School Board Business Meeting February 5, 2026

001Good evening and welcome to the Scarboro Board of Education business meeting. The date is Thursday, February 5th, 2026. Uh Ray, can we call the No. Can we everyone please join me for the pledge of allegiance? I will one day get the order. Right. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> All right. Thank you so much. Ray, can you please call the attendance? >> Yes. Miss Jacobs >> here. >> Mr. Kellaher here. Miss Lindstöm >> here. >> Miss Mau >> here. >> Mr. Rockenstein >> here. Mr. Tarpinian >> here. >> Mr. Pinehuff >> here. >> Mr. Skina, Miss Clarrett, >> thank you so much. Agenda item 4.0 is approval of the

002January 15, 2026 workshop and business meeting minutes. If there are no objections, we will approve them as presented. >> Um the agenda item 5.0 are January resignations, retirements, and new hires. Um that is a non-action item. The materials are in your in your folder for review. Agenda item 6.0 are adjustments to the agenda. Are there any adjustments this evening? >> I have none. I have none either. Thank you. Agenda item 7.0 is the spotlight award. 7.1 is the student spotlight recognition. So for this we'll turn it over to Abby and Sarah. So the February 2026 student spotlight award winner is Eleanor Bannon. She was nominated by Mrs. Aramando who unfortunately could not be here due to a family emergency. But I'm going to read what she wrote about Eleanor. It says, "Elanor is a junior

003student in my advisory. She is an SHF athlete having played field hockey, lacrosse, and unified schooling. She is a member of NHS and an active member of Buddy System, ECOS, Key Club, and Storm for Cure. She doesn't just do a lot to build up her status or her resume. She's involved because she wants to better her surroundings. She attends games, plays, and other SHs events with a smile, always trying to get others to come along. She goes out of her way to connect with her buddy system friends as she passes them in the hall. Last month, she helped organize a friends giving between my advisory and Mr. Carol's advisory. Anytime I ask her to send me some photos of events for the yearbook, she is willing. She willingly emails me photos. As a student, Eleanor

004is very driven and conscientious. She wants to learn and be the best that she can become in all that she does. She currently works two jobs for the past two years at Dunston Tab and Table and for afterare at Wentworth School. Eleanor is exploring the idea of becoming a teacher as she really connects with the children she works with at Afterare. Besides all of this, Elanor is kind, generous, polite, and accepting. Ask other teachers and they will agree that she is awesome. Oh, no. No. You're not required. [laughter] >> Congratulations. That's very >> All right. and thank you for joining us. All right. Um, agenda item 8.0 is recognition. 8.1 is the high school academic and competitive team. So for this, we'll invite Mr. Leage. >> Yes. >> Well, thank you once again for having

005us. This is uh another one in our series of uh little report outs and recognitions for our club groups. So I'll start with Miss Maro is going to come up and filling in for Chris Hayward about the math team. >> Hi there. And with me I have um Vashnavi Ha Koopa, right? Um and Lucas Kamkowski. Um both of them are seniors uh math team for four years. Both of you? >> Three. Um and Vashnavi. Actually, I used to be the adviser of the seventh and eighth grade math team and she was with me in middle school and then came back as a mentor um for a couple years after. So, um it's been a while. Uh Mr. Haywood says the Scar Bro High School math team is an academically competitive club open to all students

006at SHS. They meet once a week and pra to practice with at-ome opportunities for independent work via practice bracket with solutions as well as meet and topic specific video lessons provided by Mr. Hayward. This flexibility and practice options allows us to have an incredible group of students that are able to balance being on the math team with athletics and other clubs. There are five regular season meets held throughout the school year. SHS hosts one of these in the beginning of November. For this meet, students help with details such as bringing in food for volunteer proctors and host coaches. The math team is proud to have continued involvement from former students and families. SHS alum Adam Dvau volunteers for this meet along with Mrs. Moren Dvau who very graciously donates pulled pork sandwiches. We are proud

007of the willingness of many SHs math dep department department members for supporting this event and volunteering their time. The custodial department also deserves a shout out for their wonderful work with site setup and breakdown. Throughout the state meets, the top 10 mathletes with the highest average after attending a minimum of three meets qualify to represent SHS at the state meet held at the Augusta Civic Center every April. SHs traditionally places very high and has several members receive recognition for outstanding performances. The team won states in 2020 during COVID and in 2023 tied with MSSM after the individual round and finished second. Scarboro is blessed with a student body that holds many talents and a copious amount of involvement. Students who join students who join the math team have the opportunity of many academic and social

008benefits such as spending time with other math enthusiasts, learning tips, tricks, and shortcuts to many complex math problems. experience material before learning it in the curriculum and also above and beyond what is offered within the school day. Beyond all else, our students are able to form relationships with both their peers and students across the state through an academically competitive environment. Thank you to the school board, athletics and activities department, and the bus department for their ongoing support. If you're enter ever interested in learning more, feel free to stop by the study center any Tuesday with a pencil, calculator, and sharp thinking skills. Miss Schmid with Model UN. >> Good evening. This is Emily Claus. She is our CFO. She handles all of the fundraising and donations and things that we gather so that we can

009go to conferences throughout the year. Great job. Um, Scarboro High School's Model United Nations program is an educational simulation club in which students roleplay as United Nations ambassadors. They participate in meetings and conferences. Students develop skills in diplomacy, negotiation, research, collaboration, and public speaking. Student delegates represent assigned countries, work to resolve international conflicts, draft resolutions, and practice international cooperation. Members of the HS SHS model UN program practice formal country introductions, parliamentary procedure, and debate techniques. Students work collaboratively to analyze complex global topics and write position papers. They strengthen their research and presentation skills. Delegates are required to compete in professional western business attire, follow Robert's rules of order, and practice voting and negotiation strategies. Through this process, students learn and the importance of diplomacy, professionalism, and respectful discourse. The Scarboro High School Model UN program

010has demonstrated success at conferences. Last year, SHS students earned awards for both position paper writing and diplomacy. This year, students have been preparing and for attending multiple conferences. Students this year attended the Boston Latin School Conference for the first time. It's very prestigious, very fancy. Um, [laughter] they also went to the Lexington conference where they worked in the security council, crisis committees, and the general assembly. They did a fantastic job debating. Most students recently um were involved in a what do you want to say a FAO committee in which we had a freshman really stand out who got 50 other countries to join her resolution and get it passed and she was awarded an honorable mention for this. So it was amazing. The model UM program continues to be competitive and educational. Students participate students

011participation has increased significantly. Last year we had 14 members. This year we have 26. So we're really making some nice gains. They engage in fundraising activities like bake sales. We have our annual antique show that will be April 4th this year. And um we really would like to thank the activities department, the school board and district for supporting us. The kids are doing a fantastic job. So, thank you. >> This is Avery with VEX Robotics. >> So, not only on Matthew, but they're also on robotics, too, along with Henryowski, who's also a senior. Um, so good evening. Thank you for having us. Um we're really excited to share a little bit more about the VEX club. Um the mission for our robotics program is to give kids um hands-on experience with engineering, programming, and problem

012solving while building teamwork, leadership, and perseverance. Through robotics, students learn how to take an idea from just a concept to reality. They design, build, test, and refine their robots to solve real challenges. So VEX comes out with a game every year. it changes, they get frustrated, [laughter] they modify, they get frustrated again, and we keep going. Um, so an important part of what I've been trying to do with robotics is make it a very inclusive environment. So, while many students choose to compete, we also have some students who are participating non-competitively. So they're focused on learning skills and diving into different interests that they have supporting their teams behind the scenes. Um this year has been an exciting and successful one for our club. Our teams have designed and built multiple competition ready robots participated

013in some of our regional challenges. Um these cows finalist at Bangor, right? No, Yarmouth. >> We final Bangor. >> Yes. Other way around. And they also have won um an innovate award, design award. Um Vishnabi is also part of our other team. Both of these teams have qualified for states March 7th at the point. Um so um one of the most impressive things that I've seen through this program is the leadership shown by our students. Um veteran members are mentoring our newer members. They're sharing their resources, teaching them how to use the different tools, troubleshoot code, and work effectively as a team because team management is a huge part of this. And I know adults who can't do this. Um but through the participation they're they're really gaining a lot of different skills that extend

014much farther than just coding and building robots. Um they're developing critical thinking, problem solving, and engineering design skills as well as communication skills because part of this program is they have to interview with judges. So they and they have a notebook that they have to keep up with. So, they really have to learn those communication strategies and skills. Um, but looking ahead or like we're just trying to make this like a home for kids and I think our numbers are speaking to that. We're maxing out every year. Um, so I can only have 20 kids on the roster and this year we were at 20. Last year we were at 20. So, it's been really exciting because when I first took over we had five kids. Um but um we're just looking to continue this

015experience for kids. Hopefully getting more kids involved down at the middle school. I know these kids have been trying to find figure out a way to get down there and help those kids continue on this pathway to STEM. Um but we would just like to thank Mr. Leage for his continuous support. we were able to host this year and not last year thanks to his direction which was huge for our club for fundraising. Um but to thank all of you for supporting us. I know we have Archer on our club too so he's been a great addition. Um but again this is just a great hands-on learning opportunity for students and it's been a really successful program. So thank you. >> Thanks. Well, >> so that's it for tonight. I think you heard from some

