001Hello. [Music] No. Can you try yours? See if it's any different. Hello. Hello. Hello. I mean, I can talk loud, but I'm just worried about the uh live stream. Well, you're recording on the live stream. H Okay. Well, maybe we'll get started speaking loudly and I'll apologize. So once he figures out the speakers and I blow everyone's eard drums. Okay. Do you want me to get started while you figure that? Yeah. Okay. Great. Okay. Well, welcome again to the RSU5 board of directors meeting. It is Wednesday, June 4th, 2025. We are here at the Freeport High School Library. Uh we are missing uh Anna isn't with us this evening. I'm not sure about Colin. uh hopefully he'll be joining us shortly. Um but we will get started in the meantime with the pledge of allegiance
002to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for it stands nationy and justice for all. Oh, good. Colin's joining us. All right. So, uh, do I have a motion for consideration and approval of the minutes from the April 30th, May 7th, and May 14th, 2025 meeting as presented, barring any errors or omissions? Cheyenne, thank you. Kelly second. All those in favor? None opposed. Great. Uh, so we will uh adjustments. I have one this evening. I'd like to add under 14 personnel, letter E, consideration and approval to employ a fourth grade teacher at Durham Community School for the 2025 2026 school year. Wonderful. Um, great. So, we will move right into uh good news and recognition. Can you hear me? Oh, sorry. Can you Can you hear? Let's see if I
003don't know if it's on. Is it on, Jordan? Do we know if this is on? Oh, they're all on. This this was on too. Okay. Well, maybe I'll speak loudly. Uh this is a a special special time for us to gather every the first meeting in June because we have several folks this evening that we're going to be honoring for their service to the students of RSU5. So, I'm going to um call up um some of our administrative team members to um recognize these folks. So, first I'd like Alicia Morris to come up for Heather Gilpin. I'm not sure where to face. I'll do this so I can so I can look at you, Heather. All right. Can you hear me? Okay. Okay. So, um, can you hear me? Yeah. Okay. So, after 30 years
004of dedicated and compassionate service and education, we extend our heartfelt congratulations to Dr. Gilpin on her welldeserved retirement. Throughout her remarkable Oh, there we go. Throughout her remarkable career, Heather has made a lasting impact on countless students, families, and colleagues. Whether as a special education teacher, administrator, licensed clinical social worker, or a school psychologist at RSU5, her work has consistently focused on supporting students mental health and well-being while fostering a school environment where every child felt valued, seen, and heard with unmatched empathy, professionalism, professionalism, and unwavering dedication. Dr. Gilpin has been a trusted advocate and voice for student success. Her guidance has empowered generations of students to overcome obstacles and realize their full potential. Colleagues have long admired Heather for her wisdom, collaborative spirit, and unrelenting focus on what truly matters, ensuring the well-being of
005children. On a personal note, Heather's support during my first year here has been nothing short of amazing. her wealth of knowledge and generosity in sharing and sharing it has been invaluable and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to learn from her and she will be deeply missed by me and by all of us. While we certainly will miss her presence in our school community, we celebrate this well-earned milestone and wish Heather a retirement filled with joy, good health, and exciting adventures. May you and Mark continue to build boats, planes, and bikes, play with your toys, and sail off into the sunset with Winston, your labberoodle. Thank you, Heather, for 30 incredible years of service to our public schools. Your legacy will continue to inspire us all. We'll miss you. And from Freeport High
006School, could we have Charlie Melon come up to represent um the high school and honor a retiree? Okay, thank you. Uh, so I'm Charlie Melon, the assistant principal here. Uh, Jen Golko, our principal, wishes she could be here, uh, but she can't. And so I'm going to share a few words on her behalf and then I got a few of my own as well. Um, so from Jen, u I've had the pleasure of sorry, Kim has been a part of URSU5 schools for 25 years where she started her work at Panel Elementary as the special education secretary for 10 years and then shifted to Freeport High School where she has been a vital member of our guidance office for 15 years. Kim's role involves so many different things that impact our students and families such
007as navigating power school transcripts, grades, schedules, new enrollments, setting up meetings for teams of faculty and staff members, and so much more. Of of course, a huge part of our role is supporting, encouraging, and showing so much patience to our high school students. For those of you that know and love teenagers, we know that sometimes their emergency is absolutely everyone's emergency. Especially when it comes to especially when it comes to waiting until the last hour when they need a transcript sent to a college or when they want to see a school counselor. And at that very second, no matter what the counselors are doing, Kim handles all of these requests, timely or not, pa with patience and kindness and respect and her ever cool demeanor. Kim might be facing 140 seniors who have an emergency
008at that very moment with their transcript, ninth graders who can't find their classes, or a student that is having a tough day. And she never takes on these situation. I mean, she always takes on these situations with empathy and grace and somehow never seems rattled by it. Our current colleagues and staff members use some of these words and phrases to describe Kim. Caring, helpful, patient, empathetic, flexible, kind, and an amazing teammate and staff member. One of our beloved former guidance counselors, Jim Lincoln, shared some of his his thoughts about Kim. He says, "A well functioning student services office begins when one walks through the door. A cheerful greeting ability to listen to students, faculty, and parents, and the skills to triage until a counselor is available. Kim Kalan is adept at all of these skills.
009Of course, clerical skills and a thorough knowledge of technology are also essential. However, working with a quote well-aged counselor as he was during his time with Kim, there was a more essential skill, mind readading. Each fall, counselors are asked to write recommendations in support of the post-secary aspirations of their charges. Rather than type mine, I would write them longhand, often taking up 10 legalsized pages to describe and support my students. Readable cursive has never been my forte, and often I would find Kim huddled with another secretary trying to decipher my thoughts. Rarely would she have to give up and come to me for the answer, which in most cases I could resolve. Over my 41 years a secondary educator, Kim Kanan is a top the list of secretaries with whom I have worked. Kim co
010colleagues in the Kim's colleagues in the guidance office Michelle Arms also shared her thoughts. Michelle said, "When I think of Kim, one word comes to mind. Keel. Like the keel of a ship, Kim has been the steadying force in our guidance office, always quietly aware of the direction of the wind and adjusting our sails to keep us on course. Her comp presence, attention to detail, and ability to navigate the unexpected have grounded us through every season. But Kim is more than steady. She's sunshine when the clouds roll roll in. No matter how chaotic the day, she brings warmth and optimism that lifts everyone around her. Whether helping a student, colleague, or managing the demands of her role as our registar, Kim leads with grace, humor, and heart. Wishing you smooth seas and sunny skies in
011ne this next chapter. So that was from Jen and some of the colleagues as you've heard. Now something from my perspective. Kim is the heart and soul of our guidance office. She can do everything from decoding power school to knowing when a student or a counselor or an administrator needed a kind word or a tissue. She's part secretary, part therapist, part wizard. Kim, your warmth, empathy, and uncanny ability to find missing, misplaced files will be dearly missed. Enjoy retirement. You've earned it, but don't be surprised if I call you when I can't get power school to work. We are so happy for you, for your well-deserved retirement. We know you'll enjoy it. Spend time with your family and those amazing grandb babies. We are so grateful for the work that you have done at FHS,
012for the time, the heart, and the energy. Thank you, Kim. Yeah. [Applause] And now to recognize retirees from Freeport Middle School is Dr. Fornier. Good evening. It's an honor to stand before you tonight to recognize and celebrate the extraordinary career of a truly remarkable educator, Kelly, our dedicated and visionary seventh grade science teacher at Freeport Middle. For the past 15 years, Kelly has been a cornerstone of our school community. From the moment she joined FMS in 2010, she brought not just a deep knowledge of science and technology, but a passion for hands-on real world learning that has transformed the way our students engage with science and with learning itself. FMS has been more than just a workplace for Kelly. She reported it's like a family. And although she's taught in five different middle schools across
013her career, this one has felt like home. Her commitment to our students and staff has helped shape the heart of our school. Kelly has never simply taught science. She's helped students experience it. One of her most outstanding contributions was developing a rich place-based field trip experience for all seventh graders that continues to have a lasting impact. I've gotten to go on that trip. It's amazing. Um, she partnered with both Wolfneck Farm and the Desert of Maine to design an immersive experience where students could compare farming practices and directly observe the long-term outcomes of land use. But Kelly didn't stop there. She built an entire curriculum around this experience, creating lessons for staff to use at both sites. Today, both Wolfnag and Desert of Maine continue to use Kelly's materials with other schools, a testament to
014the quality and thoughtfulness of her work. And that's just one example. Whether she was launching student conferences with local scientists, designing expeditionary learning projects, or mentoring her peers, Kelly always prioritized depth, rigor, and relevance. Her students cont consistently produce the highest quality work, not because it's expected, but because Kelly accepts nothing less. What she teaches, students remember. Her dedication to presenting material in multiple ways, supporting every learner and holding them accountable for their growth is nothing short of admirable. Beyond the classroom, Kelly's leadership has helped guide our entire school and district. Through her work on the FMS leadership committee, technology committee, RSC5's professional evaluation and growth team, she has shaped the systems that support meaningful instruction and professional learning that we have here today. She's mentored new educators, led technology integration initiatives, helped align science
015instruction with district-wide proficiency standards, and one of her most impactful contributions came through her work to bring laptops to students and teachers across Maine, helping bridge the digital divide and empowering learners with tools for success. Her expertise, her voice, her insight have made us better. Kelly's career is a portrait of innovation, integrity, and impact. Over three decades, she has worked in schools across Maine, from Portland to Bonnie Eagle to RSU5, bringing energy, creativity, and heart to every role she's taken on. Her influence reaches far beyond our district's boundaries. From statewide technology trainings to presenting at conferences, contributing to advisory boards, and helping shape how science and technology are taught across Maine. Kelly, while we are excited for you to begin this next chapter, we are also deeply aware of the incredible legacy you leave behind.
