason to do so we will revisit this um again and I think that's an important part um of this decision thank you any further discussions Schoolboard member Shay uh Mr superintendent how um I I know that the information is changing all the time but I mean is there sort of a a timeline of when the when this um main CDC and Main DHHS is releasing information or updating or is it just as things are happening my experience it tends to
071be about Friday about 4 o'clock every week is when it seems to that we get an update so we can head into the weekend trying to think about it so I mean I think that the thing that we learned in the last year is that everything changes all the time and our job is to try to react to that to the best that we can put together plan over the weekend communicate that out to families figure out how we communicate that to staff because things changed I I mean I think about uh you know last year having a situation and a change occur while an athletic team was actually like getting off the bus and people didn't know about that and it's important for us to have the ability to when when the recommendations change
072to be able to make a quick change in those decisions you know like the change of last spring we had the change from masking Outdoors to not masking Outdoors shouldn't have to wait two weeks for a school committee meeting to get a kid's mask off off Outdoors uh and so that's why having those recommendations in there and you know I hope that something changes soon School Board member La Fortune anyone else because I spoken already um that that really is the Crux of it all this changes all the time we're expected to be nimble and at this point in time the tools available to us are the vaccines the distancing and these things they all work they've been shown to work and that's all we have available to us in order to make a an
073informed decision that's protects the health and safety of not just the kids the parents of those kids the staff that we are responsible for it's this is a community decision and I understand that it is a difficult pill to swallow for some people but the board our job is to do what's right by the school school system in Soo which is for all of the kids that come to it that's our job and as things change we will adjust based on that but right now at this point in time I am more than comfortable making this decision based on the information that we have available to us now thank you and remember those folks that have any questions you can always reach out to the superintendent's office uh if you have any questions uh about
074the reopening plan or want to voice your opinion with that are there any further discussion on this matter see no further discussion a roll call vote School Board member Shay yes Schoolboard member Preble yes School Board member Richard yes School Board member L Fortune yes School Board member Truman yes School Board member Johnston yes motion passes 60 okay that brings us brings us to item I a first and second reading of policies kdb and B Eed is there a motion Mr Mayor School Board member Shay um I uh move that we approve the first and second reading of Po reading of policies kdb policy right to know freedom of access and bed remote participation in school board meetings second motion's been made by school board member Shay second by School Board member Johnston any discussion
075Mr Mayor School Board member Johnston um this is unusual for us to have first and second reading of a policy in the same meeting um but it was brought to our attention by Mr indorf that these are policies that we really need to get in place quickly um and excuse me for that reason I I hope everyone has read the policies but for that reason I would suggest that we do go ahead and get them in place um as the superintendent mentioned earlier we are going to be doing an having our policies entirely reviewed by msma but in the meantime these are policies that we really need to get on the books anyway I just want to also uh kind of echo what Beth said and um also thanks to uh Mr endorf for getting
076these to us in a more timely manner thank you any further discussion roll call vote Schoolboard member Shay yes School Board member prebble yes School Board member Richard yes School Board member Le Fortune yes School Board member Truman yes School Board member Johnson yes motion passes 60 brings us to item J there's no action required but it's a stip position appointments superintendent Ray do you have any comments on this item uh yeah this is just informational uh as these are import uh these are appointments but uh just more about letting people know uh who's holding the positions of certain stiens uh throughout the district any questions for superintendent Ray School Board member Shay uh M Mr superintendent I do want to thank you for providing that information to us because sometimes we're not sure um
077and I know that sometimes it changes year to year as to who has held the position so it's it's good information for us to have on the board so I appreciate you doing that any further moving on to item K Grant award notification RFA 2021 uh 10683 superintendent Ray yeah this is uh I mentioned this in superintendent's report um but having the ability to apply for a grant uh between our three communities of bitterford uh school department Dayton School department and Sako school department we were successful uh in this home with uh Children and Youth to funds and it will allow us to hire a halftime coordinator um that can serve all three communities because one of the challenges is when when you have uh when kids become homeless there are several times that they're
078uprooted from uh from the community they're in a different uh unknown place and it can take days before for them to get in schools and this would have someone who would help facilitate those conversations between Transportation uh bord is the Fiscal Agent for this the situation and this is just something that can benefit all of our kids in each Community uh so more of a service out thank you are you looking for action on this item no need for action on no need for Action Mr superintendent I just wanted to applaud you for your Forward Thinking for those students that are impacted by this in this tough sit situation so I just wanted to um congratulate and celebrate that there's been collaboration between all the communities to make this resource available to our student body