016of our competitive groups. So, um, they work really hard and I think you heard, like I say when we do our athletic presentations about educationbased activities. So, I think you heard a lot about the learning that's coming from participation in these activities tonight too, not just the activity itself. Um, so I think those those uh skills are important in terms of our uh education model. So, thank you. >> All right. Are there any any comments? Yeah, please go ahead. >> It's just wonderful to see you all here. Welcome back to some of you. We saw you a couple weeks ago. >> Um, yes, I recognize you. Um, and so super happy to get a chance to celebrate your success again. I think it's really important that we recognize the work that you're doing. And I'm

017going to include working after school um as our and going and and also the key club and the other things that you're doing, but all the students here and the adults who are supporting them, these are really practical lifelong skills um that you're building. So the the collaboration that you're working with, whether you're working and waitressing, I waitress my way through all of my school years. It's a great way to make some extra income. um or you're doing robotics or math. There are really significant real world applications that are going to really drive your success moving forward. And we spend a lot of time thinking about how we can inspire every student. And when you find something that you're passionate about and you love and you can play with, um, and that helps drive your

018success forward, that is the best part of education that we can do. When we can marry and combine all of the practical things you learn in the classroom and some of those concepts that you drilled on when you were younger and sort of try to figure out why they're making you memorize things, which my children are in elementary school, so they're always, why do I have to memorize multiplication tables? And it's hard to explain to them that someday for them that might lead to another path where you discover something that really is a passion for you and that passion will take you through this this part of your lives into the next and we're so happy that we're able to support um areas where you can develop that. So kudos to all of you. Um

019and again I'm including our spotlight winner in that. I think the it's it's valuable. Working after school is valuable and you don't get awarded for that. no one is going to give you a trophy, but the lessons you're learning and the skills that you're building will absolutely serve you later in life and that work ethic is really important and it's whether you no matter how you're showing it. Um I know you work with my Eleanor at school um and she loves seeing you. So >> thank you to all of you. >> Any other comments? Thank you Frea. >> That's it. She took the words right out of John's mouth. Um, I will just say I'm not going to try to apolog. That was very beautiful and very well said. And um I I just want

020to say that this has been really really exciting. Some of you um were here just a few weeks ago and um some of you are new, but this is a really cool opportunity for us. we've been very um I don't know if intentionally but very athletics focused and this gives us an opportunity to open the curtain and see a lot of other activities and a lot of other opportunities for our kids. We have such a high percentage of kids that participate in all kinds of events not just athletics and so this has been a really really exciting addition for me personally and I think for everybody I feel confident saying for everybody up here. So thank you for coming. Thank you um for mentoring our kids. Thank you for mentoring our younger kids. That's really

021powerful, too. Um, these are really, as Frea said, really, really critical skills you're learning that are really going to carry you. So, congratulations and thank you for all that you do. >> Oh, yeah. Of course, I left something out. I meant to talk about consensus building with the UN model. So, I didn't get a chance to participate that when I was younger, but as I am in a career field where every single day I try to bring apart people who have imposing ideas. And so it's really important what you're doing. Um, and it's a really important skill. And I just forgot to mention that and I wanted to throw that out there because >> yeah, >> that is really important and very underappreciated. People don't value how much work it takes to build consensus and

022the collaboration and how that skill is actually probably the best skill that'll translate into every avenue of your life moving forward. >> So go that is that is true. That is true. All right. >> You're always I always say you're welcome to stay if you'd like. >> I don't know. Principal Tero is going to present. [laughter] >> Something you're gonna say. >> Yeah, we will. We'll we'll clap for sure. Yes. All right, agenda item 9.0 is the superintendence report. So, we'll turn it over to Diane. >> Sure. Good evening, everyone. Um, you know, per usual, uh, at the start of the month, I have this month's enrollment report. Um, that is holding steady, so I don't, uh, we don't generally, uh, discuss that in detail, but if there are any questions, you can certainly, uh,

023pass those along. Um our next slide is really uh we've had some noteworthy things to celebrate um since my last superintendence report and I really wanted to take some time um this evening to give some shoutouts um to some of the really amazing work happening in our district. Um I'll start with the middle school um at the middle school Carrie Ellen Avery who is one of our uh Gates teachers. Um she um once again uh this is an award that they have been very successful with um year over year. Um she has led two uh Gates teams to win first and second place in the annual stock market games. Um which is fascinating, right? Like every year when I go and I see uh their award ceremony, I literally want to pull some kids aside

024and say, "Can you give me some financial advice?" Um but um our kids um year overyear um even though they change uh are very successful uh in this particular venture and um and they took both first and second place in the overall winning category for middle schools uh that participated in Maine as well as in the diversification category. They took first and second. So um definitely something noteworthy to celebrate. Um, the second piece is um a big shout out to Scar Bro Middle to Scar Bro High School. We've got Mr. Tero here sitting thinking he's last, but you know, I'm going to make it count. Um um last year uh Scar Bro High School was noted as a s with a silver award um for um AP and um this year uh we have earned

025the status of being a gold school as it relates to um the advanced placement honor role. Um and that is always based on the exiting students um success in terms of advanced placement. And so, you know, I wanted to make sure that I was providing you with enough information. And so, for example, we achieved this status this year because of the graduating seniors, 69% of them took at least one AP course during their time at Scarbor High School. 53 of percent of them earned college credit um with their qualifying score. and 31% of last year's graduates took multiple AP courses during their time with us at Scarbor High School. So that really says a lot about the caliber of opportunity um that exists for our students. Also of note is uh this year um the

026high school earned the AP access award and that award specifically is to point out the number of um minority or lowincome students um who participate in advanced placement. And I think that's really noteworthy because I think that aligns so well with everything we talk about when we say um what are the opportunities that we're building with our students to make sure that we're being as inclusive as possible that we're eliminating the barriers. And I think um you know the college board points this out because um we know that students from minority or lowincome um status have a much greater hurdle um as it relates to entering college. And so it's really great um that that was called out. So huge kudos to the high school for that. Um and then on um the athletics and

027activity side of things, um some notable things as well since our last meeting. Um our high school boys basketball coach, um Mike Geodano earned his 350th win as a basketball coach. Um and so that is a a huge um benchmark uh you know for somebody um who is is uh coaching. Um and in a similar way um our girls high school basketball coach Phil Connelly earned his 200th win. Um and so uh those are really notable. And finally, our um high school girls cheering competition team came in second place at um the MPA regionals last weekend. And so now they are off to represent Scar Bro at states. So um you know, I love delivering this report and being able to share all of the amazing highlights because there are so many incredible things happening

028all over our district that so many people don't know about. And so it's wonderful to be able to share that with all of you. >> Yeah. And so the other I always start with the good news, right? Um so the other piece of information that I really wanted to make sure that I was sharing with you um at the earliest time possible um is our state subsidy projections for next year for the FY27 school year. Um we received um our notification last week that um we are anticipated to receive 8,9441,422.82 um in general purpose aid next year. Um, and if you're wondering what does that number represent, um, that number represents $38,294 more than we received last year or for this particular school year, which is less than a half a percent of an increase.

029um you know uh this last year at this time we were letting you know that we were going to be receiving almost a million additional dollars um in general purpose aid and that really helped us very much um in our development of the school budget. um we don't have um that in the cards for us this year. And so this is going to be a much more challenging year because as you know um over 80% of our budget is based on um uh salaries and benefits uh for staff and um so I'm sure that in the coming months we'll be discussing that in great detail. Um, I did just also want to pass along that uh I know there are always questions about um how that's calculated. The EPS formula formula is something that the

030state is continuing to study. Um they actually have been um studying that. Meri who um uh does a lot of that work um has been doing that and I will be attending um a workshop uh early March to find out about what are some of the findings of uh their report and some recommendations that they might have around EPS. All of that being said, the EPS model is based on state valuations of local communities and you know um because we were such uh we we had such a low increase this year, I did really want to like think more deeply about that. And in looking at the report, um what really came to bear uh very quickly was that our local valuation in Scar Bro has increased um this year. Um, this community from state

031valuation purposes is worth 6 billion569,933,333 which from last year is an increase in local valuation of 859,916,666. So, um, it's it's really hard to argue with some of the numbers when people are asking questions about why we are not receiving more funding. Our community grew by almost a billion dollars in valuation. last year. So, um again, as I said, all of this is to say, um I think we have uh a very robust process as it comes to our school budget year over year. Um and I think that um we will be um looking at that very carefully as we have been since uh we started working on our budget development in December. So, um, more on that to come. >> Well, I'd like to say thank you, Diane, but thank you for the update.