016Your students, your colleagues, and this district are better because of you. You've given your full self to this work with excellence, with passion, and with purpose. On behalf of the district, and most of us at FMS are just going to cry for the next eight days or whatever. our deepest gratitude. I wish you a retirement filled with joy, adventure, and maybe just a little bit of science. You've earned it, and you'll be missed more than you know. Congratulations. [Applause] It's real. Now to honor our Mass Landing School retirees, Principal Grim. So at Mass Landing School, we do have a tradition of singing our retirees out, but that will be done at Mass Landing School. Susan was It's probably better for all of you. Um it is my absolute pleasure to get to um honor Susan
017Martin in her retirement. Susan has just finished her 13th year as our literacy specialist at Masslanding School and within that time she has been pivotal to supporting our striving readers. Her effectiveness really lies in a combination of two amazing strengths. The first is she has an incredibly deep knowledge of the foundation of reading development and has always been hungry the the 10 years I've known her to deepen that knowledge. And then she couples that with an amazingly deep knowledge of her students. She knows their interest. She knows their strengths. And then she utilizes that information thoughtfully to build connections with students and to inform the reading struct uh instruction she offers. In addition to these strengths, um Susan is incredibly curious and has a deep orientation as a learner herself that stands out among her
018many strengths. This hunger for knowledge has contributed to her participating in year-long training in a structured literacy approach based on Orton Gitlingham methodology several years ago. And that's a skill set she's continued to refine in the time since that training. Even this year, her last, she approached me midyear asking to take yet more professional learning, often on her own time, including weekends, to deepen her skill set as she looked to best meet the needs of students. always with a mindset of our students growing and is she impe impacting them as readers. A reading teacher at heart, the hallways outside her room are lined with bookcases of books she loves to get in students hands and the hallways are lined with poetry that she has handwritten on the walls to support their fluency. She takes pride
019in connecting kids with those things. Based on these strengths, it probably comes as no surprise to you that Susan has had a deeply impactful um influence on the students she serves. Their learning, their progress, and their identity as readers, which is probably the most important thing, are all reflective of the deep investment she has made in our school and our community. And for that, we are deeply grateful. Um and we wish wish her the very best in retirement and the adventures which probably will include some sailing along the way. We want to see some photos. Thank you, [Applause] Susan. Now, our Pel Elementary School honores, uh, Principal Holly Johnson. maybe. Um, I am so honored to recognize Linda Demo in her six years of service here in RSU5. Linda first joined Freeport Middle School in
020the fall of 2019 as the school's office secretary. Um, she knew she was entering into a new world because she um had not been in public schools prior to that. But what she didn't know is six months later the pan pandemic would hit. Um, and uh, she persevered through that. Uh PO was uh fortunate um a couple years later when Linda joined us in 2023 as the school's administrative secretary. She brought with her the wealth of knowledge of the district that she had gained um not only working in the middle school but she is a community member and a parent of RSU5. So she brought a lot of assets to um panel in that way. She already knew many families and had student connections. Additionally, um she brought her um finance knowledge um from her
021her first career that was at LLBAN for many years. Linda Smile has daily greeted students, families, and staff. She is well organized and has developed new systems and procedures for the office and the school. Uh when she was hired, there was a question um kind of about triage. Um, you give her a list of things. The phone's ringing. A student walks in and needs medical attention. Uh, a parent shows up and says, "I need to speak with Mrs. Johnson. Um, and you're in the middle of a a project that needs a deadline." And you have to decide what um what you're going to do and when. Uh, little did she know that would be a daily, multiple times daily scenario that she got to live for the next two years. uh which she did with
022patience, professionalism, and always a great smile. Uh she um uh we thank Linda and I wish her the best in her next chapter. She's going to be dearly missed and while she's only been at Pano for two years, it feels like much, much longer. Thank you. [Applause] to recognize our Durm Community School retirees. We're going to have Assistant Principal Harrison. And she did say she was Mr. Pittton's proxy this evening. More hair, less accent. All right. So, I have some words from Will for Adele. Adele joined Durham Community School in 2000 and has been a dedicated and valued member of our community for the past 25 years. During her time here, she has witnessed and helped navigate significant changes, including the construction of our new school building. She will never forget the weeks of well
023drilling for the geothermal system that took place just outside her classroom window. Adele was also here during the district's transition to RSU5, providing steady leadership throughout. Throughout her career, Adele has primarily served as the foundation of our fifth grade team, working for many years along her colleague Patty Mclofflin. In more recent years, she has also mentored and supported numerous new teachers, offering a calm, consistent approach to teaching and acting as a source of guidance and encouragement. Many young educ educators have found their footing thanks to Adele's wisdom and quiet leadership. One area where Adele's impact truly shines is in science education. She has been a passionate advocate and leader in this subject throughout her time at Durham. Her curiosity and dedication to continual learning have brought richer, more engaging science experiences to our students, enriching
024our entire school community. Although her primary role has been in fifth grade, Adele has also taught sixth grade in recent years, demonstrating remarkable flexibility and a team first mindset. She willingly adapted to shifting enrollment needs to ensure all students received the support they needed. Over the past 25 years, Adele has positively impacted the lives of hundreds of children. We are very grateful for her unwavering commitment, her thoughtful mentorship, and her enduring contributions to our school. Adele, we wish you all the best in your well-deserved retirement. [Applause] So, it's my honor tonight to honor retiree Cynthia Alexander. I will say my I guess my partner in crime at the central office. When we honor retirees, we often hear a lot about their contributions to RSU5. As we honor Cynthia tonight, I'd like to take a look
025back at her 30 plus year in career in education. Cynthia started out at MOO and got a a BS in business administration. I think that took a turn, Cynthia. Um, then she went on to get her mers in elementary ed and her CAS in ed leadership. She began her career back in 1995. She was a K2 classroom teacher at Etna Dixmont School for five years. She was a and also a reading recovery teacher for four years there. In 2004, she moved into leadership. She's been the curriculum coordinator at MSAD23 and MSAD38. And as you know, all the MSADs are RSUs and people married, divorced, and all that. Through um through the years, she's been a principal at Etna Dixmont School and also at Turner Elementary School. So, she had 11 years as a principal. And
026in 2016, RSU5 was very fortunate to welcome her as our assistant superintendent. Cynthia wears many, many, many hats in RSU5 that people may or may not be aware of. She's the liaison to the board's policy committee to ensure policies are reviewed and revised on time in keep of the spirit of the law. She's chaired the PEPG committee for the district. She's an active member of the professional certification committee at the state level. She's organized PD throughout the years for RSU 5, including onboarding many new teachers. She's our affirmative action officer. She's the district assessment coordinator for all the state and local assessments. She does the curriculum development and coordination of curriculum throughout the district. She oversees all our title grants. Um, and there, if you know anything about title grants and the federal L rules,
027you must dot your eyes and cross your tees. And she's very good at that. She's a strategic member of the superintendent's cabinet and she's a leader at the state level for certification. How others would describe Cynthia? a caring spouse, a dedicated daughter and parent. She's inquisitive, meticulous, organized. She's competitive. Believe me, I know that when we went together to women's and leadership and there were some competitions, she usually won. She's full of gold sparkles. And if you watch the administrative team's opening day performances, you know she's a great uh dancer and quite the gymnast. Cynthia, on behalf of RSU 5, congratulations on your well-deserved retirement. [Applause] careful. So, I get the honor of recognizing uh Superintendent Jean Scarappa on her retirement. Um, this night is always very bittersweet for board members. Um, you know, some
028of us have been here a few months, some of us have been here feels like forever. Um, but but you all have been here long before us. Uh and just the appreciation for all of the retirees um can't be um can't be overstated. You know, you deliver on what we as a board sort of visualize and conceptualize and you know what if and and you guys deliver for us uh every day and I just wanted to say thank you for that. So Gan joined RSU5 three years ago uh but her uh journey through education began long before that. uh 38 years I believe of education um starting up in Windsor and then getting a whole lot closer to home here uh in in Brunswick where she was a teacher. She was a principal. She headed
029up their uh uh curriculum. She went back to being a principal when they built a new school and and said we we need you. uh she you know that I I think Will mentioned the team first mentality and and that is very much where Gan comes uh comes from a place of um she was so she became a principal. She then left to to move into the central office as an assistant principal for uh four four years, three years in RSU three. Uh and then she moved home to the Lincoln Lee area uh and became the principal for RSU 67 for four years before we were able to uh bring her back to what in our hearts is her home where she What's that? She was a superintendent. Yeah. Oh, I'm sorry. Did I say
030sorry, not principal? She was a superintendent in RSU 67 and we were able to bring her back. Uh so while she worked in Brunswick all those years, she was a uh a a community member here in Freeport. So her children went through the Freeport schools. Uh so she had a place in her heart for RSU5, which we 100% appreciated and were able to uh take advantage of and bring her back here. and the work she's done with us. Um, you know, while not a not a long time will be lasting, uh, you know, she's guided us through some some challenging um some challenging times to be a school board, uh, and to to run a district. Um, and there's there's so many things that, you know, well, the lawyers would tell me I can't say
031on these types of things. So, so I want Jane and I have had a lot of discussions, uh, late night discussions, very early morning discussions, and you know, we all see the the administrator and the the educational leader for our district. Um, I see a woman that I admire. Um, I see a wife. I see a mother who drops what she's doing when her children need her. Um, and I think that's the type of that's the type of um model we want to for district of who we want to be. So um so this old house will not be the same without you. Um but um I always try to take away when someone um when someone retires and moves on uh you know what is the sort of the core piece that I'll take
032with me uh from what I've learned from them and for you that saying is um time is short and kids can't wait. So, thank you. And I will say that I think you and Victor have earned a redo of the trip in Jamaica and that would be my suggestion for your first retirement activity. So, thank you. [Applause] Jenny will get mad. We all know the real boss around here. Okay, now Phoebe. Oh, wait. Before Phoebe starts, I would just like to uh acknowledge and congratulate Phoebe on her Falcon Pride Award uh given to her at at the tennis awards last week. So, well done. Thank you. I love tennis and I yeah I got the charact pride and character award so um I didn't get like a actual like athletic award um and my plaque
033was um smaller than the varsity players but that's um also my printer broke so but it's the craziest time of the year as I always say um we have finals which start a week from today. Um, which is amazing. Um, so students are studying really hard and preparing for the end of the year and for the summer and for next year. Um, it's also senior week right now. So, our seniors graduate this Sunday, which is crazy and insane. So, they finished up their senior projects. They did all their presentations which were incredible. They worked so hard on everything and now they are celebrating their hard work from the last four years and um on Sunday they will graduate. Um we are also having student leader elections um coming up for class officers and student council
034members for next year. Um, and we recently had the annual walk for charity which is run by the student council and the whole school takes part in an event which is a walk through downtown to give back to the community and this year we raised a lot of money for St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital. We also had our academic awards night um I think last week and um tons of students were recognized for their hard work in all subject areas. Um and we also had the scholarship night for seniors and some juniors who um were awarded scholarships for their next pass after high school. And I also have some congrats to um members of the National Technical Honor Society for their outstanding success and achievement in career and technical education. So big congrats from for
035Sierra Best, Christian Doyle, Caleb Hill, Margaret Nichols, and Megan Randall who um were accepted into the National Technical Honor Society. Um so yeah, we're super busy, super crazy, and having fun. It's warm out and yeah and then it sounds like there is a very rockus girls lacrosse game going on just outside the door. I mean that all that cheering was for you guys. It actually Thank you, Phoebe. Uh so we are at the public comment area and I'm just going to pause and say thank you so much to the retirees. You don't have to stay for the whole meeting. Feel free to go. You guys have done You guys have done your duty. So, yeah. And don't forget snacks. They're good. Take one of each. So, we are at public comment. So, if anyone wanted
