Mount Desert School Department
Mount Desert School Committee
Minutes
The Mount Desert School Committee held a meeting on Wednesday, 21 January 2009, with the following members present: Chair Heather Jones, Charlie Wray, Gail Marshall and Brian Reilly
Also present were Scott McFarland, Rob Liebow, Ellen Brawley, Owen Craighead, Charles Bucklin, Jeanne Bonville and George Peckham
CALL TO ORDER
Heather Jones called the meeting to order at 4:03 p.m.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
MOVED by Gail Marshall, seconded by Brian Reilly and unanimously voted to approve the minutes of December 17, 2008 and January 12, 2009
PUBLIC COMMENT
There was no public comment.
PRINCIPAL’S REPORT
Principal McFarland presented his report to the committee.
DISCUSSION ITEMS
• Impact of changing the annual town meeting date: Town selectmen discussed with the committee the idea of changing the date of the annual town meeting to allow more summer residents to attend. Several options were discussed and the issues that a change in date would create. Though no decision was made, it was agreed that a change to coincide with Bar Harbor’s meeting date (first week in June) was as late as the committee could support.
• HS Funding Formula: A short discussion was held regarding the HS funding formula with the selectmen. The selectmen informed the committee that they had tabled a discussion on the subject at their last meeting due to the size of their agenda.
• 2009-10 Budget: Principal McFarland presented an amended version of the 2009-2010 school budget that reflected a 2.02% increase. Principal McFarland will present this budget to the Warrant Committee on Tuesday January 27.
• Maine School Management Association School Loss Survey: Principal McFarland presented the report from a recent insurance inspection for The Maine School Management Association. The report cited a couple of minor actions that needed to be taken by the school. The items have either been completed or are in the process of being completed.
DISCUSSION ITEMS
• HS Voting Members: MOVED by Charlie Wray, seconded by Brian Reilly and unanimously voted to appoint Gail Marshall, Heather Jones and Brian Reilly as the HS voting members for the next scheduled meeting.
OTHER BUSINESS
• Acceptance of Teacher letter of resignation: Principal McFarland presented to the committee Louise Piquette-Alley’s letter of resignation effective at the end of the 2008-09 contract year. MOVED by Gail Marshall, seconded by Brian Reilly and unanimously voted to accept with deep regret, Louise Piquette-Alley’s letter of resignation.
• Request for Teacher Unpaid Leave of Absence: MOVED by Gail Marshall seconded by Charlie Wray and unanimously voted to approve Cindy Johnson’s request for a day of unpaid leave in May.
• Heather Jones reminded the committee that there will be two vacant committee seats at the end of this term.
• Heather Jones agreed to draft a letter to the Selectmen regarding the school committee’s position on the high school funding formula.
DATE, TIME AND PLACE OF NEXT MEETING
NOTE CHANGE OF DATE: February 5, 2009 at 4:00 P.M. at Mount Desert Elementary School
Future Agenda Items
• Math intervention update
• Service learning presentation
• Funding formula
• Budget approval
• High School voting members
• Paperless discussion
• Residency policy
ADJOURNMENT
MOVED by Gail Marshall, seconded by Brian Reilly and unanimously voted to adjourn the meeting
at 5:32 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Scott McFarland
Mount Desert Elementary School
Principal’s Goals
For
2008-2009
1. Continue to create a school atmosphere that fosters student physical, social and emotional “wealth”.
2. Continue to implement the concept of “Whatever it Takes” to the degree that every student that does not meet the standard in literacy and math is identified and appropriate strategies are planned, implemented and assessed to determine their effectiveness. Specifically, this year I plan to focus my attention on math instruction through a combination of data analysis, classroom observations, and discussions with teachers and grade span teams.
3. Support curriculum implementation and provide teacher classroom support. As a follow-up to Rob’s professional plan, I have blocked out Fridays on my calendar that I am committing to working in the classroom with a different teacher/class each week.
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