032How about that? Um, >> are there any questions for Diane? >> Yeah. I just wondered, uh, Diane, is it So, this is property valuation of all the pro the the homes and residences >> All combined. Commercial as well. >> Yeah. >> Okay. But I'm assuming that much of the state all I mean all property prices are I guess it's increasing more here than it is in other parts of Maine. >> Yeah. I think that's unique to each individual community. >> Yeah. Okay. >> I'm happy I I made a note to myself to email um Tom Hall and I'm happy to ask for a little bit of a breakdown because I would be interested in understanding where that value comes from. I know tiffs and c um credit enhancement agreements and the conversations this town has

033had for a long time are very confusing and they're very hard to fully wrap your arms around. But um I thought I understood that some of our valuation was protected. Some of the increase was protected with those agreements. And so um I would be interested in understanding a little more as to why this why it's increased so much. Um, and I'm happy to ask that question and maybe get a little more detail. >> Yeah, that would be helpful. Yeah, that would be great. >> Um, >> okay. >> One more question. What um, so the but this means that really puts a a big constraint on our budget. I mean, because the council has a 0% mill rate objective in addition to the fact that we're not getting any any additional funding. So, we're going to

034have to really make some difficult choices um and some hard, you know, choices budgetarily. Just, you know, looking >> I I think that there's um uh I've been in contact with um the the council chair um councelor Fellows because um I I was um I did hear about the their goal setting session and um for those that aren't aware, they um the council had a goal setting session. they set a goal of a 0% mill rate increase. And so as you're looking at um going forward and creating a budget, that's difficult because when you turn the lights off at the end of the school year and then you turn them on the next day, which starts a new school year, there is an automatic increase. So zero um doesn't equate to not adding services. If

035we left everything the same, that's called level services. And if we did just that, we still have to pay our increases to our staff that are contractually we're contractually obligated to do increases in electricity, operating cost, gas, all the things, right? Um and our teacher, our contracts, our staff contracts as I understand are about a 4% increase approximately across for next year. >> Yeah, we have one open negotiation, but right all of our other contracts are um you know are are not up for negotiation. And so from a budget planning perspective, all of those contracts are online and you know >> yeah so with that alone it's going to be difficult to come in but 4% average you know across the board it's going to be hard to come in%. So my conversation with counselor

036fellows was really trying to understand that goal a little bit more. Um what I gather from him is um when the council set that goal, it was considered an aspirational goal. Um uh so um I I I'm still a little confused as to why they set that specific goal if it's not really what was intended. So I'm still trying to understand a little bit. Um I um share the desire to be fiscally responsible and to make sure that we're very cognizant. I think we all are the ask we made last year. It was a big one um of our voters and so I'm aware of the fear of affording day-to-day life when we have this school kind of looming, this project looming in the horizon. So I I do share a desire to be fiscally

037responsible, but I think we have been fiscally responsible. And so I don't I don't think that we've been out of line in any of our asks. So I'm still trying to understand it a little bit more. Um I I would I I will share this with um K. I made another note to to share this with A Corey and maybe we can share it with the finance team um on the town side and and just kind of get them thinking a little bit more deeply about that goal and what that actually means and what they actually would like to see like what it what specifically they would like to see versus what aspirationally they would like to see. So perhaps we can kind of start that conversation as well. Any other thoughts? >> All right.

038Thank you very much. >> You're welcome. >> All right. Agenda item 10.0 is the chair report. Um I have just a couple of items on my list. The first is that um Governor Mills did last week hold her state of the state address and if you um were not able to watch it, there was a few things that would um impact schools. some some would impact us, some would not. Um, four big things. The first was maintaining the 55% education funding. Um, and I should back up, this was she presented her supplemental budget proposals. That's what this was. So, the 55% education funding um was one of them. And as a reminder, and as you um unfortunately just saw, Scarboro um does not it doesn't mean a district all the districts get 55% of the

039the income of their of their education funded from the state. What it means is that uh the state funds 55% of the overall state budget and then it's allocated per property value per that EPS formula we just discussed. So Scar Bro's been about a 12% receiver. Um, so that was the first one. The second one was a proposed statewide ban on cell phones in the classroom. Um, she allocated about $700,000 to implement that. Um, this is a different an interesting bill because there was last year, if you recall, there was a a a a law that was passed that required schools, districts to create a policy. Um, and that was to be done by August of this year. this statewide cell phone ban if implemented is un in her proposal would also be for August

040of this coming year. So, um it does it it'll be interesting to watch it play out. Um the way that the supplemental budget works, the legislature then has to approve it. And so, um we're going to watch this process closely and see what happens. Um, generally if you're talking about a budget process being done in June, that would really give districts across the state just a couple of months to implement to kind of pivot from what they're currently doing and implement something different. So, we're going to watch that and see what happens there. So, that potentially could impact Scarboro. Um, there was a third one that I'm not I don't know about its impact here in Scarboro. It is a 5.9 one-time funding request to um enhance buses security with buses. Um very specifically to

041look at anti-pinch door sensors and the crossing arms to make sure that those are um on all buses across the state. It impacts about 2,300 main school buses. I don't I wasn't able to to verify if that was >> we just filled out a survey for the state. Um I provided them with that information earlier this week. Um I believe of our 30 buses um about is it 23 have the arms um already and we have um ordered the rest >> right before the governor even came out because um we made a decision that we um thought that that was really important. Um the anti- pinchers for the doors um isn't is something that currently only three out of our 30 buses have. Um and so um you know that is information that we shared

042with the state because again I think they're trying to get a dollar amount on you know what would be the cost of those initiatives. >> Yeah. So and that is in response to some um very tragic accidents that we've had across the state. So that's the that's the purpose of that um funding. And then the fourth one um does not appear from my um review of our contracts to impact us, but it is the increasing the minimum pay that teachers receive. Um, and based on the timing of it, I think our minimums are are fine and wouldn't be impacted by that by that rule. So, those are the four u, of course, there's many more things that were in her um supplemental budget, but those are the four that were school related. >> And then

043the second thing I have is the um, if you would wouldn't mind skipping the or going forward. Thank you. These are upcoming workshops for the next for this month and next in the end of February um, which is the 26th. So that is for those watching that is a week later than we would typically meet because of break. Um that is our prek and our CDS service our um required services update. And then in March um we have our budget workshops which are scheduled now for the 11th and the 12th and you see the times there. All right. Any questions for me? >> Just to clarify um the 4:30 to 7 is PM and the 8:30 to 11:30 is A.M. a.m. Is that correct? >> Yes, that's correct. >> Okay, >> I can I will

044I will put that in the slide just to clarify. We don't want anybody showing up at 4:30 in the morning >> or 8:30. >> I did think we're going to be there till 11:30 at night. So that >> that's right [laughter and clears throat] on that for that. >> That's right. All right. Agenda item 11.0 are committee reports. Our first is the community outreach report committee. >> Thank you. Um, we just actually had a community outreach committee meeting tonight or this afternoon at 4:30, um, where we finally decided the we would, uh, host our winter community forum as an open Q&A with some board members and district leadership on March 2nd at 6 PM um, located in the Wentworth Library. And so we'll be excited to welcome um, anybody from the any Scarbor resident. you

045know, don't have to have a student in the um school system. We want to hear from all of our citizens. Um upcoming staff spotlight, our next award ceremony will be at our next meeting on February 26th. Um and then just another note that we're still uh planning and organizing our senior citizen appreciation dinner on April 7th from 4 to 6:30 at the Wentworth cafeteria. um to the purpose of this is to celebrate and connect with our senior community while showcasing the amazing programs um happening in our schools. Our next meeting for the community outreach um committee will be Thursday, February 26 at 5:00 p.m. >> Awesome. Are there any questions? >> Thank you, Charlotte. All right, curriculum. All right. [clears throat] We also met this week uh on Monday um and went over uh the

046math well previously there had been a math curriculum meeting that was scheduled. We were looking we were planning to update that but that got postponed due to snow. We've had so much of that. Um so the curriculum math curriculum meeting was held on um Wednesday right? >> Yeah 4th. All right. Uh it was an all day workshop and I think Shannon was well Shannon was there and she's going to update us a little bit more so we can all be uh get to hear all about that. Um and then recommendations from that will be moved forward to leadership and then of course there would be possible bud budget considerations depending on what they move forward and um there will be more information to follow on that but uh for now did you want to let

047us know about what you got to experience? >> Yeah um that it was um this was a first for me. I I've not um participated in in this before. So, um I I was unsure what to expect. It it's a um it was a really really fascinating process. I'm so glad we were invited and we got to um we got to do this. So, the goal as I understood it going in um and talking with the teachers, I actually worked with the 35 teachers. Um and the goal as I understood it was to really take a deep dive into the current curriculum and see if it was meeting our needs or not. Um and then really making sure there was a desire to have a vertically aligned math curriculum. So K8 um really vertically aligned

048programs. So this work has been occurring um since the fall and this was they've been like I said reviewing the current program which is math and focus and then looking at some other potential curriculum that is out there and they had narrowed it down to three and that's what yesterday was. So to really um hear from the companies there what their curriculum could offer us and what um how that might meet our needs. So, it was fascinating to sit with the teachers because um my um background isn't necessarily in teaching and so I don't have um this experience to draw from and um we had lots of really really good conversation around um what does this particular program offer in the way of um excel work to for students that are excelling and what about

049students that need supplemental work and how robust is the program and is there an ability to edit and change so that we can meet students exactly where they're at. It was really really awesome to participate. I cannot say that enough. Um so there it seemed to me um and even things like okay how many how can we confidently work through the book through the whole curriculum so we can do finish the entire curriculum in a year. How many days of of instruction is this? and are you accounting for assessment time and really like diving into this um and really looking through um things I wouldn't have thought about like there wasn't enough it didn't seem to me that there's enough room on this paper for a student to fill out their math problem just like

050the skill that we have in scar bro and the way they are really focused and dialed in on what students need is really really incredible and so um conversations around um how much is, you know, can we can we take these same things? Does it have to all be digital? Do we have to focus on the computer? Can we do some pen and pencil and paper? Um how do we mix and merge the two to make sure that the students aren't on the phone all the time? All those conversations existed across all three um programs that they evaluated. So, um it seemed to me at the end that they came down to um one that they probably were I would I would say were a little bit more they liked one a little bit more