036to step to the mic on their way out, feel free. We do have another opportunity at the end of the meeting if someone would like. Um, but we will keep moving with item eight on the agenda, superintendence report. As retirement is on the horizon for me, this will likely be my final official superintendence report pending the successful high revenue superintendent. So, tonight I'd like to highlight some of our achievements as a district this year. The district's financial outlook remains strong. The establishment of additional and additional funds to reserve our res to fund our reserve accounts supports the district meeting unanticipated need after the budget has been developed and adopted. We've expanded our use of local produce, fresh fish, and our experienced school nutrition staff continues to incorporate more scratch cooking in our schools. We have
037a vehicle replacement plan which will ensure we have a top-notch fleet to transport our children to school, field trips, and extracurricular activities. Our fantastic driving staff is small but mighty and extremely dedicated. We've completed an energy audit with an articulated plan of how to complete many, many much needed larger projects such as boiler replacements and upgraded lighting. This summer, our tech team and facility teams are doing a heavy lift to assure the completion of significant life safety projects in all our buildings that will support the safety measures we have in place and keep our staff and students safe. We've successfully launched the data collection phase of a new strategic plan, which will inform this district's work well into the future. We continue to attract amazing educators to join our already strong teaching force. This evening,
038I will ask you to prove five more teachers to join our team next year. Our achievement data remains strong and our chronic absenteeism rate has marketkedly declined in our schools this year. On to page two. There's a lot of achievements. This did not just happen um this did not just this did not just happen but has but by chance. It is a direct result of the hard work done by our dedicated caring staff. We have an incredibly accomplished team of administrators who are datadriven, thoughtful, and lead by example. On Sunday, we will celebrate the achievements of 140 graduates as we proudly launch them into the world. This would not have happened without a dedicated village of staff, parents, and community members. The board continues to grapple to revise policies that are alignment with law and
039to courageously adopt them to protect all of our children. I've gone to school since 1970. I've been an educator for 38. Much has changed during that time. I encourage us all to continue to do what is right, even when doing what is right is hard. I can't imagine what it's what's going to be like this fall to see those big yellow buses rolling and I'm not going to school. But one thing I know for certain, RSU5 will continue to grow and change to meet the needs of all of our children. Remember, time is short. Kids can't wait. I sincerely thank you for the privilege of being your superintendent. [Applause] I stole your line. I'm sorry. I know. It's okay. It's okay. Um, resignations and retirements. I have some to announce this evening. Uh, ch and
040this would be at the end of this school year. Charles Fear, Mass Landing School Ed Tech. Dr. Paige Fornier, FMS assistant principal. Jodie Cfield, FMS RTI ELA teacher. Melinda Carr, MLS EdTech. Dr. Heather Gilpin, school psychologist for the purpose of retirement. and Susan Martin, MLS literacy specialist for the purpose of retirement. And that's the end of the report this evening. You want me to go over the meetings? Okay. So, in your packets, uh, you will see, um, I just want to take a quick, uh, before we go on to the board meetings, one thing I noticed that was glaringly missing from Cynthia's, uh, uh, retirement speech about like all the different things she does here, well, the minutes. I was thinking the calendar when we make her go duke it out with the other districts
041about when we want school to be. for me that is like the most important thing Cynthia does for us and I appreciate it and I don't know how we're gonna do it without you honestly. So anyway, uh in your packets uh green sheet of paper is uh the board meetings for next year. We're not even done this year. We're already talking about next year. So uh the board retreat is scheduled for August 27th. So just a reminder that starts earlier in the afternoon. and that's at 4:00. Uh looks like we've already got it uh blocked for the Hilton Garden in. So that's wonderful. Uh that'll help us get a a jump start in the upcoming year. Uh and then you can see through uh you know our typical two meetings, second and fourth Wednesday of
042the month. We'll go uh we'll have one in Powell and one in Durham in the fall. Um we'll start the budget process with the recommended budget in January and then we start adding in a few extra meetings uh to make sure we get through all those budget discussions. The uh the annual budget meeting next year will be May 13th and that will be held here at F FHS. Uh June 3rd is there is no it's just a regular meeting and then June 10th will be our final meeting where hopefully we are talking about the approved budget for next year. So, um, same sort of very similar structure to what we've had in the past, but wanted folks to have it so that they can get it in their calendars. Um, so all right. Uh, administrator
043reports, Kelly. So, included in your packet this evening are the expenditures through April 30, uh, 2025. um we were about um 94.2% expended and encumbered at that point. Um we've largely um now gone through the month of May as well. Um so uh we've taken care of uh the the majority of the last part of the ordering for the school year. Um we will be talking at finance next week about any potential um transfers that may be needed. Um there are a little more um transportation repairs um that we than anticipated. So I am anticipating a a move between our um article one and article 8 um that the finance committee will consider next week at their meeting. Um otherwise than that there's um we're on track. We're roughly around the area of percent of
044spending where we were last year at this time. So I don't really see any other areas of concern. Questions for Kelly? Thank you. All right. So, next on our administrator reports, uh, FHS student cell phone use update. And I believe Charlie is going to do that for us. Okay. Thank you. Um, so, uh, this is a a hot topic here at Freepert High School, cell phones, and has been for for years, I would say. Um, as Phoebe, I'm sure can attest to. Um, so, uh, just, you know, in terms of an update, I guess I would say that, you know, this year, uh, we we changed our policy pretty significantly at the beginning of the year, starting the year. Um, prior to this year, uh, cell phone kind of rules were at teacher discretion. So,
045different teachers had different rules about cell phones in their class. Some allowed it, some didn't. Uh, and and that wasn't working very well. I think it was uh the kids had a hard time navigating, you know, what what was supposed to happen in which classroom. Uh, and it led to to confusion and and then with the confusion, it it became very hard to manage. Uh so our high school faculty leadership team last summer in our kind of yearly retreats decided to tighten up the cell phone rules, you know, and obviously we're in tune with all the the the stuff in the media, all the research that's coming out about cell phone. We took all that into consideration and decided this year uh that we were gonna kind of have a have a a policy that
046was much stricter. And so this year we started the year with uh basically a ban in all classes. Uh meaning that students would have to come into each classroom. When they came in there was a dedicated holder for cell phones. Usually it was like a shoe rack. Usually they're shoe racks. Um and they were supposed to come in uh bring their phones into the classroom, put them in that shoe rack and leave them there for the entire uh class period. Then when they left they could go to the next class. In between classes, you know, they were allowed to go on their phones. uh at lunch they're allowed to go on their phones before school after school allowed to go on their phones but during any academic setting they were not supposed to be on
047their phones and that includes obviously academic classes but also study hall uh our advisory period was another place where they were not supposed to be on their phones um and uh you know at the beginning of the year it was a little bit of an adjustment but it was going pretty well I would say it went pretty well um we had lots of parent support for this. Um, kids kids were were adjusting, I'll say that, to it. Uh, kids were adjusting to it. Uh, and it started, I would say it started slipping in in the winter in in the winter. We saw a lot, especially during advisory, uh, kids pushing back on having to put away their cell phones during the advisory block. That's where they really didn't want to do it. Um, and as
048we've all been to school, uh, and you guys know that that different teachers have different personalities. Uh, and some of those personalities are want to like, you know, everything's by the book. Others are are a little bit more kind of they want to kind of work with students and and support students in different ways. Uh and so we started in the in winter started seeing a little bit more of that at play where you know and not not not in any bad way but but sometimes teachers would let kids like use cell phones as a reward or motivation you know if you if you guys work really hard for for 60 minutes I'll let you use your phones for the last 15 minutes and things like that. um or or you know other other variables
049like that that would come into play and and again like once we start seeing like these kinds of things uh it starts creating confusion for for kids uh you know well this teacher lets me use it sometimes so why won't you let me use it sometimes you know things like that started happening um and at that point we started you know talking to staff about should we allow kids to use cell phones in advisory uh we kind of we we kind of started bringing that up uh and you know clearly uh the the teachers thought that was not a good idea that we should stick with the advisor like not not allowing it during advisory so we stuck with it um and you know things are continuing to slip I would say this time of
050year especially um we're seeing a lot more kids on their phones uh teachers are having a hard time enforcing it there is you know there's lots lots of push back I would say in the classrooms from from from students uh who who you know do not feel the need to do it um and so we we've got some more feedback from teachers actually this this week uh and and last week in our PLC's they started talking about uh cell phones and how it's going uh and we you know we've seen the news about these these uh locked bags you know a lot of people the yonder bags is one of Um and so we started asking about like going to something like that. Um 77% of the teachers that responded to our form uh want
051to see a locked bag. Uh you know I would say there is no perfect policy. I mean, whatever policy we put in place, it's going to be, you know, hard to enforce without without support, uh, without without some sort of kind of schoolwide support. Um, the the, you know, I think everybody's trying and there has been improvement. I would say this year there definitely has been improvement from prior years, but it is still a big issue. uh it is still, you know, a distraction in in in schools uh in our school. We've talked to reached out to other schools that have um implemented uh the honor bags or the lock bags, I should say. Um we talked to I talked to Eric Vney who was the principal up at Morse High School who implemented it
052this year. You know, he said it was revolutionary was his word that he told me on the phone. Uh he said that it's not only like because you know that the kids just aren't on their phones, but he said that classrooms are just a totally different culture. Uh the kids are focused. Um but you know I know that these these are expensive. Um I think that you know what we've tried to do no matter what the policy is whether cell phones or advisory or things like onein one out we when we're trying to enforce these policies we've got to get buy in and there's not always the buyin across the board from every teacher and and that can create confusion. uh when we take these when we can do something like locked bags where where
053it takes it out of the teachers hands uh I think that's better for the teachers uh and I think it's better for enforcement of the policies uh you know one thing we have not gotten enough feedback from is the students themselves um I do not believe the students themselves would support locked bags but I know that that Phoebe can talk more about that but but we want to get their feedback too. Um, one another thing we tried to do is work to get a uh organization called Project Reboot to Freeport High School. Uh, Project Reboot is basically one a oneman kind of show who kind of goes around and speaks at schools all across the country. Um, and they're out of California. He's a very charismatic presenter and he talk he doesn't necessarily talk to
054kids about not using their phone. He just talks to kids to what happens to them while they're using their phone. And his message is, you know, don't use your phone. Your message is here's what's happening. Here's what's happened to me. Here's how you can use it better. And he has he's I've heard just amazing things about that. We tried to get funding. We we wrote a grant to get this guy to come, but unfortunately we did not get the grant. Uh but that's something we want to continue to to look into to kind of you know not just talk about like banning things and and and you know the kind of that stuff but also really try to educate kids on phones, how to use them, what it's doing to them, you know that that
055kind of stuff. Um, I would also say that um, our leadership team every year, every like we did last June, we're meeting on June 18th and June 20th uh, to kind of reflect on the year. And one of the things we're going to be reflecting on is our our cell phone policy and how it relates to our strategic plan. So, we will uh, we will definitely, you know, be thinking about what what changes we can do in the short term for for the next school year and how we can be more consistent across the board. uh as a as a school and kind of putting a policy in place that we can enforce and that that um that that seems manageable for for our teachers as well as you know and keeping our students in
056mind as well. Uh but um it's yeah it's a big it's a big topic here at school obviously and you know we've heard about it in the news and uh and so we're we're we're happy to be discussing this with you. Uh, so with that, I'll take any questions or uh comments or questions for Charlie. Danielle. Well, I have a question. When you say that it's like hard for the teachers to enforce it, do we not have some type of disciplinary action plan set up? Because I feel like if we can't control the cell phone, are are we not controlling other things also inside the school? Yeah, that's a good question. And when I say it's hard, it's it's I think it takes a lot of time up at the beginning of class for them.
