Members Present:  Laura Auger, Deborah Clukey, Larry Davis, Patricia Davis, Ralph Eastman, Pam Goulette, Patricia Izbicki, Anita Kain, Donna Littlefield, Lorna Marshall, Susan McAvoy, George Nuite, Geraldine Rizzitello, Thomas Ronco and Michelle Ward.

Members Absent:    Brad Coburn, Melissa Douglass and Phyllis Watson.

Also Present:          William Thompson, Greg Bellemare, Kevin Jordan, Sara Alberts, Crystal Priest and Paul Stearns.

Call to Order:            The meeting was called to order by Larry Davis at 7:03 P.M.

Approval of Minutes:   A motion was made by Geraldine Rizzitello and seconded by Lorna
                                   Marshall that the minutes of the October 14 meeting be approved.

Vote: Yes ~ 15   No ~ 0   Ab. ~ 0

Public Forum:           none   

Correspondence:     Geraldine Rizzitello read a letter from Linda Packard regarding four SAD #4 students that volunteer regularly at the Guilford Library:  Erwin McAllister, Curtis Agnew, Lucas Bussell and Mallery Bussell.

Educational Reports:          

Adult Education (William Thompson) – Mr. Thompson reported that Pete Myrick was honored at a recent State Adult Education Conference.  He reported on a variety of Adult Education offerings for the Fall including ITV.

MEA Reports (Principals) - Greg Bellemare reported on both 4^th and 8^th grade MEA’s.  He provided the board with a hand out indicating trends in scoring as well as possible influences on the scores.  He announced that PCMS would be a pilot school for the online MEA in 2003-2004.

Mr. Jordan reported on MEA scores at PCHS.  He stressed the importance of observing trends, particularly with small testing populations.

1.         Adjustments to Agenda:   

            Add 2A – Creation of Position – Ed Tech IA at PCMS (special education)

            Change Item #5 to read (…. approves a first reading of IJNDC through IJNDC-R)

A motion was made by Pam Goulette and seconded by Patricia Davis that the Board of Directors makes the above mentioned changes to the agenda.

Vote: Yes ~ 15   No ~ 0   Ab. ~ 0

2.         Approval of Grade 6 Annual Field Trip to Quebec:

A motion was made by Geraldine Rizzitello and seconded by Ralph Eastman that the Board of Directors sanctions the annual Grade 6 field trip to Quebec.

Vote: Yes ~ 15   No ~ 0   Ab. ~ 0

2A.      Creation of Position:

A motion was made by Pam Goulette and seconded by Susan McAvoy that the Board of Directors creates an Educational Technician IA position at PCMS as a result of special education needs.

Vote: Yes ~ 15   No ~ 0   Ab. ~ 0

3.         Recommendation to Employ:

A motion was made by Anita Kain and seconded by Susan McAvoy that the Board of Directors accepts the following recommendation to employ (one-year contract).

June Ladd – PCHS Cheering Coach

Vote: Yes ~ 15  No ~ 0   Ab. ~ 0

4.         School Bus Purchase for 2004-2005:

A motion was made by Geraldine Rizzitello and seconded by Pam Goulette that the Board of Directors authorizes the Superintendent to purchase a school bus for the fiscal 2005 school year, funded by the fiscal year 2005 budget.

Vote: Yes ~ 15  No ~ 0   Ab. ~ 0

5          Policy Development:

A motion was made by Ralph Eastman and seconded by Michelle Ward that the Board of Directors approves a first reading of IJNDB through IJNDC-R and gives final approval to adopt policies associated with sections ID through IJJ-E plus EBAA-R of the revised SAD #4 policy book.

Vote: Yes ~ 15   No ~ 0   Ab. ~ 0

6.         Committee Reports:

Budget Committee – Larry Davis (chair) reported that the next budget meeting will be in January.

Policy Committee – Debbie Clukey (Chair) reported that the Committee was meeting more frequently in order to finish the policy manual

7.         Administrative Reports:

Kevin Jordan (PCHS Principal) reported on the following:

·         Kevin introduced Sandra Emerson as the new assistant principal at PCHS. 

·         Elizabeth Kelley has been nominated for a National Community Service Award.

·         Gates Collaborative.

·         Parent/Teacher Conferences began tonight.

·         The fall athletic seasons were successful.

·         Ten staff members will be trained in Local Assessment Development.

·         The Student Assistance Team has been reinstated.

·         The cultural trip to Boston was successful.

·         Two students were selected to travel to a New England Chorus Honors Conference.

Greg Bellemare (PCMS Principal) reported on the following:

·           Fall Sports Awards Night was a success.

·           All teachers are working on a local assessment system.

·           Senator Davis visited the 7^th grade.

·           Frank Stanio has replaced James Quirk as custodian at PCMS.

·           Parent/Teacher Conferences are scheduled for next week.

·           Greg read a complimentary note from people that climbed Borestone with a group of PCMS students.

Sara Alberts (Elementary Principal/Special Education Director) reported on the following:

·           Saturday family/student trip to Stutzman’s Farm.

·           A portable planetarium is being brought in - courtesy of the HUGS Group.

·           The holiday concert will be December 4^th.

·           Discussed report cards and reporting dates.

·           She talked about the state of the art methodologies used in special education classes.

·           Spoke to a lack of fairness regarding NCLB.

8.         Chairperson's Report: None

9.         Superintendent's Report - Superintendent Stearns discussed the following:

·           He is pleased to announce that we have three board members that were recognized at the MSBA conference for their service to SAD #4 over the last 18 years.  Phyllis Watson, Pam Goulette, and Larry Davis.  Congratulations and thank you!

·           An evaluation procedure has been put into place.  Every employee will be observed and/or evaluated yearly, and in some instances more often.

·           A school calendar draft is being put together.

·           An administrative calendar is under construction.

·           We have had two major network issues that have affected communication and instruction.  These appear to be resolved.

·           We met with SYSCO and have managed to work out a plan that will save 3% off the top as well as up to 2% in delivery and bulk ordering incentives.

·           The Safety Committee has been revived and is meeting after schools.  All procedures are being reviewed, updated, stored electronically as well as in yellow emergency binders to be placed in key offices throughout the district.

·           Bus Safety and evacuation drills have been completed. These took place during bus safety week.

·           Grade closings will be staggered by one week to allow better tech support for rank card distribution.  K-3 ranks will close one week prior to the ranking period date on the calendar – with report cards going home on the calendar date.  Grades 4-12 will close grades on the date marked as the end of the ranking period and report cards will be mailed home the following week.

·           The local assessment system work has been extraordinary.  We will be meeting with the entire educational staff on November 24^th to assess where we are and to re-focus our efforts in order to meet the requirements of the law in the manner that is least intrusive and provides parents, students, and teachers with the data that they need to make informed instructional decisions.

·           It appears as though the apportionment of the board might be out of synch with the numbers from the 2000 census.  This might require a re-apportionment process to take place.  I will proceed with this process working with our attorney and the commissioner’s office.

·           GASB 34 - Federal Law requires us to follow procedures set forth by the Government Accounting Standards Board.  This includes a fixed inventory and asset accounting procedure.  After researching the various options I have decided to offer this work to Valuation Advisory Group of Atlanta, Georgia.  They come highly recommended by several districts in Maine and seem to have the lowest price, while providing service that meets the requirements of both the law and our auditors.

10.      Adjournment:

Motion made by George Nuite and seconded by Anita Kain to adjourn the meeting at 9:05 p.m.

Vote: Yes ~ 15  No ~ 0   Ab. ~ 0

Respectfully Submitted,

Paul A. Stearns
Superintendent of Schools
SAD #4