051than a second place one. But still looking through those last two to kind of determine which is the best path forward. Um to Jillian's point, there is a discussion about the budgetary impact of this and what that means to bring on a new um curriculum. And of course I say I have no experience in teaching students. So I asked I asked Kate, "So does this mean like you you know like we buy books and you the teacher's ready to go?" And she's like, "Oh, no, no, no, no. That's not that's not that process." So um this was a a really big learning opportunity for me as well. You know, there's a lot that goes into preparing our teachers so that they feel confident and informed and ready to um bring on a new curriculum and

052teach kids. So, um, all in all, I think their very hairy goal, their very big goal was to have this going for next year, but that might not be realistic given all of the things you have to do to prepare teachers and staff. So, um, more to come on this as I understand it and we'll, um, we'll hear more as it comes out. I'm Yeah, thank you for attending and for inviting us. That was such a great opportunity and it's nice to see. I mean, so how the sausages >> was awesome. Yeah. >> A very cool opportunity. Um, so that was very I'm glad you went. Um, all right. So, we also talked about the curriculum curriculum needs assessment. My goodness, I'm never going to get that. um meeting that is uh coming up and

053um Kate was developing a um a form to go out to the so we could select our community members. >> Um that should be coming up very soon. and those will be going out with the goal of uh about a twoe time frame um to collect that information and then we will make a decision and uh and let the those community members know um with the there's a target date of April or May. There were multiple dates that were well there were only a few dates really because there's so many other things going on and uh she was looking through all of the dates. there's so many conflicts on the calendar. So it really I mean we all know it's uh difficult to nail down a date but with those four options available they're in

054spread through April and May um there will be a date selected there will be I think uh you said about 60 to 90 minutes for the meeting and um they will talk through uh all of the um information available at that times the data um and arrive at some conclusions. Uh the community member selection will hopefully include representatives from each phase level, but it'll really depend on um who who decides to participate or or fill out that form. And it's also open to the broader community. So, we'll be advertising that in multiple locations. And then um we'll meet next on March 2nd at 5:30 and have some decisions to walk through then. >> Sounds good. Any questions for >> uh I do have a question, Jillian. March 2nd. Isn't that the community forum date as

055well? >> Oh, this is our reg regularly scheduled thing. And that's a good point. >> So, just something to just figure out. You said you you have it on the second, right? All right. Yep. So, some of us may be doing backto-back meetings. >> All right. Thank you for pointing that out. >> All right. Next up is finance. Mitchell. >> All righty. Budget. Budget. Budget. Bud bud. Budget. We've talked a lot about budgeting and everything so far this week. I was going to get a little bit into mill rate versus kind of changing the budget and our very lofty goal of trying to make a 0% mill rate increase, but seems to have been covered quite well tonight. Um, but the big thing is we have a budget calendar that's pretty close to done. It's

056pretty much most important dates are in there just pending a couple changes um depending on the town and everything. Um, but yeah, we got quite a large goal in front of us trying to reach a 0% mill rate. Um, another thing too for resources like finding the calendar, um, Kate informed me that the website, uh, the web page is up for checking on the budget. Uh, scarboarderschools.org/boardget. >> That's awesome. Thank you, Joel. Sorry to kind of steal your thunder. [laughter] Any questions for Mitchell? All right, Frea, you have two. You want to take them both? >> Sure. >> Um, we have a negotiations report update. Um, we, as uh, Diane also mentioned earlier, we have one contract open for negotiation. Uh, negotiations are ongoing. Um, and we'll be continue meeting later this month. That's negotiations.

057The policy report is um, so we had a meeting right into this meeting today. Uh, we went through the 2627 school calendar which will not be up today. Um but the meeting minutes will contain the proposed calendar in it. So you can review that um and will come um before the uh before this body uh next meeting. So for for your review um but I'm excited about it. I think it's a great I think it's a great calendar. Um you know if you like those sorts of things like I do. Um we also went through policy DJH that's purchasing and contracting procurement staff code of conduct. That's a statutory required policy having a procurement conflict of interest. Um we're doing a citation check on that and then we'll have that for you. And then policy

058D and we're in the middle of that which is disposition of surplus school property other than real estate. Again we are going through our our um all of our policies in reverse chronological order. So we're trying to have the oldest ones and come up to the newer ones. We're getting through the early 2000s which was a really good decade for me personally. I enjoyed those years. Um it would be nice for our policies to stop having a lot of zeros in the middle of them and we looked at them so that they're more recent. >> Um so we're working on that. Our next meeting is March 5th. We'll have a really big policy convers I don't think it'll be a big conversation, but we have a lot of policies on this meeting having to do

059with finance and the budget. Um, and some things I think we're doing to streamline that, but I'm going to wait for the when we present that later in the meeting to go over that. Other than that, coming up, um, social media policy has been put on hold, appending, um, some new policy updates from, um, John Woodsum, who does put out model policies. we don't we we vet those policies and sometimes we change them sometimes substantially um when adopting them. So we would like to wait to see what that policy is before we move into that although that's a topic of interest that continues to come up and we're also looking at complaints um policing against school personnel um and public concerns and complaints and looking at that which might be a topic of interest to

060some folks. Um so that pol those policies will be upcoming in the um next few meetings and then we'll continue going through. We have the bees to finish the board officers and chemical hazards and accidents reports are coming up which I think are always a topic that people are interested in. We like to avoid those but we'll keep we'll keep making policies stuff. >> All right. Thank you. Any questions for Frea? All right. Um agenda item 12.0 I know our liaison reports. Um, are there any reports? >> Okay. Do you have one >> really quickly? You hit the budget for the most part. So, the governor released her bannual bud or her supplemental budget which is the essentially we have a bannual budget which is a two-year budget and then every year on the off

061year they then fix the budget mistakes because there are mistakes within two years when you do that budget. She released it yesterday. It's a very large document. Um and uh I thankfully uh Shannon went through most of it with you. The process as it goes before the legislature, they will probably make some changes as they normally do. It will then be reconciled and voted on and enacted later. So some changes can happen through that process. Um I'll try to keep you updated on anything that seems really important. >> Perfect. Thank you. >> Um I have two. Um the first is the DEMT committee um met this uh in January 28th. Um prior to that I think I had mentioned to you that that we had been doing um Rey and I were part of a

062sub and Diane too actually we're part of a subgroup that was working on um a potential recommendation for a program which is um emergency preparedness essentially. So giving the tool the tools to the teachers so that they can um prepare our students in the event of of an emergency. So um the work they had been doing on that or that we had been doing on that had really narrowed down to two programs. Um one you probably if you're at all familiar with this type of programming it's called Alice. So it's one that's fairly well widely known. Um that was one that we were looking at. The other one was called Hero. So, um, this subcommittee had teachers and building leaders and I was on it and Ray and Diane and, um, we had our our

063officers that were represented there as well. And so, everybody, uh, really talked this through. Um, and it it seems to me that the um where they're leaning towards is the hero program based on its um the way that the program recognizes the younger students and really speaks at their level and um talks about emergencies in a way that um feels like it's more educationbased versus Alice. It's really meant for any type of program, not just educational based. hero seems to be a little bit more education focused. So, um that was the subcommittee work and then the big committee really um talked about that at a at a bigger level and and how they would look at that moving forward. One question that we had been kind of rolling around is was there um potentially some

064grant money available to to look at to use this and that money um is with public safety and it's already been allocated for their trainings. And so um one of the thoughts was is there any is there any other grant money that could be utilized to um fund something like this? So that's still yet to be seen. Um, outside of that, there was conversations that was really was the bulk of our conversation. Um, there was a couple of other conversations around um, there's some outstanding questions that were answered just around tech use and, um, logging into the guest network outside of the building. Um, uh, councelor Kaine sits on this committee now. Um and so he he's new to the process and so he was um he had asked some question um questions as it

065relates to guidance um in the event that uh you know ICE procedures in schools and so he had wanted some answers about that and and so we provided him or Diane actually provided him with information um on that. The next meeting is going to be May 27th at the public safety building. Um they intend there to sorry what what oh councelor Kenya um uh May 27th in that the hero we're meant to really discuss that um program again um some qu common questions from dispatch and then potentially some cyber security. So that's my first one. My second one is about the building committee, the post-referenderum building committee. So, this one um John and I are members of and we can um we can share this report if you wouldn't mind. Thank you. Uh they held

066their first meeting in January. They are meeting monthly right now. Um and at that meeting, they elected their uh leadership team. So, their chair, their vice chair, their recording secretary. Um, it's April Scyther, uh, Thomas Eshner, and Michael Dumas. And, um, you might recognize some of those names because, um, all three of them, well, April was a former counselor and a former board member, but all three of these people did serve on SBAC1 and two. And so, um, carried over to this and are, um, serving in leadership positions. They this first meeting was more of a really setting expectations I would say for lack of a better term. Really setting those those working norms um talking through communications and what that's going to look like making sure that everybody understood to run their questions through

067um the the leadership team um where meetings will occur, how often they're meeting, reviewing the governance document and what the charge of this committee really is. So, a lot of that getting to know you work um happened there. Their next meeting is scheduled for February 10th. They are, of course, open to anybody who is interested in um attending. They are um in person or you can join and watch remotely if you want. Um I thought that I put the website on. Oh, I did for some reason. Oh, it's hidden by the Zoom screen. There's a website, if you're looking at this from home, there's a website at the bottom of the screen. And I must have just made it a little too low. Um, so if you choose to click on that, the recordings from