057They're spending a lot of energy kind of like reminding kids, getting kids to put it in the in the in the in the shoe racks, the what we call, you know, those are where they're supposed to put it. Um, and there are there are like a consequences. There's first time's the detention, the second time's two detentions, third times a parent meeting. Um, we then that the parent has to come get the phone. um you know those types of things are happening all the time. Um still not necessarily making a big difference. I mean the like detentions and things you know that's a disciplinary consequence that has mixed results no matter what we're talking about like in terms of a deterrent uh or or change behavior in order ways to change behavior. But it's just there
058it's just a thing that's happening a lot. Um and so that's just taking up their time. Have we thought of just basically the habitual offenders? They can't have a cell phone at school at all. Uh we we have not discussed that. I mean we do have some kids who are supposed to drop who do drop off their phones in the morning on their way here. We definitely do have that with some some habitual offenders. Um and you know that that that is helping that is helping. But you know it's not it's not everybody. I'm sort of curious those schools who have used the locked bags um have they found um they are expensive have they found um very many students trying to circumvent you know putting their phones in bags by say bringing in another
059phone for example to try to get around the rules. I I think they have found some of that. Yes. Yes they have. And there's, you know, I I've heard of I haven't seen it myself, but I've heard of like there's Tik Tok videos out there about how to hack the bags and there will definitely be some of that. There's not one perfect policy for sure. But yes, that that is there there are definitely things like that uh going on with in those schools. But, you know, it takes it out of the classroom. I mean, if if it's clear that that you cannot bring these things to school and they are supposed to be in a bag, then there's no kid walking down the hallway on their phone like, "Oh, my teacher said I could do
060this." Or there there's none of there's no kind of none of that kind of stuff happens. So, it's it's more black and white. Uh, and I think easier to deal with and less like negotiating, if you will, uh, when it's when it's like the schoolwide, you know, no, you know, that that no phones in school kind of a thing, if that makes sense. If they're supposed to be in a bag, everything's supposed to be in a bag, you don't take it out in between classes ever, then it's very black and white. Uh, and and kind of and easier to um manage, if that makes sense. Um, just regarding the the bags and how it would actually work, I'm just curious. Would it be like it when they walk in the front door of the high
061school or like they're responsible for putting their own phone in their own locked bag or like how how does that actually logistically work for Well, I think schools do it differently. My understanding from Morse is when they walk into the high school, the the administrators are there and they check every kid. They talk to every kid and ask them to just show them their back and to show that their phone is in their back and they they said he said that that was took a lot to get used to at the very beginning. Uh but he and it was it was hard. He said it was very very hard at the very beginning but it was worth it. he said and they still do it now and now it's just part of the routine and
062you know does the So when the phone goes in the bag though is it set in a specific place in the school like No it's in No they keep them with it and they travels with them and then at the end of the day they have these you know magnet things that they can unlock it when they leave the school. Okay that's how it works at Morse but you know there's other schools that I'm sure do it very differently. Uh there's a few more schools next year that are going to be doing something similar like Mount Arat I think is doing it. Uh Portland is moving towards something like this. Uh so there are other schools that are that are moving that way and they might have different procedures but I know that's the procedure
063at um at Morse High School. Um, thank you so much for for gathering this information and sharing with us tonight. I and for explaining the um the challenges that are being experienced. I think we recognize that this is a really complex issue. There's so many different factors and so I appreciate you again coming to share. I have a couple of questions and thoughts. one. How much would the yonder bags be for a high school? Do you know about I mean I don't know exactly. I we don't have like an exact quote but somewhere in the neighborhood of like $15,000 I think. Okay. So I think the the Mount Earat for their budget I don't know if they're doing the middle school and the high school and obviously it's a larger high school but the cost
064was $50,000 is what they had in their budget. Right. And I I think they are doing at the middle school too. They are. Yeah. Um and I appreciate at the end you said that you are you appreciate this conversation with us and so I'm curious to what our role is in these decisions. I know that each school right now currently has their own um guideline and there's been some discussion about district-wide policy and is that the only time when we would really have a role in this conversation? I so I guess that's a general question for us for the board, but also I'm curious how you would like support from the board and if this is if if we're just doing a school by school decision, if is there anything that you would like our
065support and guidance on? Yeah. Uh that's a great question. You know, it's it's obviously in the news a lot. We have a like a bill coming through the legislature. It sounds like we have uh a parent group that's been very involved. U the Alliance of Thoughtful Technology, the RC5 Alliance of Thoughtful Technology. Uh we've been working with them. They actually try to help us um get the funding for that project reboot thing. Our PTSO has been very helpful, too. They tried to help us get the funding for that project reboot as well. Um, so you know, with the board, you know, I I guess I don't know where this law is going and if it's like a district by district decision, which it sounds like it might be potentially like so they're going to leave
066it up to the local school boards to decide. Um, you know, I think it would be great for for for us to like like have a really thoughtful discussion getting lots of feedback from lots of stakeholders, parents, students, uh, teachers to kind of come up with a a a policy that we think can be, you know, is first of all good for learning and kids mental health and second of all like something that's manageable for for for staff to kind of enforce and something that is enforcable. um that that we can all kind of get behind. I don't think it would I don't want to rush into anything either. Uh but but I just like your leadership and kind of facilitating that kind of a process uh would be like ideal I guess I would
067say depending on what we're allowed to uh allowed to do per this new this new state law coming down coming down the pike. I guess so I'm wondering if it would make sense to develop like an ad hoc committee to review this and in the fall into the in the next school year and it as a district a district ad hoc committee and also with our strategic planning focus groups and surveys that will go out in the fall if if we can I don't know tag on to that. Yeah. Ask some of those questions. um about cell phone use then yeah uh or I just had a followup to that. Oh, thank you so much Charlie um for this information. I'm sorry to hear that things haven't gone better. Um but I would be interested
068if we did have an ad hoc committee and seeing if they would be willing to do the work over the summer. I mean, I don't know if it's reasonable or feasible to expect to go into the fall with um I mean, I know the board has to vote to adopt policy. So, certainly we couldn't go into the fall doing that, although we do have additional meetings coming up um and we would need time to hear from stakeholders. So, I certainly agree like I would want that process to be thoughtful, but also with everything that you're saying. I also am concerned about going through another school year with the status quo and if it would be possible midchool year to shift gears and adopt, you know, adopt the policy or um how that all would work.
069Yeah. I just want to be clear too, things are better. I I would say that things are better. I didn't want to give you the impression that things are not better than last year. They are definitely better. Uh there's no question, but there's definitely still still issues and there's it's definitely still a problem. Yeah, for sure. Yeah, I I guess um that kind of tagging along with that question going into the next school year, um I assume we would not have enough time to acquire a bunch of Zander Zer bags or whatever they are before the next school year. But um over the summer or whenever this happened or in conjunction with your administration if there could be more discussion about whether it could still be a bell-to-bell type ban and whether that could be
070actually um more easily enforced than what you have in place existing right now. Yeah. So what what are your thoughts on you know is it feasible to consider something like this mid-stream in the year right I mean obviously best practice is to start the year that's why we did this year with it I mean it is a little easier to I don't maybe easier is not the right word but the what we're considering something like the the locked bags is is easier to facilitate because it's you know it goes in the bag right I mean you could start that on any given day you could start it after Christmas break you could start you know there I think it It's a less it's less about sort of the uh mental habit of okay now I
071go in I put my thing in I take my thing out I know you know it's just something you do at the beginning of the day. So I think it might be easier to facilitate midstream. Um I mean I I don't envision how we could get it done before the school year started. Um, yeah. I don't I I don't know if we could I don't think we could thoughtfully do all that work in the two months and get them and find a way to pay for them. You know, I I think um you know, the thing that I heard from you, Charlie, that I really liked um because you know, one of my one of my hesitations about the the bags or or anything sort of extreme like that is okay in school that's good.
