Mount Desert School Department
Mount Desert School Committee
Minutes
The Mount Desert School Committee held a meeting on Wednesday, 4 June 2008, with the following members present: Chair Heather Jones, Gail Marshall, Brian Reilly, Charlie Wray and Mia Brown
Also present were Scott McFarland, Rob Liebow, Steve Philbrook and Kate Chaplin
CALL TO ORDER
Heather Jones called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
MOVED by Gail Marshall, seconded by Brian Reilly and unanimously voted to approve the minutes of
7 May 2008, as written.
PUBLIC COMMENT
There was no public comment.
PRINCIPAL"S REPORT
Principal McFarland presented his report.
DISCUSSION ITEMS
" Isleford parent exploring the possibility of sending 7th and 8th grade students to MDES - Steve Philbrook (parent) and Kate Chaplin (Isleford School Committee member) discussed with the MDES board the possibility of developing a relationship that would allow their 7th and 8th grade students to come to MDES in the future. After a discussion that outlined the pros and cons there was consensus that it was an idea that warranted further exploration but Isleford should pay for any costs associated with this idea.
" Grading Scale - Principal McFarland gave a presentation of the comparison of a 100-point scale with that of a 4-point scale, with the idea that an assigned "0" for an assignment is not a fair grade in the 100 point system. All middle schools on MDI have embraced the idea of a 4-point scale but the idea has not yet been presented to the high school staff. There were some questions about the type of assessments that we use at the U98 level and how effective they are. It was agreed that Joanne Harriman would put together an assessment presentation for the U98 school committee next year.
MOVED by Gail Marshall, seconded by Brian Reilly and unanimously voted to approve the
4-point scale as the grading structure for the 2008-09 school year. The committee also asked for an update of how the system is working at next June's meeting.
ACTION ITEMS
" Gym lighting - MOVED by Gail Marshall, seconded by Mia Brown and unanimously voted to approve a total expenditure of no more than $10,400 (after rebates) for the replacement of the gym lighting. Since the contract for the installation portion of the project was less than $2,500, the contract did not need to go out to bid. The remaining expense for the project is for supplies that do not need to go out for contract as well.
" Request for the addition of an early release day (October 10th) - Principal McFarland informed the committee that all of the elementary schools on the island were requesting from their boards the addition of an early release day on October 10th so that teachers could have extra time to analyze assessment data.
MOVED by Gail Marshall, seconded by Brian Reilly and voted 4-1 to approve the addition of the early release day on October 10, 2008. (B. Reilly opposed)
" MOVED by Gail Marshall, seconded by Brian Reilly and unanimously voted to authorize the Superintendent to apply for and receive state and federal grants.
" MOVED by Mia Brown, seconded by Gail Marshall and unanimously voted to approve the contribution of $2,000 to the RPC legal costs regarding the Damon Amendment. Such funds to come from the 2007-08 school budget under School Committee: Other Professional Services line.
" MOVED by Gail Marshall, seconded by Charlie Wray and unanimously voted to authorize the Superintendent to hire during the summer months and to provide an email to the committee 5 days prior to the hiring.
" MOVED by Mia Brown, seconded by Gail Marshall and unanimously voted to authorize the additional funds of $1,000 to be expended from the 2007-08 fiscal year budget under the Food Services line.
" MOVED by Mia Brown, seconded by Gail Marshall and unanimously voted to authorize the transfer of the monies received for the Medicaid reimbursement for 2007-08 fiscal year to the Emergency Special Education Reserve.
" MOVED by Mia Brown, seconded by Gail Marshall and unanimously voted to authorize the transfer of $33,918 from the Emergency Special Education Reserve to the 2007-08 budget to cover unanticipated costs.
" MOVED by Mia Brown, seconded by Gail Marshall and unanimously voted to authorize the transfer of $42,218 from the Bus Reserve and $5,000 from the Special Education Reserve, which along with $23,816 paid from the 2007-08 budget, will pay for the purchase of the new school bus including handicap lift. (total cost $71,034)
" MOVED by Mia Brown, seconded by Gail Marshall and unanimously voted to authorize the transfer of $10,000 to the Maintenance of Plant and Minor Remodeling Reserve as directed in the 2007-08 Budget.
Other Business
" MOVED by Gail Marshall, seconded by Mia Brown and unanimously voted to authorize the filing of the SAU's intent to submit a Reorganization Plan to form an Alternative Organizational Structure.
" Heather Jones pointed out that she would like to work out a system that would determine who will be voting at the high school meetings ahead of time.
DATE, TIME AND PLACE OF NEXT MEETING
August 12, 2008 at 5:00 P.M. at Mount Desert Elementary School
Future Agenda Items
" Student Handbook
" Update on the Isleford discussion
" Decision about how to handle Mia Brown's vacancy during her extended trip
Adjournment
MOVED by Brian Reilly, seconded by Charlie Wray and unanimously voted to adjourned at 5:45 PM
Respectfully submitted,
Scott McFarland
Mount Desert Elementary School
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