068the first meeting are there. You can see all of the committee members are listed. Um, their m meeting materials are there. All that's available. So that's the first half. The second half is um we had some questions um from counselors and I know from some on this board um as a result of correspondence about the owner's rep. And so I wanted to kind of reset our expectations and our thoughts on that and just remind everybody where we were. Um so in November after the um after the public approved this the school project at referendum um we met councelor Kaine who is the counseling the counselor who served lays on to this committee myself um and Diane met with Lisa Haramman oh and Tom Tom Hall was there as well um and we talked through the

069different roles and what these things mean and really try I'm I I tried to ground myself because this is new work for me. I'm not I don't have a construction background and so this is a new new territory. So um from that I brought that information forward to you at our November or second November meeting and at that time the um we talked through what an owner's rep was and there was interest in this whole board and having an owner's rep to serve and um so that's kind of where we had left it. At that same meeting, um Diane did um share with us a a wonder that she had about having Todd Jeepson potentially fill that role for us. And she had given us some information as to why. So that kind of um

070was sh was tabled because the idea with the um owner's rep is that it would start when the construction process was getting ready to start. So, we would bring the owner's rep on at that time, which isn't going to be for probably another year. So, um nothing has happened since then. And um that's that's kind of like we're in the same spot as where we were quite frankly in November. But just a couple of reminders. Um there is a budget for an owner's rep that is in our um project budget, our building project budget. So that is the um money that the voters approved. So that budget does have $150,000 set aside for an owner's rep and that counts their work from construction from when construction starts and on. So um that is there. And

071then the other thing I did want to say and bring up is that there is a state statute that guides um our work as it relates to an owner's rep that um we will follow of course as we are working through this process. But what it does is it explains what an owner rep is and it does talk about what their responsibilities are and it does lay out the process we have to take to hire. So, um I I don't I don't suppose you want me to read to you the whole thing, but um I'm happy. Did you want me to No. Okay. Um but the owner's rep I'll just read some of it so that you we kind of can ground ourselves in the same definition. Oh, sorry. Go. >> You have to site

072so we >> Oh, yes. I am citing um you know I um Yes, it is part four. It's title 5 part 4 chapter 153 subchapter 1. You're welcome. And it's um the subsection is 1753. Okay. So here's what the definition here's what it is. The owner's representative may be employee may be excuse me an employee of the Bureau of General Services, an employee of the owner or an independent contractor. And in this case, the owner would be the school building committee. Um, the owner's representative responsibility is to act as an adviser to the owner. It is the responsibility of the owner's representative to facilitate open communication among all parties to help avoid adversarial interactions and to promote a sense of trust and teamwork in order to accomplish the smooth execution of the project and see

073that project is completed at the lowest possible cost and highest degree of quality and workmanship that are consistent with the plans and specifications for the project. Um, it does say that the owner's representative must be hired through an open advertising and interview process and is subject to final approval by the director of the Bureau of General Services. Um, following that they are um the responsibility is responsibilities are listed um things like um preparing for and attending meetings with the owner or a community representing the owner, providing guidance to the owner. Um it goes all the way down to assisting the owner in reviewing bid responses, contract negotiations, um on and on. So um for purposes of this section, um the which I don't think this part of this doesn't apply for us, so I'm going

074to skip that one. And then the last one is a school unit employing an owner's representative under this section shall provide a report to the Bureau of General Services describing the effectiveness of an owner's represent representative to a project. So um those are our requirements. We will of course abide by those requirements. Um we will um continue this process and um the committee is committed to their process. I think all in all we are moving forward at a at a good pace. We're on track right now. Um and things are moving forward appropriately. Did I miss anything John or Diane? Right. Any questions for me or for John or >> uh [clears throat] so the owner's rep will come in at the construction phase. Will they interact and go to the PRBC meetings um >>

075or not? >> That's to be determined, right? Um and again, because we haven't um really delved into any detail about that, I think that's to be determined. Um, as Shannon said, what we do have is a placeholder in the construction budget um, in the amount of $150,000, which is based on about 10 hours of work a week for that person to do. So, um, we'll have to uh, you know, think in those terms of what are the priorities and um, you know, where those folks should be spending their time. >> Yeah. Great question. Any other questions? All right. Agenda item 13.0 are student reports. So, we'll turn this over to Abby and Sarah. >> Okay. at the middle school this week. Um, starting on the 2nd of February, as a part of kindness week, builder's

076club is working with the unified club and they are sponsoring a community outreach program to support main needs. So, each crew has been assigned to build either a cleaning kit or a hygiene kit and they will collect supplies to donate. And also tomorrow is Scar Bro's Got Talent where there's lots of student talent and it's really fun to watch and it's at seven. >> This is it's high school. >> Yeah. >> Auditorium. >> Um and then I had Wentworth has been doing many fun activities for their students supplementing the typical classroom education. Here you can see on the left a picture of a lesson with one of the learning commons librarians, Mrs. Durgen as well as on the right what I need time with Miss McFersonen. And on February 10th, the Pleasant Hill PTA is

077hosting a bus driver appreciation day breakfast and they're accepting donations. And February 12th is the 100th day of school. Thank you so much. Any questions? All right. Agenda item 14.0 is general public comment. If there's anyone wishing to be general public comment about things now. Hi, I'm Sue Hamill and um some of you I know most of you um I was on uh the school building um committee uh part one and two and I was also I wasn't part of the pre the earlier uh committee in the the referendum that failed but I did attend a lot of those meetings. So, I I've been involved or I've been watching this project for quite a long time. And although I did oppose the ref the recent referendum, I'm on board with this now. Like, we're we're

078doing this. We're going to make it happen. And we want we want this project to be really successful. But I'm here um I'm sure you've seen the emails that I've sent. Um I have sent a couple. And my background is not construction, but I was on the um public safety building committee and um I although we didn't have a an owner's rep with that, we did have construction management at risk and there were problems that um developed. That was a $21 million project and we were very glad that we had uh construction management at risk. Uh we're not allowed to do that with school with with school buildings. So we I know when we built Wentworth and I wasn't really following that um but that was a $39 million project. We did have an owner's

079rep um for that project. These days, um, construction projects have become so complex and the fact that this is $140 million, involves five buildings, uh, will take place over at least three years. Um, it has become increasingly become standard practice to to hire an owner's rep to really um, watch the money, watch the schedule. question change orders will come up and there will be a lot of them and um and to catch problems early and um I'm just very concerned about the idea that uh 10 hours a week would be enough um you have to have somebody who is willing to sit and read through a 200 page 200 or more pages of specifications and who who really knows um construction you very deeply. And um it's a different skill set uh costing out construction

080uh and an owner's rep might even have a team uh at certain times of all with special skills uh to to watch over what's happening and protect the protect the town. So, um I like to think of it, uh we if you've ever built a house and um I built two, it's kind of exciting. You hire an architect or a builder, maybe we'll have the plan, and you get going and you think, "This is great." And you pretty quickly arrive at a point where you realize that you and the builder are have opposing, you're on opposing teams. You're on competing teams with different goals and it's just the nature of how these projects work. And our project is at least 300 times what you would typically spend on a house. And you really need to

081house someone with really specialized knowledge and um dedicated full-time to protecting your interest. So, I'm I'm just really asking please consider uh the schedule and the amount of money that you're you have budgeted and it's important. We we really want this project to um be go through smooth and no overruns and if anything come in under budget. Thanks. If you are online and interested in making public comment, if you could raise your Zoom hand. All right, seeing none, I will close public comment. Thank you so much. All right, agenda item 15.0 is new business. Nate, it's your time. 15.1 is the high school program of studies. Good evening everybody. Um, so I'm here before you tonight to talk to you a little bit about our proposed program of studies for the high school for the

0822026 27 school year. Um, I wanted to start just by connecting some of this work to um, our new mission and belief statement. As you might recall, um we've been engaged in um in a self-reflection related to accreditation this year. Um back in November, we um we recrafted the mission's pretty much the same, but we recrafted some of the beliefs. So, I just wanted to highlight that with a a lot of this work that's reflected in the program of studies really speaks to things like being a lifelong learner, um, including a broad and flexible curriculum, developing students potential, um, high expectations, multiple pathways, all that kind of stuff. Um, I'm hoping I know you got this about a week ago. I'm hoping you saw some of that reflected in there as well. Um, in terms

083of just a highle overview, um, key changes for the proposed program of study, um, really reflect a few key things. Um, one, um, we continue to add courses, um, that extend and diversify certain, um, certain course pathways or learning pathways. Um we're finding that again in order to meet the needs of all students um we're having to add some courses at both ends um of the learning progression um to make sure that everybody has access. Um and then also to ensure some common language. I'll talk a little bit about more when we get there. That's a smaller thing um but I think a significant one at the same time. Um another key thing that we're trying to do here is eliminate some classes that are being affected um or replaced by changes to pathways. As

084I'm sure you've noticed in your review, um there were a number of new courses. Um they weren't all thrown in on a whim. Um a lot of it reflects um at least one to three years um of conversation, discussion, and thought. Um but there are some fairly significant changes to some core pathways um which I think are really interesting. Um and then always, as always, eliminate some things where we're just not seeing a lot of in student student enrollment. Um and so that's that's sort of our focus I would say. Um if I could get the next slide please. Um so I spent some time trying to think about the easiest way to try to explore and explain some of these changes to folks. Um so I went with visuals this year. Hopefully um these