072How are we teaching them to survive in a world where this is the world like the technology is going it's not going away, right? Um I understand they mature. I understand their brains change. I I I understand all those things. Um but I also know that they they need to find a way to survive in this world, you know, driven by technology. So, you know, the the ideas around that speaker um you know, maybe handinhand those types of things coming together, right? Of um not just you can't have this because we don't trust you. Uh and more this is why we're doing it. This is how we're helping you. this is how you can navigate these things uh in your life outside of these four walls. Um that's that's compelling to me. I'm going to
073go to Danielle first and then I agree with you Michelle. I I think that we have you know certain classes that every student at the high school has to take. Um, I don't think it would be a bad thing to consider there being a tech class, something talking about social media if that's what we're very, you know, concerned about. Um, and I because again, all that's going to happen is the phone's going to be locked in a bag for school hours and they're still going to go home and they're still going to use that phone. And so, we have not taught them one thing about what is the right thing to do and what is the wrong thing to do. So, I just don't see it as we're not gaining anything. Um, and there's data
074that shows that the laptop is just as distracting as the cell phone. So, my thing is let's bring back books and get rid of um electronics altogether. Um because those can be just just as problematic. So the kids might So the kids might not have their phones, but they're still gonna have, you know, a laptop in front of them. And I I know that they are playing games on the laptops, that they are doing things that they shouldn't be doing on them. And instead of on their phones, that's what they're doing. So again, I think we have to have some type of education for these kids. And it and it can't it doesn't have to just start at the high school. We can start at the elementary or a middle school, you know, and incorporate
075that into the education. Yeah. And I think I think they can, you know, they can eye message from their their their laptops, right? So, we've heard from parents who were like, you know, I've seen my kids text messages. They're texting during middle school and well, they're probably doing it from their laptops, right? So, I don't know if that's a functionality you can shut down. There was also questions about whether we shut down social media in the buildings. We do, right? Like, we block those in our Wi-Fi already, but if you're on your if you're on cell service, we can't block it. So, um, you know, I just I think I think there's to your point, Danielle, I think there's some education that could happen all around, right? It could happen with parents, right? So, this
076is this is how your kid might be circumnavigating, you know, if you know how they're doing it. Maybe you can check, right? Um, you know, with the kids, with the, you know, I do think I don't think we get nothing out of not having the phones, right? I think we eliminate the distraction in the day. I think we we make teachers jobs more about educating the kids and less policing the phones. Um so I don't think we get nothing out of it. But to your point of like are we teaching them how to use their phones, you know, live in the world better? Probably not unless it couples with other things. Yeah, excuse me. I was going to say the same things about what we would still get out of that. And I also see
077the ad hoc committee being one that could look into digital citizenship curriculums and education and different um ways to support the schools in in those areas because I absolutely agree that's a that's something we should also be focusing on not just the the a ban. Um, and we also haven't we didn't ask DCS or FMS to report out tonight either. And that is also uh an area that I think we would that an ad hoc committee could be um looking at and supporting, right? Because they are bell-to-bell, right? I mean, they they currently are not allowed to have phones from the first bell to the end bell. Now, obviously, there might be some uh execution risk there that that it, you know, there are kids who will smuggle phones in. I mean to to Charlie's
078point, nothing is foolproof. Um, but we don't want good to be the enemy of great, right? Is that something that I always mix up that thing? We want good to be the enemy of evil technology. No, baby. Um, yeah. So, lots of um interesting points. I totally I totally agree that um I think there needs to be lots of um education for for students and for teachers and for uh parents like about like what um like the reasoning behind it. I think um I mean from my point of view like a bellto bell policy or a locked bag um type of thing would be very hard to implement. It would a be expensive. It would logistically be hard. um like the majority I I would say the majority of our students don't have their licenses
079and their after school plans are changing and I don't know if the office staff would be you know prepared to deal with like every single kid calling their parent trying to figure out what they're doing after school sports practices change um I mean and there's classes like art classes and the photography classes that use phones there's QR codes on the walls um like I think it would be a big adjustment and I think that there are a lot of things that um can be learned from learning how to like set boundaries um with the technology but I think no matter what happens you 100% need need buy in from students and when students have the agency to make a change and they feel like they are doing it themselves and they are part of the
080change. Um it's going to make a huge impact. And FreeR High School has um an asset in the student leadership committee who presented to the board in the fall who's has all of the tools to go out seek information and perspective from students and then realize that into data and um can influence decision- making and we've seen that happen before with the advisories. We've seen it happen with um AP costs with mental health resources. Um and I think that should definitely be something to be looked into because um I don't think much progress can be made when it is just adults making the decisions um because I think it's kind of um in our nature to like to push back against decisions from higher up. Um, but if students feel like they are the ones
081who want to make this change, um, which I think many really do want to learn how to be better about technology and around their phones, um, I think you're going to see a lot more success. I know it's hard to believe, Phoebe, but we all went to high school once and we all made it home eventually. Not Malik, not Malik. She's still hoping next year she's she's going, but um, yeah. Yeah. No, it's that's a I I I I appreciate you bringing up the resource of the leadership team um you know and if the the thought of a ad hoc committee um you know moves forward I would definitely see a role for that group in that right um because buyin is key right you know maybe it's the speaker first right understanding the why
082and then think about how right I mean I don't know how expensive the speaker is but $50,000, but I love the idea of of uh grant funding, too. So, um so I know we're specifically talking about cell phones here, but um and I feel also that cell phones are the hot topic. So, you know, you hear a lot about it. Um, and I know that's why we're addressing it. And obviously there creates problems, but I have to say like my bigger concern about the technology is the AI. And to me, like kids, they're on their laptops. I mean, I hear this like from my kid directly about kids sitting there googling their answers, googling this and doing and then turning it in and, you know, passing their classes. And it's just I think to me
083that just seems like a a much bigger issue than whether they're distracted by a cell phone, you know, because there's always going to be distractions and but if they're not like if they're not learning because they're able to like Google and AI things and just have things written for them, then I you know, so I mean I know that Colin has touched on this before and wanted to know um sort of thing, but I I just had to throw that out there because I feel like that's um a huge huge thing. Um and then also Michelle, if we are going to take away cell phones, I think we need to put some payones back in the lobbies so kids can put a quarter in and call home, right? How many kids you think need a
084ride home? divided by four. Yes, Kelly. Um, I'm just curious about the push back and the slipping that you say has happened over the school year. And you say it's mostly during advisory. I'm sort of curious to know how much teachers feel like cell phones have been a distraction in other academic settings, regular classroom settings. Yeah. I mean, I think it's it started it started slipping in advisory and then it kind of spread out from there. So I think it's definitely happening in other academic settings, you know, and it depends on the teacher. It depends on the on the the class. Uh I think time of day matters like the end of the day seems to be, you know, everybody's kind of done and tired and you see a lot more at that time. Uh
085but but it definitely started in an advisory and again I want to reiterate it is definitely better than last year. It is definitely better. There's no question about that. But but is it's you know it's slipping and it's it takes energy a lot of energy uh from the adults in the building teachers who who of the kids in front of them to to make to keep keep battling this. Um and so um that's you know but it's happening in in multiple academic settings. Yeah. One thing you said that was really interesting to me was that 77% statistic because I don't think that was the case last year. Right. because the recommendation from from the leadership team at the high school was we don't think we need to go to that type of we we'd like
086to try this. Yeah. Um so I appreciate your willingness to try it and see how it turned out. Um and maybe it needs to be tweaked further. Right. Yeah. Colin. Um, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Uh, my math is probably not right, but I think it would take 200,000 phone calls. Uh, yeah, there you go. Uh, and I think that I think that's perfectly feasible. So, I think we I think I think we got I think we got our money right there. Um, yeah, Charlie, thank you so much. This was extremely helpful and I appreciate the um the the depth of just how much you are you all are in this and how and and also your willingness to to give this year a try and also just your cander about what the what these challenges
087are. That's extraordinarily helpful. Um I guess I have a couple things. One is I guess I'm I'm gonna I'm gonna be devil's advocate here for a second. Um, I don't think there's anything. Okay, it's a part of my brain. It's not my whole brain, but that's what being a devil's advocate is you say that just what is in one part of your brain. So, don't hurt me. Uh, Phoebe, uh, I don't or or Cara, neither of you hurt me, please. Um, I don't see what an ad hoc committee is going to tell us that we don't already know. I think we know everything. I think we know that uh we know what the impacts are. We know that there will be there will be mixed um opinion among parents. We now know this statistic among
088uh administrators and um and uh teachers at the school. Um, we we know I think what you've presented, Phoebe, is absolutely accurate that that um something being put in place that was in the form of a ban that way would um would be hard for a lot of students to um to accept and to to implement. Um, I guess I I guess I'm just sitting here and think thinking about that and thinking about what you're reporting and thinking about the the the idea of of of spending another year talking about it. Um, I honestly don't know. Um, we're like we're pretty smart in this district. Like we're pretty smart and our kids are pretty smart and our parents are pretty smart, but like no one solved this. like no one is like no one's found
089the silver bullet, right? So like the idea that we're gonna find in 12 months um a way to implement something that hasn't been done anywhere else and then we'll absolutely make everybody happy is just like it's malarkey like so it just that will not happen. So we will find ourselves in 12 months taking one of the compromised positions or one of the hard positions that have already been mapped out. Um, so I guess my uh so the devil on this shoulder is just saying like really why why wait um when we have um uh we have a clear option which would be to um borrow $50,000 from Malik and uh and just buy those dang bags um and implement and and implement that Um, again I am coming quite hard from that side. The other
090angel over here is like I love talking about stuff. Like I love talking like I love talking I love talking about the issues. I love getting into it. I love getting into it. I love hearing everybody's point of view. Um uh maybe like this like this person over here like has just been polluted by like um maybe I'm just feeling the uh I don't know like uh maybe like just a few more executive orders coming from the board you know just like maybe just sort of like just more of that right more of that before policy let's just do more of that which uh is terrifying to me that I'm sort of noticing that but also very few of them are are working or legal uh or will stand the test of time. Um, so
091I think I just do want to have I just want to put that out there that that again if there was an ad hoc committee formed if that was the will of the board like I'd love to be on it or would love to talk to the people that are on it and would love to hear again like the the uh going back to our um to our earlier uh our meeting over the summer um when I shut down my colleague uh Beth who is asking to share a more sort of personal anecdote. Um, and I felt very bad about about doing that. I would love to hear more personal anecdotes from our uh from our teachers, from our students, uh, from our parents to sort of understand that that's important that like lived experience
092is really important and we know that cell phones in the classroom do not help anything. Yeah, I I don't envision a year process to be clear. Um, I don't think it's something that could only be instituted at the beginning of a year. I do think better implementation happens when you have more buyin and a wellthoughtout plan and less of a hammer. Um, but I I don't I'm not at a point where I I feel like if we pulled the the students and 51% said, "No, we don't want this," we'd be like, "Well, we tried, guys. Sorry." Like I I do think we have a role as the board, right? If we are going to set a district I do think you're right, Cara, that if we are going to have a district policy, that's our
093take. Um and we decide if we're going to have that or not, right? Um if we're going to leave it to the schools, then they will they will set their policies. Um you know, I I see a more nuanced way to do it than, you know, either just drop the hammer and and place the order. Thanks, Malik. um see you don't have to go to high school. You got 50 grand for these bags. Um and waiting a whole year and you know having a a you know a crosswalk. I don't know that's like an education term, right? Like you guys do these crosswalk things, right? So um I Right. What's Isn't that a thing? A crosswalk is a thing. Yeah. Yeah. Doesn't apply here, but it's fine. It's a thing. It's a thing. It's a
094thing. Um, I think there's a way to do it that could be, you know, a little bit in between those things in my opinion. One last thought is, um, from me anyway, um, is that have you ever in something like this where a new policy is sort of rolled out for one year and so you, you know, obviously came out of the gates strong and then things start happening towards the middle end of the year. Is there anything that you've experienced that's similar that maybe like the second year going it's even better or you know because like to me I feel like um we were in that space where all of the kids except for the ninth graders had sort of been used to having their phones and whatever and so it was a much
095bigger right it was a much bigger uh you know hard thing for maybe them to accept but as like so these seniors go away and now it's going to be the next you know class coming up from middle school where they're not used to it and So, you know, with you saying that things have improved a lot at the high school and that, you know, potentially sticking with the same plan could I mean, it's just a thought. Is that something that has occurred to you guys or what? Well, I mean, yeah, we've had things happen before where that you know, there was not a rough start and then kind of they improved over time for sure. Like I thinking like uh when we went from two launches to three lunches, that was a heavy lift.