079thank you School Board member Shay uh yeah I I Echo um what uh Schoolboard member prebble just said but I also have a question um for the logistics is this a part-time position is that a smack um employee or is it uh no we'll actually be contracting with Apex uh the the former youth bike the bike center oh okay sure so we'll be contracting with one of their employees to deliver this service uh they've got a good connection with uh each Community as we serve kids there from all different places and uh uh that's who we uh will be spending those funds with all right perfect thank you moving on to item l superintendent agreements ta superintendent Ray as we came on this spring uh and started to look at certain situations uh where subsid
080was going I noticed through uh couple of the reports that Jason provided to me that uh there was an agreement with that prior Administration made uh to accept students from other communities on a superintendence agreement to Thorton Academy um and on the billing rate it was the per people amount on page one of the 279 which sets the rate at you know $7,500 and that changes every year uh and one of the pieces that uh certainly know is that we do not receive full funding per student uh and so I felt that it was important that we had a conversation with Thorton academy uh and they would like us to um honor uh the prior agreement and we developed a formula moving forward of how that would be calculated so that it had zero cost
081to the Sako taxpayers if a kid on a superintendent agreement went there uh and I felt that this was a situation that before uh I made a payment that was over an amount of subsidy that I brought this to the school committee uh for approval thank you any questions for superintendent Ray just just a quick question so this um this calculation formula that you worked out this has been worked out and and vetted with them this isn't just a proposal that then ultimately correct to present okay correct we I worked with the CFO on what this calculation would be for moving forward and we need to make the decision of how we're going to handle this year for the four students that would fall into this category any other questions is there a school board
082member willing to make the motion School Board member of the for I move that we accept the superintendent's recommendation for how to handle um the superintendent agreements with Thorn Academy motion's been made by Schoolboard member La Fortune second by School Board member Shay any discussion this is from I think you already said this but this is for students who've already been approved and we're just honoring that so my recommendation would be to pay the actual subsidy received for this year as I did discover it uh as we came forward and I feel like I you know I'm in those that position as superintendent to make the recommendation is that I don't think it should cost um taxpayers I understand the difficulty uh that there was an agreement prior to me um and that makes things
083difficult um but more importantly is that we have a clear formula and uh way of how we're going to move forward um but I do recommend paying the actual subsidized cost to the city for this any other Schoolboard M of Fortune just a quick follow-up question um it's not necessarily about the funding just from the standpoint of of the typical process for a superintendence agreement are they the type of thing that's renewed every year and the expectations is that they're renewed every year or is it once you're in you're in so a superintendent agreement is only valid for one year uh and so those would come before me as a superintendent moving forward uh and we look at uh what's provided in statute and what makes sense um you know throughout our like an example
084right now of how we deal with that as the elementary school is I have uh you know the list of what I think home room sizes would be as we do do have quite a requests of people who um want to have their kids schooled in this district and and I have to balance the piece that uh you know what's the right number of kids to have in a classroom especially since we're thinking about spacing and and the other piece and while subsidy does follow with a kid and the minimal cost of one additional kid is probably a benefit to us uh I have some you know I don't know just worries that as we Face the fall that we don't know exactly the impact of what all the moving would have been in the
085last year as certainly uh a home doesn't last very long on the S Sako Market uh or in Southern Maine and so while I think that a lot of families uh do a really good job of contacting the school and reaching out and making plans there inevitably will be some that could come with that and I think one of the other piece when you talk about superintendent agreements especially at the younger grades that we would have more uh kind of class size would impact is that the worst case scenario in my opinion is that you approve a superintendent agreement because you're looking at the sheet and you say ah I think I can squeeze that one extra kid in and then something changes and I asked Mr mirers to call the family and say oh
086by the way we're now at 23 kids in this classroom and there's not there's not enough room for that and you know I'll make Mr me do that one you know because he likes that experience but uh um you know I I think that's the hard part so I'm being trying to be really patient uh on incoming superintendence agreements this year because I just I worry about spacing and I worry about the number of people who may move to the community any further questions roll call vote School Board member Shay yes Schoolboard member Preble yes School Board member Richard yes School Board member L Fortune yes School Board member Truman yes School Board member Johnson yes motion passes 60 brings us to item n contractor approval for auxiliary building at Young School Superintendent Ray as
087you know as part of the reopening plan we looked at how to create an auxiliary uh spaces at Young School um and as part of that plan not only thinking about this year which again building anything quick is not really possible but also looking at other future years as we when we studied that reopening plan we looked at the number of building permits on that side of town uh all of the the spaces and it seems like historically there's just always this constant question about are we going to have enough space until we get into a new building um and so we put out a an RFP to look at the design build piece we have selected Great Falls construction and you're not voting to spend any money now other than for them to put