085will be helpful in terms of slides. Um so the first thing first area I wanted to talk a little bit about is the science department. Um there's a couple of things going on in the science department that I just want to highlight um and talk to you about and hopefully the changes as you look at them kind of start to make sense as you hear me talk. Um so the first thing as you might recall um we've had um we've expanded or extended um the learning pathway particularly in science and math the last couple of years um as we've seen more new mayors come in um and some students some of those students having um interrupted educational background um you know we can't throw a student who um maybe hasn't been in school since sixth

086or seventh grade we can't just throw them into you know a biology course and say here you go um and so what we found ourselves doing the last couple of years is is having having to add stuff in our curriculum um that's going to help them build that educational background. It's not that they have a learning disability, it's just that they need some formal schooling um and some formal education and some content areas in order to help them hit the ground running um with our curriculum. So um we've added we're going to be adding in a course. It's called Foundations of Science. Um that's really replacing a couple of things. the last um the last couple of years we've been running something called foundations of environmental science. We've also been running a foundations of biology

087course. Um the way we've been using that term foundations I think is a little bit at odds with how we've been using it in the math department. In the math department we use the term foundations um it's really been a pre high school course. Um something we have to have in order to create access for all of our students. Um but it's really reflecting um you know learning goals that that one would encounter more in like sixth, seventh, eighth grade. Um and so in order to I think um make sure that we're using our language in the same way um so that people reading our program of studies can understand that um foundations of science is going to mean the same thing in science department as foundations language in the math department. Um we're eliminating

088um as you'll see on the next slide of foundations of biology and foundations of environmental science. We're just going to have a foundations of science course. Um that's going to feed into environmental science. Um so we'll take a year get kids ready there. Um, and then what we've seen the last couple of years is I think a year of foundations um we can if our focus is environmental science, I think a year of foundations of science um is going to be enough based on what we've seen to get kids ready for environmental science and then we can close some additional gaps there to get kids ready for biology. Um the other thing we're adding into the science department pathway um is actually an old thing that's kind of made its way back um just based

089on what we're seeing. Um so some of what we're seeing I think at the high school level especially the last 5 years I would say since co um is we're starting to see some students um struggle um with a transition directly from environmental science to biology. These aren't necessarily new mayor students. These are students that have been with us for a while. Um but the shift from environmental science to biology is a big one. Um in the sense that biology is a is a challenging course even at a level three um which is just a college prep course. Um it's a challenging course. There's the concepts are challenging. Um there's a lot of vocabulary that goes into it. The other variable that changes um when kids shift from environmental science 4 to environmental science 3

090into bio3, bio4 or AP bio um is that students get exposed to the lab course in the lab environment. Um we do do some lab work in environmental science, but it's scheduled as just a 75minute block. Um biology is um as some of you know if you've had students that have come through the high school, biology is a double block course. So every fourth day it meets for 150 minutes. It's a long time um for a student to be in one room even though they're doing some hands-on stuff. They don't do lab work every single day. Um and so it's just a long time for students to be in one class. Um so what we're seeing in in science is really we're seeing starting to see some students struggle consistently since co um with that

091switch into that lab environment. So what we're proposing here is to add sort of this little bridge course um called introduction to biology and chemistry. We used to have a a course years ago at the high school. It was called similarly it was called bio and chem. Um and the idea was kind of similar. Um it's a level two course that's really designed to bridge kids to get them ready into uh for biology so that they can be successful. There's also a little bit of chemistry in there, too, so that we can set them up to complete a four-year science pathway if that's something that interests them. Um, might not get all the way to physics if they're bumping out into that sophomore year. Um, but at the same time, it does get them ready

092for a college preparatory um, science experience over their four years with us. Um, so that's really exciting. I think what's what's it'll be interesting to see how it goes um, you know, with having that little bump out of a pathway. Um, I think the thing that I really like about it is that it's providing support for students who need it, but it's not providing anybody with an out. Um, you know, the idea there is to, yes, if you need a little bit extra support in order to be successful in bio, we have a course that'll provide that to you. Um, but then you're going to jump back up into bio3. Um, which is something I really like. Um, so we're really curious to see how it goes. Um, but again, I think it's really um,

093based on solid reasoning and solid thinking in terms of what we're seeing and experiencing on the ground level. Um, next slide please, Cheryl or [snorts] Ray, sorry, [laughter] my bad. So, this is just sort of a summary slide to give you an idea of what's going in and what's going out. Um, on the left side is what's coming out. Foundations of environmental science, foundations of biology, um, what's going in, it's two fullyear courses, foundations of science, um, and then introduction to biology and chemistry. So, it's just a summary there. Next slide, please. Um these next two are pretty straightforward I would say in terms of where they exist in our pathways. Um so we have a new course that's proposed um in the 26 27 program of studies um in performing arts. Um that course

094is percussion. Um, one of the things we're seeing in percussion is that um, students who are playing percussion instruments um, are coming in and needing a little bit more um, support um, and instruction um, and skill building than students playing other instruments. Um, there are different theories as to why that might be happening, but the reality is is that it's happening. Um, and so one of the things that we're proposing here is to have a separate class for students that are playing percussion instruments. Um, Mr. Eversold, who's our band teacher, feels very strongly that if he can have a year where he can just focus focus on students playing that percussion section, um, he can bring them together in symphonic band, both sides of the band really, um, and have a have a really great,

095um, band experience for students by the time they're in about 10th or 11th grade. Um, it's just challenging. His classes can can range anywhere from 20 to 60 students. Um and so trying to give feedback to students when or specialized feedback to students when they're in that big of a class can be a real struggle. Um so the feeling here is put a percussion class in um have students that are playing those instruments come into that class um and then we can bring together the whole band and symphonic band um usually in 10th grade but there'll be some juniors in there as well. Um so that's the simple proposal there for performing arts. Next slide please. That one explains itself. Nothing [snorts] too complicated there. Um, this one too is pretty simple. Um, couple years

096ago, you might remember we had an intro to photojournalism course. We could not get any traction with it. Um, much to my disappointment, we advertised and advertised and recruited and recruited. Um, I thought it was occupying a really great um, space within our visual arts pathways and we just could not get enough students to take the course. Um, so uh, we've gone back to video productions too. We'll be pulling out intro to photojournalism. Um, and we'll be going back to video productions, too. Um, that's one that's been a fairly tried and trueue class over the year. We always almost always have enough students in there who register to run it. Um, we thought photo photojournalism would catch it, just didn't. Um, so that's a course that we're going to be eliminating based on enrollment. Um,

097and we're putting video productions too back in place. Pretty simple there, too. One for one swap. Um, English is where uh probably the most change is happening. Um, and it's happening to a core pathway. English is a four-year requirement. Um, it's uncommon, I would say, for schools to tinker too much with core p with core pathway um, once they feel good about what they have. Um, we've been having a conversation in the English department, I would say, for about two and a half years now. Um, I think the thing that kicked it off, they they've had these conversations off and on, I would say, for about four to six years, maybe even five to eight. Um, but the thing that really kicked off this round of conversation, um, was actually integrated credit. Um, we had

098lots of great conversations, um, about how to handle integrated credit. Um, as you might recall, integrated credit is um, it's related to students getting core credit when they take career and technical education programs. Um, we're counting that for core credit based on program recommendations um, for students over on our side of it. That was very new. Um, that was in response to a state law that was passed a couple years back. Um, we took a year, looked at that problem, talked with other area principles who had a little bit more of a template and experience that they already had in hand. Um, and we're able to get that going. Part of that conversation because English occupies a unique space at the high school in that it's the one four-year requirement that we have. So, you

099have to count account for it first semester to eighth semester. Um, and so that we really had some fascinating conversations about, well, what what does integrated pathway mean? How does this jive with what we do or integrated credit mean? How does this jive with what we do in terms of um our existing English pathway? Um, and that conversation kind of led down to well, what about semester sort of semester seminars? Um, what what might that look like? Um, and so English has been talking about this for for two years now. Um, and they've decided to take the leap. Um, which is really really cool and exciting. So, um, and to give you an idea of what this pathway used to look like, if you kind of look on the left hand side of the screen,

100um, you'll see it was it was pretty straightforward. Um, in grade 11, students had those four options. Um, primarily AP lit, English 114, which is an honors English class, English 113, which college prep college prep class. Um, and then English 112, which is a high school standard class. Um, from there, students would, um, you know, transition into their grade 12 class. Um, I don't want to deceive you. Some students do go down. It's not that they can't, it just added a lot of arrows and visual clutter, but um for the sake of just kind of keeping things neat and clean and tidy. Um you know, you can kind of follow where students would go for the most part um once they switched in from uh from grade 11 to grade 12. The new pathway adds

101complexity. Um but um rather than thinking of it as complexity, I would encourage you to think of it as options and pathways. Um, and so basically what we're shifting to, um, we're still going to have AP language. We're not touching that. Um, we have a lot of students that take that course. It's not one we want to throw out or change or anything like that. Um, but everything underneath AP language is is going to experience a little bit of a shift. So, um, basically what the English department came up with is we're going to offer, um, semester seminars, two in the fall, two in the spring. Um I'm representing it here as the same two. That could change year to year depending on what we see um for next year. But um the first course

102is a course called Memoir and identity. Um we're looking at offering a level four and a level three of that. Um you might have noticed in your program of studies that we gave you um that there was only one write up for the level three and the level four. Um that's in part because we have a we have a framework that we believe will work really well for these courses. Um, however, the real building of the course won't happen till the summer. Um, we've got some money set aside in the budget so that they can tackle that. Um, the good news is none of this is coming from scratch. A lot of this is, um, I don't know if you've ever met an English teacher, but they're always leaving things on the shelves in terms