096Actually, we did that in the middle of the year. Uh, which was which was kind of crazy, but it it it took time and people hated it. A lot of people hated it at the beginning, but now it's like, oh yeah, we should have three lunches. That's just the way it is. Um, and people went through and it's all and it's all good. So, uh, and we have thought about that like we have, you know, thought about like, well, this is the first year, maybe it'll be better next year, even even better, I should say. Um, so yeah, we we've talked about that and like I said, you know, our faculty leadership team will be meeting on the 18th and the 20th to kind of our kind of annual retreat where we look back on
097the year and kind of look ahead to the next year and make tweaks to things like the cell phone policy and other and other and other policies. So I mean we will start tweaking it on June 18th uh for next year and hopefully make it better. Yeah, I didn't want to have it like scrapped completely because you are saying that there has been some benefit from it. So I just don't want to have that lost in our process of thinking about what we need to do from here. Did you give good response to the survey? Because I always want to ask like what's the response rate? So it was 35 faculty members out of like 50 so far there. They still have time and of those 77% favored the lockback. So I mean that's that's
098you know that's okay. I mean that's a that's a decent turnout. It wasn't seven. No. No. Yeah. Yeah. You mentioned the Morris Street Morris High School um as kind of an example of a school nearby that's using them, but I'm just sort of curious if there's been a broader reach in terms of looking for other schools and how it the implementation of these bags has actually worked on the ground and in in in real life there. We have not had a broader reach yet. No, we we we know well you as most of you guys know we have a former assistant principal that I worked with at the middle school who was at the middle school who was now the principal at Morse Middle School. You know I talked to started talking to him about
099it and then he suggested I talk to the Morse High School principal about it. So that's how that happened. But I have not spoken to a broader broader reach yet. Did they do it at the middle school? Yes, they did. The Morse? Yep. Yep. They did. Connor feels the same that it's been well, but I guess he wasn't there before it happened, right? So, Right. Right. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, you know, good best practices around implementation are interesting, right? Like I think the final decision on something like that lands with the board, but seeking the feedback around a good way to implement, I think, is still good practice for us. Um, I appreciate your comments, everyone, but especially Colin, because it's made me feel like I could be more outspoken. Um um I feel like
100I don't know what the analogy is to use, but like I feel like it's we got to pull the safety lever or something here. And I guess in terms of implementation and student voice, I I would feel comfortable. It seems to me from everything that that I've heard that both at this meeting and outside of this meeting about these pouches is that it seems like the best method now could we could engage students around and I don't know if this is feasible maybe it's a ridiculous suggestion like can you access them during lunch can you know a quarter of the kids on Monday get to access like I don't know is there some plan where there's a compromise between we have the pouches and the students can have a voice of how use them because
101I just I feel like if we're talking about a compromise, I don't know what that would look like uh beyond like right beyond what we're doing now and we have a stricter way to sort of um separate again like I don't want to be authoritarian but like separate the kids from their phones for the period of time that we're trying to separate them. But I do also want to acknowledge I see it with my kids the laptops are is incredibly distracting. Um, I don't usually share personal anecdotes about my family, but I will say like the transition to middle school and having a lap laptop in school is it's a hard one. So, I do just want to acknowledge that as well and that like everything that everyone else has said, Danielle, and about the
102educating students like it is it is a hard thing as a parent that I grapple with and I would love to for the kids to have um more support and education around as well. But I also um just feel like if we ahead. If I feel like I'm comfortable as a board member saying I I would after the administrative team meets, if you feel like it's a good idea, could we try to the board initiate trying to find the money? I feel like um again, maybe this isn't realistic, but if we purchase them, I feel like there's probably such high demand for them right now, it probably would not be difficult to resell them. So, at least we could we could have them if we find the money could somehow find this magic money. Um,
103and the possibility. Right. Right. Right. 140. Right. We'll mark them up. No. Um. Um. Because then, because then at least we would have that option and we could have a conversation then with the input from the stakeholders including the students about how do we use them appropriately and what's what's the compromise that we're seeking. I have I guess another question. Do you think Charlie that the idea the teachers think that the student shouldn't have the phones at all during the hallway time or at lunch? I mean, do we think that that is a time where we just don't want them to have it? Because again, I look at that like Phoebe mentioned. I mean, you know, you have older siblings who need to pick up younger siblings that sometimes you these kids are working. They
104have other stuff that they're doing. So, do we really we don't want them to have it, you know, that's the goal at all or are we just trying to make it better so that the teachers aren't the bad guys in the classroom taking the phone away? I guess I I feel like we need to distingu distinguish like Yes, exactly. Because I I think if it's okay because this is what I imagine. I mean, the Durham kids, I only know this because my kids go to went rode the bus from Durham here initially, but they could sit in the cafeteria for sometimes 30 minutes before school started. So, if they walk in the door at 7:20 or 7:25, are you taking their phone from that time until they the end of the day? Because I guarantee
105you no one's coming in that door until 7:49 or whenever school starts. Um, so, right. Um, so I guess I I guess is the bag again, what is the purpose of the bag? The b purpose to definitely can't get in it during the classroom time, which I please everybody understand I'm 100% no cell phone in the classroom, but I also think that that means don't ask my kid to do something at home on their cell phone at night. I I don't do that. Um, but I do think at lunchtime I think it's okay for them to to have that communication if they if they need that. Yeah. So, what are your guys' thoughts on that? I mean, I think that we haven't like said fully like what the procedure would be or we we haven't
106gotten that kind of feedback, but but you know, in terms of you know, the I think what the bags would do would make things much more black and white and less gray. And when you start saying, "Okay, you can have it in between classes." Then kids start kind of like, "Okay, well, I I was late coming back from the bathroom, and so that's why I still have it when I'm walking into the room." And then the teacher being like, "Why do you have your phone?" You know, get getting rid of those types of things that are draining teachers and and and staff. Um, you know, in terms of like the coming into the you the Durham bus gets to school very early, 7:15. Uh, and so I mean, we haven't talked about what the procedure
107would be. you know, obviously if we got these bags, but you know, maybe like the kids that are waiting in the calf before they leave the calf to go to school, they put it in a bag. I I I don't know exactly how that would work, but but that but we could talk about those types of procedures if if this if this happens. And, you know, and again, I don't know if this is the magic bullet, the the bags, you know, but I think that the overall kind of the what makes the bags attractive is that again, it makes things very black and white for everybody. there's no there's no there's no kind of wiggle room, if you will. Um, and that's that's I think the the appeal. So, um, did anyone else chuckle when
108they looked at the the agenda and it said 10 minutes to talk about cell phones? I don't know who Jenny thinks is on the board, but it's clearly not us. Um, so what I'm going to suggest is um I think this is all very good conversation. I think there is more work to be done before we can even pull that call. So, I think this goes on our our retreat discussion in August. We get information on pricing in the meantime. You guys have your meeting. We pull in the middle schools to get their feedback on how it's going. Um because I think I think it's premature for us to be like, "Place the order tomorrow. We don't know how much they are. We don't know where the money's coming from." And I think it it
109would just be premature. I'm not saying we need to wait a year because I I don't disagree with you, Colin. like we're not going to know. I I I think we could know more by August um to to come up with a plan. So, that would be my suggestion. Yeah, I'd like that suggestion. Um and as far as the cost, I feel like this could be one of those things that could be fundraised for potentially depending on how much it is and knowing that there is that Alliance for Thoughtful Technology Group. They might be willing to help lead that. Um, and so I I don't want the cost to be something that automatically is a reason to say we can't do this. No, I and but I just don't even think we know what it
110I mean 15 and 50 are very different numbers, right? So, um, I just want to throw out that possibility. Y um, these are all Malik's ideas, just by the way. I I have no opinions of my own. This is all what Malik wants me to say. Um, two things. One, um, I'm trying to think of the term, um, but it has something like technology creep or something like that of this sort of this idea that at any given time um, our society is kind of like in a situation where we're accepting things that uh, we never gave anybody permission to um, to put on us or ask us to do. Um, so I think I think this is one of those situations and I think that I think the the larger question around AI, I
111think the larger question around laptops, the larger question about technology, they're all part of that. Um, which is like how much of of the of the normative um, uh, culture that we are immersed in or that we're inheriting, do we accept? Um, do we accept as a given? Um, and how much agency do we um either want to have or believe that we have as a community to decide that um uh these are um these are our kids. These are the young people in our community and we want to craft um the best environment for them. um regardless of what um technology companies want, regardless of what the government uh various government agencies want, regardless of what other um sort of media sources are are after. So I think that I guess I wanted to
112sort of create that frame to just say that I think the um I mean I don't disagree with you Danielle about the like about the um the you know I like I was using my damn phone in the middle of this conversation, right? because it's a it is a tool and it's like it's it's part of it and also it's helpful to know if like my wife was able to pick up my prescription, right? Like that's like yes that's part of it but also I've been trained by this society to accept that that is a given and like um we're not going back to the 1990s but at the same time like there were lots of ways of finding of getting in touch with with with family members with parents immediate access to information is
113not um is is not a given and it's not a is not a given good second point. I think the um I do think the cell phone question is slightly more um and I think based on the way you presented it, Charlie, it's slight like the the we have a clearer solution to the problem um than we do with the question of AI for example or um or technology use in general or technology education. Um I mean I think in 5 years if this uh if if our educational situation does not look extremely different um in terms of how AI is integrated and how technology is working I think that we will have failed this community um because that is like that is it is huge again in terms of like what is what is
114happening in our society and the pressures that are being put um upon our students upon our educators and upon um just our community in general. So, I think that um that will be part of the um uh five-year plan, but I I I think we just need to find a way to accelerate that process um and respond to it in in more in real time. So, I think I I agree that the cell phone uh thing is part of it, but um there are bags. If we could just put the internet in a bag, be like, "Here, put it in here. Put put in your bag. Put the internet in your bag and don't use it until you get home. Well, you threw out some big stuff there, Colin, to end the conversation. That's what
115Malik said. Okay. Um, thank you, Charlie. Absolutely. My pleasure. Thank you. Yeah. Thanks. So, um, I'm just wondering in terms of soliciting input, so if we discuss this in August, which that plan all sounds good to me, um, would we be wanting input from a survey like a student survey? Okay, so we've surveyed the administrators. Do you want a student parent survey? Would the board talk about that then or um is that something we could think about between between? Yeah, we do have a few more meetings coming. Um so we can think about you know is there a way um who's our strategic communications people? Seems like a strategic communication or we create an ad hoc committee to talk about that sort of thing. And I think just my two cents on when you're when
116you're getting ready to survey, there's a key time to survey PE folks as well. And we know like students, this is not a time you want to we would want to or during the summer you wouldn't want to want to survey student. And I see no um even parents at this time. Families are really there. There there's a lot of summer activities that that families do. They go away and they're not in school mode and and I would worry you wouldn't have enough um response to that. But I think to um piggy back on what Cara said early, we are they strategic planning committee is getting ready to do a lot launch a survey and also do a lot of some focus groups and be out in the community and that would be a great
117time to we can tag on some questions about this and get that data that you want to have. Okay. Oh, well I'll just mention that earlier Colin um was talking about like anecdotes. So, I'm happy to forward the board all of the cat memes that my dad sends me during the school day. Even if we don't get bags, there's one for Phoebe coming. He never said I respond. Talk to LLB and I don't know what he does. He has a job up. It's I know somebody in security cyber security there. Okay. Okay. So, uh board comments and committee reports. I just wanted to use this opportunity to do a couple things around the superintendent search just to provide a quick update there. Uh so all of the board needs to complete the confidentiality uh um
118uh watch the video. Yeah. The training and then the link to sign the confidentiality agreement. Um and uh Phoebe and Moon do not have to do it. So you're out. Good for you. One last thing on your plate. What's that? Uh preferably by the 13th is what Jenny has requested. So everyone should have it in their inbox. Let me know if you don't. Um, we are also, uh, so right now the additional meetings we have scheduled are for 6:18 and 6:25. Uh, Jenny has asked if we could do those at 5. Um, just in just because the um just for the hours of the building, uh, they're into their summer hours and usually they're they close the buildings down earlier. So, uh, if, um, I think the plan is to do that to move those
119both those meetings to five. And if folks could check their calendars and let me know if that does not work for you. Do it, right? Everybody's phones out. I'm going to give you all yonder bags. Um, um, so we'll we'll plan those for five. Let me know if that does not work for you when you check your calendars. Phoia and Moon don't have to go to those either. So, you're good. Sorry. So excited. Um the other thing in your packets um is the um executive summary from MSMA about the survey that was sent out um around um key uh areas of of expertise and what we're looking for in terms of a um in terms of a new superintendent. Uh I think we had it there was a bunch where I know it's on here
120how many people 259 people responded to the survey which I think is is quite good. Um and you can see from question one it's heavily weighted towards parents but we did have uh our next biggest group was teachers, support staff, community members. We had a couple students complete it um administrators. So, um I thought it was uh I thought it was interesting. You guys all have it there. Uh how we're planning to use these uh responses is based on sort of the feedback we've um gotten from from this survey. Um we're using this to help craft questions for the interview process. So, um the first interviews which are scheduled for next, uh Tuesday and then, um the following week with the second interviews with the full board on the 18th. So, um we're trying to
121use these to help craft some of those questions. Eileen's helping us with that. Um so, Steph, Cara, Anna, and I are uh meeting at the end of this week to nail down um questions for that process. and uh we opened it up to the committee to submit suggestions for questions to be included and I will extend that offer to the board as well. If you have questions that you think we should consider um in either the first or the second interview um if you could get those to Jenny by um Friday noon time because we have to make that call later in the afternoon to determine those questions. Okay. Questions, thoughts? Yes. Is this We keep this in the purple. I can take it. You can take it. Yep. It's not salmon. It's all yours.