088that proposal to us of what this would cost what this would look like uh we've worked pretty closely with Ryan and Sako pox and Rex about uh placement and also how if something was constructed and and our new new school is built how that fits into the plan for Sako parks and recks for future use uh and so I recommend that we go a Great Falls Construction so we can get this process started thank you superintendent Ray are you looking for a vote on this yes I am please School Board member Shay um I move that we um contract with Great Falls construction for the design of this auxiliary building at Young School second motion's been made by school board member Shay second by Schoolboard member prebel any discussion roll call vote School Board member
089Shay yes School member Preble yes School Board member Richard yes School Board member of Fortune yes School Board member Truman yes School Board member Johnston yes motion passes 60 brings us to item n intended use for title funds superintendent Ray here's a memo of the intended use of we and again this is an application process that we put into the state for our Title One funds but this is an outline of those costs where pretty much all of those costs go to support our reading intervention programs uh throughout the district uh professional development class size reduction uh and there's a historical uh timeline that's been put together on that any questions on the document in the packet School Board M of Fortune just a quick comment I just want to say thank you for putting
090this together um this is something that I know has been asked many times in the past and I recall from my previous time on the board that this layout or breakdown kind of came and went and sometimes we had it sometimes we didn't but thanks for providing this yes uh Julie did an outstanding job on that superintendent Ray are you asking for any there's no vote no vote no action public information moving on to item o nomination of assistant principal for SMS Mr Mayor School Board member School Board member Truman I move we accept the nomination of Michael Edgar for the position of assistant principal Sak middle school and issue a contract for the 2021 22 school year second motion's been made by Schoolboard member Truman second by Schoolboard member Shay any discussion Mr Mr
091Mayor School Board member Shay um I have served with uh Mr Edgar on um strategic for the last year and I appreciate all of his um thoroughness and um ability to set us straight sometimes and I think that he will do a great job as the assistant principal and I congratulate him thank you Schoolboard member Johnston I would definitely Echo what Christina had to say I've worked in on various committees over time with Mr Edgar and he's definitely a dedicated hard worker and um I'm glad to see him in this position thank you soon any further discussion roll call vote School Board member Shay yes School Board member Preble yes Schoolboard member Richard yes School Board member L Fortune yes School Board member Truman yes School Board member Johnston yes motion passes congratulations uh moving
092on to item 13 other information there's no other other information there's no other other information tonight uh but that moves us on to item 14 executive session is there a motion to enter executive session Mr Mayor School Board member of Fortune I move we enter executive session to discuss the the to discuss the labor contract proposal discussion for instructional staff pursuant to one MRSA 456 motion's been made by school board member L Fortune is there a second second second by Schoolboard member Truman it was down that way any discussion roll call vote enter executive session School Board member Shay yes School Board member prebble yes School Board member Richard yes School Board member La Fortune yes School Board member Truman yes School Board member Johnston yes motion passes 60 to enter executive session at 8:26
093p.m. who seconded that motion because it wasn't me it was not you it was not me I think it was Preble School Board member problem thank you we are going to be downstairs in the conference room and hoping to return hoping to return hoping to return from executive session yes oh yeah yeah okay okay what's that yes I don't have an office e for e e e welcome back everyone uh is there a motion to come out of executive session Mr Mayor School Board member of Fortune I move we come out of executive session second motions been made by school board member L Fortune second by School Board member Johnston to come out of executive session any discussion roll call votes School Board member Shay yes School Board member Preble yes School Board member Richard
094yes School Board member L Fortune yes School Board member Truman yes Schoolboard member Johnston motion passes 60 to come out of executive session at 9 17 p.m. is there a motion School Board member of forun I move we accept the recommendation um for instructional staff support contract that was presented to us in executive session second was there a second School Board member Shay thank you very much uh motions been made by school board member L Forge and second by School Board member Jay to accept the CBA uh discussed an executive session for the instructional staff any discussion Mr Mayor School Board member Shay um I I think that uh this is a a fair agreement and I'm glad that we were able to collectively and relatively easily come to a consensus with um the edex
095and secretaries any further discussion I would just I would just um agree with Christina that it was quite in the grand scheme of how things can go was quite a smooth process and I think it's a good agreement as well any further discussion roll call vote School Board member Shay yes School Board member Preble yes Schoolboard member Richard yes School Board member Le Fortune yes School Board member Truman yes School Board member Johnson yes motion passes 60 brings us to item 15 of the agenda is there a motion to adjourn so moved was that school board member Truman thank you second second by School Board member Johnston any discussion roll call vote to adjourn School Board member Shay yes School Board member prebble yes Schoolboard member Richard yes School Board member L Fortune yes School
096Board member Truman yes School Board member Johnston yes motion passes 60 we are adjourned at 9:19 p.m. thank you very much everyone have a wonderful evening thank you Mr Mayor