103of like stuff they wanted to bring into the course, but they ran out of time to bring in. Um, and so a lot of this stuff, like the memoir course, there already is memoir units, existing memoir units in some of these other English courses. Um, you know, we already have like psychology and sociology and lit. That's the Ps lit um lit course. Um, we already had have an elective that deals with some of that. The villain course, we already have some electives that deal with that. The power, persuasion, and politics course, we already have some units that deal with that. So, a lot of this is building out courses from existing units of study or existing courses that are getting folded into this. So, in terms of what we're looking at next year, um for

104the fall, we're planning on offering um the memoir course um the psych and so um and literature course both at level four options and then also offering um the memoir course and the um psych and so psych and so and literature as a three option as well. Those will both run one semester um the fall and then they'll we won't run them again until the following year. Second semester, we're looking at running um two different courses at two different levels. So, the first one would be the power, politics, and persuasion course at a level three. That's an or a level four and a level three, so at an honors level and a college prep level. And then the other one is called um villain and the study of character. Um and that too is a

105um it's actually a really fun, it comes from an existing course now and we have a lot of students that really enjoy the course. Um but uh that's um going to be at a level four and a level three as well. Um English 1122 is going to be converted into a course we're calling divergent perspectives and reading and writing. It's going to be offered at a high school standard course. Um it's a course we need. Um we have students who um might not be ready for reading, you know, an honors level course on villain. Um and so we have to keep some option available to those students. Um, and so we're going to shift it a little bit, call it divergent perspectives in reading and writing, but it'll be at a level two high school

106standard course. So [gasps] that's what we're talking about in the English department. I still think there's some things we'll have to work out in terms of credit recovery. And, you know, um, right now the the the grand plan is a student takes one of these courses in the fall, one of these courses in the spring. Um, I'm I'm going to venture to guess it's not going to be that neat and tidy for every single kid, but we'll figure that out as it comes. Um, but some really exciting changes I think. So, if we could get the next slide, Ray. Um, so just to give you an idea of the amount of change, again, this is where you're going to see the most of it. Um, so we're actually eliminating, um, we're eliminating five courses. Um,

107lit theory 1 and lit theory 2 are being folded into the villain course. Um, and they're also being folded into the psychology and sociology and literature course. Um, and then the 124, 123, 122 are being folded into all those other courses I just highlighted. In terms of what we're launching, um, and what's new. Um, so first semester seminars, like I said, memoir and identity at a level four and a level three, psychology and sociology, sociology and literature at a level four and a level three, both semester, all of that's semester 1. Um and then second semester senior seminars would include the villain course, the power, politics and persuasion course that both of those at a level three and a level four and then divergent perspectives in writing and reading. Um so again it looks like

108a lot of change but none of it's haphazard. Um it's really about you know creating options for students. Um and I think these are it's really exciting stuff. Um and I know the teachers are really excited. This was really a teacher generated um idea. Um, like I said, it's we've been slowly moving, but um, they finally bit the bullet and did it, and I'm proud of them for it. So, um, we're excited to see where it goes. But that, I would say, um, is our summary of changes in the program of studies. Everything else that you saw should have been fairly small scale um, in terms of just updating some language, conjunctions, prepositions, um, maybe some curriculum stuff that reflects purchases that we've made or things that we're not doing anymore. Um, but overall the

109courses there are really sort of the heart of the changes that we've made to the program of studies for next year. I'll take any questions you might have. >> Thank you so much, Nate. Are there any questions or comments? >> Um, I I did have a question. um since I'm on the the vocational um committee and one of the things they mentioned the last meeting was you know developing curriculum uh for English that is you know different pathways this seems to me to be you know um one potential way I mean uh it's not exactly vocational but you know you're sort of diversifying the pathways is how does that vocational sort of effort to develop different different ways to meet an English requirement sort of dubtail or not with this? >> Yeah, that's a great

110question. The um so the CTE integrated what happens on the CTE side is really something that's going to happen on their side. Um the way that work generally flows is they'll start to organize um you know they'll really look into they'll talk to I think Portland and Westbrook have both tapped into um either English teachers or literacy coaches on their side. Um really the the work on their end has to be vetted. I think we want to view that as a transfer credit. We want to view that the same we the same way I view a credit from you know a kid who took a course an English course at South Portland by a certified English teacher and then transferred into Scarbor High School. We don't ask too many questions about that. It was taught

111by a certified teacher had learning goals. We're going to count that as credit on our side. Um that really is the same model that um the CTE credit works through. Um, so CTE if once they're ready, they're going to start that work. They're going to go through comb through their curriculum. They're going to have um, you know, they're going to have either an English teacher or English teachers or literacy coach, someone who's certified in the discipline, comb through that with them. Um, and then they're going to make a recommendation to um, either the regional advisory committee or the general advisory committee, depending on whether it's what coming through Westbrook or PASS. Um, and that that committee will review that proposal and decide whether or not to adopt it. um you know, we can make local

112decisions. We have a few of those on the books just based on what we've seen from what they've produced where maybe it wasn't a recommendation or um you we have a few of those where we kind of looked at it on our side and we just said this makes sense. Um but in general, that's not something we're going to have a hand in. Um that'll be something that CTE works through and then as our students take a program where English as an integrated credit is an option, that'll be something that we automatically count on our side once it's adopted. >> Yep. I see. It's a parallel but separate process. >> Yeah. It's not it's it's something that's in their hands until they kick it over to the the advisory committees for decision-m. Sometimes they engage

113the principal groups in that too when when just to give you some background when they first started that this integrated credit is a old idea but a new idea. Everything in education runs in cycles it feels like. Um but it used to be called crossover credit. Um it's had a couple different names. I think the previous iteration was crossover credit. um you know that because of the scale of what they were initially proposing a couple years ago and what the state was requiring that was something that um you know we were meeting with the director of PASS and the direct director of WRVC um on the side as an area principles to kind of provide um consultation about what we would need um what we would look for that kind of stuff um the smaller

114scale stuff the oneoffs and two offs that they're like I think they've got a pretty good template in place right now um so I ect as they make program tweaks every couple of years they're going to come back with new recommendations but if there's anything grand or controversial they'll certainly engage the area principles before that shows up on Iraq agenda or GAC agenda yeah >> but just a general comment that I'm very impressed with you know the effort to find these different pathways it's it's and engaging the teachers and in and that creativity it's it's great >> yeah no it's it's what we do at the high school. I mean, it's we have to have, right, we offer a diploma. Um, I think that's what makes every high school a little bit different than some

115of the other schools in in whatever district you might work. Um, you know, we offer a diploma and one of the major things that get kids to a diploma is finding courses that are relevant um that align with their future goals. Um, finding courses that our teachers are excited to teach um helps with that, too. Um, so I'm sure, you know, I'll be interested to see how it goes. I think there might be some moans and groans on the titles from the kids, but I think once they get into it, um I think they'll be very very engaged. Um cuz I know a lot of them leave various English units wanting more and we have to cut that short because we've got to get to the next unit. Um and so I think it's exciting

116for them to kind of get an opportunity to go in deep on something. Um, you know, I think the the politics, power, and persuasion unit or a course. I think I don't know of a course that might be more relevant than, you know, [clears throat] to right now. Um, so it'll be exciting for them. I think they'll just have to get past some of the titles. But >> I um, so when I reviewed the the program, that was the class that stuck out for me because I didn't have a class where I dove into critical thinking and looking at things without um, bias or tilt or um, you know, like really trying to understand um media and books and the persuasion and and the the power of the media, right? I didn't have that until

117my first my very first class in my master's program. >> And so when I read through this program, I that was the thing that blew like it blows my mind that I I was in my 20s and in grad school and you you our students are getting it now as a high school student like a senior. that's really really cool, you know. And so then I I actually jokingly texted Jillian. I was like, I wonder if I can attend this class and just like go sit there and that would be okay because what a cool class and what a great opportunity. And I just I know I say this every year, but I continue to be impressed with the work that's done in this and making sure that the kids are um have classes that

118are meaningful to them and whatever pathway they choose. Um bless you. It's really um I love seeing it. I love that. You know, sometimes we try things and it doesn't work and so we try something different and we see if maybe that sticks a little bit better and Yeah. >> So, thank you for all of your hard work. I really appreciate it. >> Yeah. No, it's it's exciting to do this work, right? It kind of keeps it fresh for everybody and I think it's it, you know, it provides opportunities for kids to approach content in different ways. Um, [snorts] you know, and English is a great area to play around in, honestly. Um, we've got a lot of clever teachers and very smart and bright English teachers. Um, you know, and I think a lot

119of times I was just talking to one the other day and you know, I felt like the whole design of the of the unit was to leave the kids um with more questions than answers. Um, which I think uh is actually really healthy, especially as they're getting to the end of high school. Um, as we all know, great questions have hard answers to find. Um, but you can make a career out of a really good one. So, >> thank you everybody. >> Thank you. We got the old. >> All right. Do I have a motion to approve the high school program of studies as presented? >> So moved. >> Secondary. Any discussion? All in favor? And that shows unanimous. Thank you so much. Um agenda item 15.2 is the first reading of policy DB, the