122Yes. Yeah. And I think um we sent this out a little after I we got it after the agendas went out. I I assume uh Jenny also um updated this onto the website. Yes. Um, this is this is really really cool to look at and really helpful. I I think the only thing I would just flag and I don't think again um uh the hiring committee would particularly take this particular note into account, but the fact that only 2.32% of folks said that budget and finance expertise and resourcefulness um was a priority. Um, right. Like I sort of just to just to say there are limits that we all know there limits to the data that we can collect and and how meaningful it is because I will say without our current superintendent's uh budget
123and finance expertise and resourcefulness uh we would be in a very different place. Um and and so um if that was that is clearly not number eight in our current superintendent uh skill set. Yeah. So this was the this was the hard question everyone struggled with because you could only pick one for each, you know. So, it's it's not that all of these aren't incredibly important. It's what is the most important. Yeah. But noted for sure. Yeah. All right. Uh I think that's all my notes on things I was supposed to say. So, any other board information exchange or gender requests? I had an agenda request for next year, but I wanted to put it in now because it involves um a a request a a request of a of a um of a staff
124member. Um we uh we uh maybe two years ago um got to uh hear a um a pitch for a sbatical uh for one of our uh teachers had a really exciting project um that that uh they were looking at. Um and I just loved the philosophy of learning and and all of that that was presented there. And I would just love to if there be some way to have the board get a presentation um of that of what happened during that year um or just how the um that curriculum again that just seemed really exciting was um uh is being implemented. can certainly. Um so reminder of one of the things we do in August is we work on our work plan for the year and we try to you know nail down different
125presentations that the board would like to um see throughout the year because obviously there are limited time and and resources of the staff. We can't hear about everything. So we put it all you know on the table and have a conversation about you know what rises to to the top in terms of what we'd like to see. So we will definitely um include that in on the table. Thank you. Any others? Okay. So, let's move to facilities and operations. Kelly, we had a facilities and operations committee meeting on Wednesday, May 7. And during that meeting, our facilities director, Glenn Reynolds, spent some time sharing a pro progress update for um our phase one energy audit projects. Um it appears that we're going to be prioritizing a lot of life safety issue projects as well. And
126some of the projects that will be um in that will be completed soon include the Freeport High School boiler replacement, some LED lighting upgrades, fire fire panel and devices upgrades, and door replacements. A lot of these projects are planning they're planning to complete them over the summer. um and some of them they're they will be completed during the next school year depending on the availability of some of the products. We also had a lot of interest from the community. We continue to get feedback about our Freeport High School tennis courts. So, our committee reviewed estimates um and how much it would take for us to commence repair of those courts. Um just in brief, it's I am. Oh, so are you going to are you going to pay for the tennis court? That would be
127awesome. Thank you, Phoebe. [Laughter] Maybe if you got the courts, you could get your D1 scholarship. So, Phoebe's going to pay for the courts and it'll be done next year. No. Uh basically we we talked about how we really do need to get some engineering done to sort of nail down how much work actually needs to be done before we can get a hard estimate or a bid about um how much those are going to cost. So that's something that perhaps can be done in the next year or so. Um yeah, that's about it. Questions for Kelly? Okay. So, we will move on to the finance committee minutes. All right. So, um the finance committee held a meeting that I was not able to be at. So, I'll report, but um I might ask Kelly
128a question or two. Um so, basically the presentation uh the meeting was the presentation um of the FY24 audit by Marge Hall. Um and so everything looked fantastic from everything that I can uh see which was great. And um so our next meeting um is next week on the 11th and we're topic our topics are the town assessments review um the FY25 anticipated budget to actual review and to set the FY26 meeting dates. And I'm just wondering, Kelly, could you just say um what the town assessments are that we're going to be reviewing? Is it like the tax Okay. All right. I just I know you're going to do a better job than me, so um Yes, it's the actual um tax assessment for each municipality. So, when you think about the um budget impact
129sheets that we looked at, there's a page one that kind of summarizes and give a breakdown of everything. And then you flip it over on the back side, it has a per town impact. Um, so actually what, and I just did them today for your packet that'll be going out tomorrow. Um, you'll see on there that it's the amounts that say um, net net taxation impact to town. Um and then that each town, for those who don't know, each town pays us on a monthly basis um based upon the tax assessment that that you all sign after the budget validation referendum each year. Thank you very much. The only other plug that I want to put in is that if anybody wants to look at the audited financial statements, if you know you need some
130light reading, um they are all on our website from our inception. Um there's a PDF of each one if you go under the um budget area uh and then look under the financial statements the the PDF of all the audits are there along with all the budget documents as well. So anyone has severe insomnia we now have your solution. Thank you. Which one is a nice pages and if anybody has any questions um Kelly can answer them for you. Thank you, chair of the finance committee. Uh I will say just we didn't say it earlier, but I do want to plug the um Tuesday is election day for the uh um for the school board uh school referendum validation referendum. So I encourage everyone to get out and vote. Um and we will be anxiously
131awaiting those results and certify those on Wednesday next week. Okay. Uh finance committee Colin. Oh yeah, sorry. Finance is done. Policy Colin. Um hello. Uh we met as a policy committee on uh May the second which was last month. Um, and we had one guest, um, Ashley Rand, the, uh, HR coordinator. Um, and Ashley was there to help us look at, um, as part of our regular policy review process, uh, GB, uh, J, personnel, records and files, and GCF, professional staff and hiring. And we had a good conversation, um, with, uh, with Ashley. So, thanks so much to Ashley to for coming to that. um and but we made no uh revisions to them, so we are not bringing them um before you. Um we're having our next meeting um this uh Friday, June 6th
132um at 8:45 a.m. via Zoom, which the public is welcome to attend uh with the understanding that we uh they will just be witnessing the uh event. They cannot participate uh there. if they have any thoughts about the uh policies um under discussion uh they would need to contact the whole board at boardrsu5.org. Um but also on Friday, we're not going to be talking about a lot of policies. We're going to be talking about our agenda for next year. Um so we're going to be sort of having a having a conversation about that. Um before we transition into uh doing the second read for um the uh the three policies before us tonight, I did just uh want to say um on behalf of the policy committee, thank you to uh Cynthia Alexander um for
133all that you have done for um for the school obviously, but for our committee, I know how much work uh that is um and uh you've made it so much easier to get that work done and been so responsive. So, I really appreciate that. And in your honor, um, as long as I am, uh, the chair of the policy committee, we will come to meetings, uh, dressed in our favorite era of Taylor Swift. Okay? That's just that's just, um, it's now policy. It's this called the Cynthia Alexander commemorative polit. Uh, and that's and that's the end of my policy committee report. Unless there are questions about the new policy about Okay, so we will move on to item um policy review and we do have three policies for second read. So, do I have a
134motion for consideration and approval of second read for the following policies? JOCC, school volunteers, IKC, transcripts and academic achievement, and JLF reporting child abuse and neglect Mora and Cara. Thank you. Uh so this evening the policy committee is bringing before you these three policies for uh second read and approval. Um after the first read conversation, no uh substantive uh changes were made. Um and as I said earlier, the policies uh GBJ, personal records and files, GCF, professional staff and hiring were looked at uh but no revisions were made so they are not being brought before you. Uh so any uh thoughts or questions about um any of these policies? We could go through them one by one, but we'll just start with any. Did we make any changes from the last from the first to
135the second? We made um I'm trying to remember the Yeah, please Cynthia. Yeah, just on one. Um the others were um just stayed the same. It was J O and we added um in the one two let's see on page two of two and the person starting per the paragraph starting with the word persons in the middle um we added that underlined once an application is submitted a background check and sex offender registry check are completed by the RSU um five human resources coordinator. Yeah, Cynthia, thank you for that clarification and apologies for the the error before. I think what I was what what what I remembered was that we were um we were not changing anything about the fact that people had to get this they had to be checked. uh it was just
136formalizing uh formalizing that um process and also uh I think we had a disc we did have a discussion um about how we want also to be transparent for our volunteers about that um so that um they're aware of what will happen when they submit um a volunteer application. Um, so I wasn't here unfortunately for the discussion on the first one, but um, so I'm just curious um, with the addition of the background check and sex offender registry track, which seem fantastic. Obviously, we want to make sure that people are not um, coming in, but so this applies to every parent, every every volunteer. Is that what I'm understanding? Yeah. And and I think what we um sorry forgive me and Cynthia correct me if I drift away from the truth. Um but this is
137already practiced. Uh so we're just this is already what is currently done. Um uh when a volunteer uh I think I use the example of when I volunteered at Mass Landing School and had to fill out a form to volunteer and watch that if I go through that process. um then uh technically um I my record must be uh must be checked. So I think um the question is I think you know volunteers in the classroom that's probably true. I think what uh some of the confusion is around like events if we have people who are volunteering for events right so let's talk about the track meet this weekend are those volunteers of the school have those all been checked if we have volunteers that are helping with senior week events are those all checked
138u is that the same process as a volunteer or is that like is that different So the schools typically will ask so yes senior week last week when I was away well actually traveling um and Ashley was out I was submitting a um a record a records check background records check and sex offender registry check for one of the volunteers last minute volunteers for an activity happening in senior week. So, yes. Um, those types of things are happening. If you've It's not every event, though. So, you're like vetted and typically it's it's it's like a two-year. It's kind of looking like to me like a two-year kind of rotation for that. Um, in my previous district, we did it every year. Basically, the the slate got wiped clean and you reapplied every single year. Um,
139because there are things that happen in life, right, every day. So, um, we're we're working on, you know, kind of tightening up that practice. Now, I just want to be clear that when we say we're doing a background check, this isn't a CHRC. You're not going and getting your fingerprinting done like we do as school employees um and getting any sort of certification. What we're doing is we belong to a network through the um state of Maine called Inform Me and and we can do a criminal history record check. It's a very brief kind of report that runs out. It typically comes back within 24 to 48 hours. Um, and it basically gives you um any information for a name or similar name to yours. So, for example, my ma name is Williams, right? So,
140if I put Kelly Wentworth in and something happened when I was Kelly Williams, typically they're tied together. And so, you would see anything that any Kelly Williams or Kelly Wentworth kind of happened. Although we do use date of dates of birth, but sometimes things show up. So, one of the cautions with that and one of the things that ultimately ends up with the superintendent is if something comes back and we see something some most of them come back and it says no information to report. Terrific. You know, rubber stamp and it goes through. Um but when we see something that comes through it it get then gets forwarded to the superintendent for an ultimate decision and a discussion potentially with um that person because it may be a misidentification it you know what I mean
141or it may have been something that happened at a frat party when you were you know 18 and you're now 50 right so there are a lot of things that that get taken into consideration but it's been a practice all along when you fill out an application um to be a volunteer in the school. We've been doing that. We were doing it when I was here before as well. Um, so it's not something that's new. It's just newly being codified into a policy to say this is what happens versus it just being on the application. Right. Because it is on the application now. Yes. Yep. So, I just know um from experience that you know a lot of times things happen very last minute and so I'm just wondering is there discretion at sort of
142the administrator level um as far as you know really needing a bunch of chaperones for something and then not having enough people sign up in advance but say on the day of all of a sudden you get an email and there's three more parents that can do it. So what sort of no they if they they haven't I I'll just say from my if they haven't done it and and it's a hard no for me. So we really tell you know our administrative team like get your know who those folks are get them on on early and sometimes when we see this sometimes they're sporting events. I think sometimes we see it when they're you're it might be going to a state championship or something and also like who's allowed to drive are really particular.
