Members Present:  James Bell, Larry Davis, Patricia Davis, Ralph Eastman, Pam Goulette, Nancy Hall, Cinthia Hoak, Patricia Izbicki, Anita Kain,  Donna Littlefield, Susan McAvoy, George Nuite, Geraldine Rizzitello, Donna Runnels, Michelle Ward and Charles Woodmancy,  (student council non-voting members – Mallory Izbicki and Connie Glynn).

Members Absent:      Shelly Bennett and John Cartwright. 

Also Present:              Julie Orton, Greg Bellemare, Trisha Kurt, Jim Chasse, Crystal Priest and Paul      
                                     Stearns.

Call to Order:             The meeting was called to order by George Nuite at 7:00 p.m.                                    

Approval of Minutes:  A motion was made by Anita Kain and seconded by Pamela Goulette that the  minutes from the October 10^th Board of Directors meeting be approved.

                                     Vote: Yes ~ 16   No ~ 0 Ab. ~ 0

Public Forum:    Ralph Eastman read a letter of appreciation from Greg Bellemare to Carol Poirier thanking her for her efforts in organizing the recent Veteran’s Assembly at PCMS. 

Larry Davis and Pam Goulette were recognized with Service Awards from the Maine School Board Association.  They have served SAD #4 for 21 years.

Correspondence:                   

Educational Reports: Mr. Chasse, Faye Booker and guest David Morris (Director of Brewer Alpha Program) gave a presentation and overview of alternative education programming, and SAD #4’s Learning -4-Life Program.   

Michelle Ward, Donna Littlefield and Jim Bell reported on the various sessions that they attended while at the MSMA Fall Conference.  Some of the sessions and topics were:      

Michelle Ward: Sports Done Right, Collective Bargaining, TABOR, Policy Primer, A.P. Courses & Programming and Sports Policy.      

Donna Littlefield: Community Service, Bullying and Harassment.

Jim Bell: Expulsion/Suspension Procedures, Technology, CLC Programming.

All three expressed that they are available to share information and resources on these topics.

Donna reported that all four of the MSBA resolutions passed.

1.         Adjustment to Agenda:         

            A motion was made by Pamela Goulette and seconded by Patricia Davis to add Item 1a to the agenda – Recommendation to Employ:  Eric Sherman – PCHS One Act Play & Drama Coach

            Vote: Yes~ 16 No ~ 0 Ab. ~ 0

1a.       Recommendation to Employ (one year contract):

            A motion was made by Pamela Goulette and seconded by Patricia Davis that the Board of Directors accepts the recommendation to employ Eric Sherman as a Coach for the One Act Play and Drama at  PCHS for the 2006-2007 school year.

            Vote: Yes~ 16 No ~ 0 Ab. ~ 0

2.         Policy Development:

                A motion was made by James Bell and seconded by Patricia Izbicki that the Board of Directors approves the first reading of policies JJI, JJIB, JJIBA,      JJIBB, JJIBC and approves the final reading of policies EBCE, ID, IJNDB and JICK of the SAD #4 Policy Book.

            Vote: Yes~ 16 No ~ 0 Ab. ~ 0

3.         Committee Reports: 

Policy:  Included in Superintendent’s Report 

Budget: Larry Davis reported that the Budget Committee had met on November 7^th.  The next meeting is scheduled for January 16^th, with a Saturday Budget Workshop scheduled for February 3^rd.

The Audit is nearly complete and should be available soon.  There is a $247,000 carryover from 2005-2006 primarily due to unanticipated revenues including e-rate, tuition and interest.

As of Oct. 31^st – 72% of the budget remained as compared to 70% on the same date in fiscal year 2005.

The committee discussed the warrant review process.  Three committee members will be coming into the office on a regular basis to examine AP warrants in detail, including a comparison with invoices.  This will add one more check and balance to the system.

RRF projects have been state approved up to $507,000.  We will be going to referendum to get the voters approval to borrow money from the Maine Bond Bank at 0% interest over ten years.  The amount to be borrowed is expected to be $100,000 or less.

The superintendent and James Bell attended a citizen’s meeting in Abbot.  At that  meeting the residents of Abbot voted to “explore all the options” for educating their children.

Cash flow has been difficult due to federal grant monies not coming in as of yet.

4.         Administrative Reports:       

            Julie Orton – Elementary Principal/Curriculum Coordinator:  Attached

            Trisha Kurt – Special Education Director - Attached

                Crystal Priest - Technology – Attached

            Jim Chasse - Attached

            Greg Bellemare – Attached

5.         Chairperson's Report

            Chairperson George Nuite passed out materials for the evaluation of the Superintendent, explained the process and requested that Board Members give their feedback.

6.         Superintendent's Report:      Attached

7.         Adjournment:

Vote: Yes ~ 16 No ~ 0   Ab. ~ 0

Respectfully Submitted,

Paul A. Stearns
Superintendent of Schools
SAD #4