120school budget. Raya, I'll turn this to you. >> Another exciting policy update. This is actually really exciting. um not just because it's policy which is I it does get me really excited. Um this is a really great collaboration between the finance committee and the policy committee. So the finance committee identified some um into the policies in forming its budget which is great. Um we like policies that be living documents that actually mean something and they um they identified Kate business manager brought to the finance committee's attention that we have a lot of really interesting confusing and useless budget policies. Um, and so the finance committee read through the policies with Kate and sort of made some recommendations which I was able to bring to the policy committee um, and talk through those recommendations. And so

121there wasn't a lot of specific recommendations from the finance committee in terms of like um, like this was the way but sort of observations um, some some things they thought could be simplified. Um there are some specific like recommendations about the budget transfer which I'll get into but ultimately um DB as a package um what ultimately if we adopt it and move it to second reading at the same time you're going to see a motion um to strike and what I what's that retire >> retire a bunch of policies. So DB our model not our model DB our proposed draft of DB um there's an existing DB in our in our um policies which you're welcome to reference um but the model the model DB the working draft DB that we're proposing would actually take

122the place of our existing DB would also take the place of DBC which is we had a annual budget and a school budget polic different policies um those are the same thing a DBC-P which was a school budget planning procedure, DBG, budget adoption process, DBJ, budget line transfer authority, um, DIC, financial reports and statements, and DKC, expense reimbursements. So, all of those policies we have lifted, put them together, and we made them into sections into DB. So, DB has incorporated the intent and the purpose behind all of those policies and put it into one one complete policy, DB annual budget. And so I'm not I'm not going to read it to you as much as you like hearing me read policy to you. Um but it goes through the annual budget sort of what that

123what that process would look like. It references our calendar. So Kate has developed this she calls it Easter colors. I think of it as ice cream colors calendar that we publish every year. Um Mitchell did a great job of presenting it to us earlier today. And that has really been the guiding document that at least I've oriented myself every year around that document. So what's happening next? Where are we in the process? what needs to happen so we can understand the process that we go through to understand and overtake the budget um with in in conjunction with the town because obviously we're a part of the town's budget and then move that through to the June referendum when hopefully it gets adopted and then becomes the school budget. It's an enormous amount of work that

124the district does. It's extremely important work and um and so this would this policy would would guide that but instead of having our old policies had some really specific deadlines like 90 days before this date then this was going to happen instead of having those deadlines because quite honestly our budget has to revolve around the town's budget process because it's a part of that process and they set those timelines. So they set sort of, you know, obviously it has to be done in time for the referendum in June. So it's not like a completely elective process, but it has to be set around the time they schedule for presentations. So our presentations have to happen before that because we have to have first reading before it goes in front of the town. So there's like

125a dance between our timeline and the town's timeline. So it's mainly dependent on the town's timeline. So us having specifically hard deadlines and our policy and procedures didn't make a whole lot of sense. So what we did instead was to require the superintendent to publish a calendar every year that lays this out with the intent that the calendaring time will give the board the finance committee of the board and the board time to review the information before we move it to first reading. So we have a time to discuss it, digest it, make recommendations and then and so it gives us notice but it doesn't have again these arbitrary deadlines because we don't care if it's day 89 or day 92. We care that we have it in time to review it before we have

126to go to first reading, >> which we typically do through the pres presentation [clears throat] process, which I have found incredibly helpful um interesting and um gives me all the information that I need to go out and talk about the budget and feel confident that I'm able to do that >> um well, so it continues what we've what we've developed as good process here and it enshrines it in procedure, which it hasn't been before. So Kate, because she's magical, has just produces really good process. We're now making that the process moving forward because although Kate will be with us forever. Um in the case she doesn't, we will make sure we have enshrined her process because it is good process that's working for us. So that's what the pro that's what the process becomes in

127this in this um in this proposal. Um it then makes a section two which is budget line item transfer authority. So we had some low uh transfer authority and the finance committee made specific recommendation of dollar amounts to the to the policy committee which would so there's two types of budget transfer. So you can transfer within like if you think of them as groups in the budget. So like in transportation you have like driving, you have bus maintenance, you have things that are all have to do with transportation. We used to have to do some budget transfer approvals between lines within the same column or the same group. um we've eliminated that because essentially we the voters have already approved that money for that department. So it doesn't make sense for the board to then

128go back behind it and say yeah you can use this amount of for driving for this amount of contracting for other types of drivers and move it from one line item to another line item within the same group. So we're not changing anything that voters have approved that we have voted on and recommended. We are continuing to approve chancers across cost centers. So if we're moving them from different groups. So, if we're taking money from transportation and for whatever reason we decide we're moving it to athletics, maybe because we need some um transportation and athletics and that's where the line is. So, there may be a reason to move from one group to another group, but that would be unusual. We will do it from time to time, but we shouldn't do it often because

129the money that's been appropriated that we have voted on and the voters have voted on have been for a very specific purpose and we should not be moving it between those groups. Kate estimated that we do it less than once a year. It happens on occasion. There's always a good reason explanation that if it's more than $10,000 will come before the board for a vote. And so everyone will have notice of that because that's something we should be brought to our attention if that kind of it's a budget irregularity. It's not fraud. It's not waste. It's not bad planning, but it's it's an irregular process and it one that bears some scrutiny. So let's we're going to scrutinize that by having it voted on and approved by the board. So that um that's the decision

130that we um that we made with the recommendation and the board policy committee um continued with that. The rest of it is some of the policies seems really silly like you have to have financial statements and reports. Um sure. Yes, we do. We do have those by the way. There's plenty of them. Kate will talk to you for hours about it if you want more information and she puts it all on the website so that you can reference it yourself. Um but this basically just says we have to have quarterly year in reports which is a normal part of the process. Um but doesn't again we didn't need another one separate policy that we have to have regular financial reports and that's something that any business or organization that's running with sound financial um practices

131is able to produce which is we're a public agency we should be able to produce our books. So that is that's the whole thing. So for first reading today is just the draft of DB but it's an amalgamation and a combination of all those other policies. Um and it is very exciting when we get to retire whole streets of policies because it makes our bund policies go down and if you ever been through our policies we have like hundreds of them. So that's good. Happy to take questions. >> Any questions for Frea? >> Uh I don't have a question. just I think it's a great idea to consolidate all and make it much more cohesive and simpler. So, thank you for undertaking that. It's a huge amount of work. >> I really attribute that to

132the finance committee and Kate bringing it up. Um, and it was really it's really fun to be able to move from one committee to another committee and like collaborate that way. That was kind of cool. >> Um, I have a more of a point of order or process question. Um, so we only had the first reading of policy DB tonight on this. Um, are we do I ask to what the is the retirement coming next time? I couldn't I can't remember. >> So, I believe and I'm I I don't believe we we don't need to do a first and a second reading on retirements and we can't retire those policies until we've adopted DB. So, the process would be first and second reading of DB. If DB is approved, then we would retire the rest

133of the policies. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Okay. So, um do I have a motion to approve the first reading of policy DB school budget as presented? >> Second. Is there any discussion? All in favor? And that shows unanimous. Thank you so much. Um, agenda item 15.3 is the middle school theater appointments. Yeah, that uh information is provided to you in your packet and I would respectfully ask you to approve those appointments. Thank you so much. Do I have a motion to approve the middle school theater appointments as presented? >> So move. Second. >> Any discussion? All in favor? That's unanimous. Thank you. 15.4 is the middle school winter two coaches also in your packet and I would respectfully ask you to approve. All right. Do I have a motion to approve the middle school

134winter two coaches as presented? >> So move. >> Second. >> Any discussion? All in favor? Uh that is unanimous. Thank you so much. Um 15.5 is the Wentworth school donation acceptance request. >> Yes. Um, in your packet you'll see uh a memo from Kate with this request. Um, I'll read it to you. It on January 30th, 2026, the Wentworth School received a donation check in the amount of $500 from Project Grace. This donation will establish Cindy's closet in honor of and in appreciation for nurse Cindy Fulo, who retired on January 30th from Wentworth School. We respectfully request that the school board approve acceptance of this donation on behalf of Scar Bro Wentworth School with many thanks. I happened to have the opportunity to be present when this happened um last Friday. Um Cindy is a

135longstanding LPN um who has worked in our district for over 25 years. You will have an opportunity to see her uh because she'll come back um for the spring recognition for our retirees. Um but as part of um you know her own um personal commitment to the community, she has been very tied in with Project Grace. Um and over the years um she has helped to fill um many needs and been a great conduit between Project Grace um and our schools. And so um the funds that they have donated um are going to be used to purchase um I guess for lack of a better word, kind of like an armwire for um the Wentworth clinic uh where they can store all the extra clothes um that our students need from time to time um

136right if they get wet on the playground or you know different um circumstances happen. And um uh you can see on the back of the memo, this was uh framed and provided to Cindy as um you know part of the uh of the check um receiving uh that happened last Friday. And they will also um create a plaque that they will um attach to that armoire so that everybody knows that that's Cindy's closet. So we're just really thrilled. Um, you know, we have a lot of unsung heroes in this district who do everything they do every day uh without um any uh desire to be acknowledged um but just because they generally care for our kids. Um, and this was a great opportunity um for broad project grace um to step up um and um

137assist us, but then also recognize somebody who's really been a great little angel for us. >> That's so lovely. All right, so I have a motion to approve the Wentworth school donation acceptance request as presented. So moved. >> Second. >> Any discussion? All right. All in favor? That's perfect. Thank you so much. Thank you. >> Um I think John was the first and Mitchell second. >> Sure. Um agenda item 16.0 is adjournment. With no objections, we will adjourn at 8:53 p.m. Thank you so much everybody and have a good night.