143you have to be on the driver's list um for even for vans. And so I don't because in the end that's I would want the same for my child and we have wonderful people and 99.9% um of folks are wonderful human beings but I don't want that.1% slip through because we were desperate. So they we do not allow them if they have not done that. So Ashley does maintain a list as you know there's there's also there's a list that schools can because if you have m children or multiple schools we're not going to make you fill out multiple applications right you fill out the application you go onto the list if you're approved that the administrative secretaries can access that list to make sure you've you've kind of you've been vetted right um and
144pass that and if the name's not on the list then they would either submit an application or say you know Beth applied and I don't see her on the list and we can go from there and we can say either she wasn't cleared or we need an application. Okay, thank you. Yeah, I just I remember the field trip that I volunteered for and I had not signed up for that and I was wicked bummed because I they would not let me go and I was like but it's me. They said exactly exactly and then they reached over and turned off my microphone. Uh, any other questions about um Beth, thanks for that question. Any other questions about um anything? Yes, Mara. Yes, I will I will ask uh thanks Kelly for the explanation. Do we
145need to specify like where it says background check? Then do we want to use a different word like it or be be more specific? I don't I mean it is a background check, right? And I think we probably don't want to be more specific in case we were to change the vendor, right? I mean, I think a background check can be as simple as, you know, doing a search on the database or it could be as indepth as we hired a PI to, you know, which we don't just call Colin. We're hoping next year we can get him on the volunteer list. But, um, yeah, I I think I think it's I think it's uh vague enough that it informs the volunteer that we are going to do a check. Um, and I think that's
146the goal, right? Like we want to be transparent and and it says it on the paper. And so we're just trying to be consistent. Okay. Any other questions? We have a motion. We have a second. All those in favor? Thank you. Uh, we have we have so much unfinished business, but we're not going to talk about any of it tonight. Um, new business item 13. Uh, do I have uh a motion for consideration and approval? You probably should just come back up, Kelly, because you're going to talk about this. um consideration and approval that pursuant to section 14854 of title 20A, the finance committee be authorized to transfer not more than 5% of the total appropriation for any cost center in the FY26 operating budget to another cost center or among other cost centers provided
147that the total FY26 fiscy year operating budget shall not be increased by such transfers. Kelly, thank you Cheyenne. I mean this you do this every year. I was going to say this this appears on the warrant every year. Um and as I mentioned earlier during my um talk about the um expenditures to date budget to actual um this authorizes the finance committee to actually make transfers between articles up to the 5%. Now, we do also at the annual budget meeting allow the board to go over that 5%, but that would take a vote of the full board to do. So, um because we don't want um not that we don't want the whole board to consider it, but because you have nominated a finance committee to represent you and review the finances, um this authorizes
148the finance committee to do that less than 5%. which you can via statute you can actually do as a board without like an annual budget meeting vote as Mr. Im explained to us at last year's budget meeting. Um this authorizes the finance committee to do it on behalf of the board and then we report out in our minutes if that was to happen. And this is for next year. So last year we voted on and the transfer that Kelly mentioned we will likely have to make you know before June 30 of this year. We voted on that last year. So, this is the authority for the upcoming year. Correct. I say it out loud because it confuses me every time. Any other questions? All those in favor? Great. None opposed. All right. So, we are
149on to item 14. Uh, do I have a motion for consideration and approval to employ a seventh grade science teacher at the Freeport Middle School for the 2526 school year? Steph and Cara, thank you. So, tonight I present Deborah Antel. She has a bachelor's in math education and a master's in urban education from Simmons College in Massachusetts. She holds a K8 teacher certification. Um, she has a a wide professional experience. She's been a seventh and eighth grade social studies teacher in New Orleans. She's been a grade five teacher at Community Day Charter School in Lawrence, Mass, and a grade five teacher at Neighborhood House Charter School in Dorchester, Mass. She's taught sixth grade at Lincoln Elementary School in Augusta. And she's been a curric grade four curriculum consultant in Somerville Public Schools and Somerville, Mass.
150She's been a grade five, six looping teacher at Lisbon Community for seven years. and she's just finishing now five years as a grade seven math science teacher at Philip S Middle School in Lisbon. References describe Deborah as having strong academic knowledge, a teacher leader, always does what is best for kids, is a positive member of the community. She seeks out feedback, affects others with her enthusiasm and drive, and her impact transcends far beyond the classroom. Thank you. So, we have a motion. We have a second. Any comments, questions? All those in favor? Thank you. Welcome, Deb. Deb's in the crowd right here. I love the cell phone conversation. Yeah, we may pick your brain a little how other middle schools are doing it. Sure. All right. Uh, so the next item is 14B. Do I
151have a motion for consideration and approval to employ a 0.5 RTI reading teacher at the Pano Elementary School for the 2526 school year, one year only. Cheyenne Emilique. Thank you. I present Chelsea Nent and her name will be very familiar to you because she is already a an employee of us in preK. Um, so she Chelsea has a bachelor of science in psychology and human development with early childhood uh, education concentration from Wheellet College in Boston. She has a master's of education and curriculum and instruction with a concentration in dyslexia studies and language-based learning disabilities from Southern New Hampshire College. She holds state of Maine certification in early elementary and and an early elementary endorsement. Um, she's been a teacher at Northstar Education in Bedford, New Hampshire. She's been a 0.5 preK teacher and a
1520.5 literacy interventionist at Durham. So, she's done this role before and she's currently a 0.5 preK teacher at Durham for the past two years. So, she is returning to help us out for this uh one year only in this position for a position that she has already done for us before and did a wonderful job. So, we we certainly will looking forward to welcoming her back. Wonderful. Questions, comments? All those in favor? Great. None opposed. All right. So, do I have a motion uh for C consideration and approval to employ a second grade teacher at the Mor Street School for the 2526 school year? Mara and uh Danielle. So, we have another familiar name to the board. Uh Megan Taylor. Megan has a bachelor's in elementary ed from Eastern University in Pennsylvania and she holds
153uh O2 elementary certification. Her professional experience, she's been a school improvement teacher at Portland public schools and a grade two teacher in Brunswick. She currently is a grade two one-year only teacher at Mor Street School this year. So references describe Megan is open to feedback and coaching. She builds classroom community so all students are connected. She's a team playver player has an unwavering commitment to students and fosters a safe and inclusive environment where all students thrive. Yeah. Colin, um this is for this candidate, but also for all of the candidates. I just want to um say how exciting it is to see how how many candidates we're getting for these positions. Um, and I think that just speaks to um to so much about RSU5 and and the and the culture and community uh that
154is created by our uh our teachers and our administrators and our students. Um but it's just really exciting to know that we're getting um when we're choosing someone, we're choosing someone from a lot of options. Agreed. All right, we have a motion, a second. All those in favor? Wonderful. None opposed. Uh item D. Do I have a motion for consideration and approval to employ a first grade teacher at the Durham Community School for the 2526 school year? We'll do Beth and Kelly trying to share the love on who gets the first and the second. Okay. Um I present to you Tatum Hayward. Tatum has a bachelor's in elementary from University Men Orno and she holds elementary main elementary teacher certification. her professional experience. She's been a student teacher substitive teacher at Row Elementary School, a
155student teacher substitive teacher at Jameson Elementary School, and right now since January 2025, she's been a grade one long-term substitute right here at Durham Community School. References describe Tatum as building positive relationships, having a warm and welcoming presence, generally committed to student growth and well-being, a collaborate, collaborative and dependable team member. She applies feedback seamlessly into instruction. Her teaching is powerful and effective. She actively reflects on her pra practice. She res is responsive to the needs of students and is adept at planning lessons that are both accessible and challenging. Wonderful. Uh, comments, questions on Tatum? All those in favor? Great. None opposed. All right. So, this was our adjustment to the agenda item E. Do I have a motion for consideration and approval to employ a fourth grade teacher at the Durham Community School for
156the uh 2025 2026 school year? Stephan Mora. Thank you. I present Kylie Dannon. She is a bachelor's in psychology from State University of New York at Stonybrook and a master's in K6 education at Relay Graduate School of Education in New York. She holds Maine's uh elementary teacher certification. She her professional experience she's been a teachers in grades one through four and six at South Bronx Classical Charter School in New York for five years. References describe Kylie as positive, patient, and kind. Great in the classroom. She connects well with children and parents. She's respected, hungry to learn, immediately implements feedback, responsive to data, great in differentiation, respected by colleagues, colleagues, and she's focused and driven. and she did share with me uh when we did our second interview that she's very much looking forward to coming
157here to Maine uh working at Durham and is very happy that she'll have a lovely commute and in beautiful Maine and be not on the subway in New York City for 45 minutes. That was my first thought. I was like, "Oh gosh, South Bronx to Durham. That's quite the um culture shock perhaps." Wonderful. Uh comments or questions on Kylie? All those in favor? None oppose. Welcome, Kylie. Public comments. Looking at you, Deb. You good? I'm good. Oh, we have another community member in the back. You're good. Okay. We get personal attention at the end of these meetings because no one stays. All right. Well, then I would take a motion to adjurnn. Uh uh Danielle, everybody you can pick. You can pick Cynthia. Cara and Danielle. All those in favor. Thank you guys. Don't forget
158we meet next week.