DEER ISLE – STONINGTON CSD SCHOOL COMMITTEE
“Launching life long learners and responsible citizens able to keep our island community vital.”


Meeting Minutes
Deer Isle-Stonington High School
Tuesday, October 3, 2006 at 6:30 P.M.

Board Members Present:
Walter Kumiega, Aimee Hunt, Jim Adams, Skip Greenlaw, and Joseph Babbitt

Board Members Absent: Mark Cormier

Staff Present: Bruce Ives, Penny Wendell, Catherine Ring, Torri Robbins, Tom Duym, Kimberley Larsen, Anne Douglass, Elizabeth Small, Mary Banfield, Warren Berkowitz

Guests: Donald Sargent, Sherm Hutchins, Clare Eaton, Alison Turner, Luke Saindon, Sarah Dunham

1) Call to Order and Declaration of a Quorum:
Chair Kumiega called the meeting to order and declared a quorum at 6:30 P.M.

2) Moment of Silence:
A moment of silence was observed.

3) Citizen Comments:

4) Approval of the Agenda:
Addition of Action Item D. Request from High School Student for half year completion, Action Item E. Snow Plowing Bid and Action Item F. Reschedule November Meeting Date. Also, moving Discussion Items A and B up in the agenda to after the approval of the minutes. Motion by Hunt, second by Adams to approve agenda as amended. Vote: 5/Y, 0/N.

5) Approval of the minutes of the September 15 and September 21, 2006 meetings.
Motion by Greenlaw, second by Hunt to approve the minutes of the September 15 and September 21, 2006 meetings. Vote: 5/Y, 0/N.

REPORTS

A. Elementary School Principal Report
Catherine Ring distributed a written report. Skip Greenlaw asked if the English/language arts committee had compiled the list of spelling words he had requested.
Aimee Hunt commented that after the events of recent weeks, the schools be very careful of visitors to the buildings. Catherine Ring indicated that the school practiced their lock down procedure. She also explained the current safety procedures.

B. High School Principal Report
Penny Wendell reported:
• Judith Hotchkiss is taking her class to Honduras. They will work with Sustainable Harvest. The Superintendent has approved the trip.
• The current enrollment stands at 178 with about 27 tuition students.
• We have not received the breakdown of the SAT scores.
• Judith Hotchkiss and Melissa Raftery will be forming an outdoor club.
• They have practiced their lockdown procedures. The students took the exercise very seriously.
Discussion held on safety procedures. Warren Berkowitz suggested that the local law enforcement and the Department of Education may be able to provide some help training the administrative team.
Penny Wendell also cautioned that some students are visiting MySpace.com. She reminded parents that they should be vigilant as to their children’s internet habits.

C. Special Education Director
Warren Berkowitz reported that one educational technician was hired over the summer. He is disappointed with the results of one student’s program. The new Maine Statute Regulations have not been published yet. They are due in January. He feels it is very advantageous to have hired the contracted service personnel. Dianne Rizzo has a large caseload because she teaches lower level math and reading/writing courses. Dorothy Conte is doing much more case management of students with mental health issues. Skip Greenlaw questioned if the special education caseload was up or down from last year. Berkowitz indicated that the numbers were down slightly to 18%. Joe Babbitt inquired if the tuition students had a larger number of special education students than the general population. Berkowitz indicated that this is the case, but we are allowed to charge for those services.

D. Assistant Superintendent
Bruce Ives distributed information on the curriculum work. He updated the Board on the status of the curriculum work and the State’s revision of the Learning Results.

8. ACTION ITEMS (Taken out of order)

D. Request from High School Student for half year completion.
Clare Eaton, who is a senior this year, would like to have permission to finish to required courses at the end of the first semester. She would like to take other courses through the University of Maine Academ E that are not offered through the high school. These courses would be for high school credit and would help her with her college application. She is hoping for early admission to Dartmouth. Motion by Greenlaw, second by Babbitt to approve Clare Eaton’s request to allow her to complete her Deer Isle-Stonington High School requirements at the end of the first semester. Vote: 4/Y, 0/N, 1/Abstain (Hunt).

7. DISCUSSION ITEMS

A. Service Learning Program
Mary Banfield reported that she applied for and received a grant from the Kid’s Consortium. The award is for $30,000 over three years. She explained how the program is integrated into the curriculum. She works with six students who have chosen a project on cultural awareness for the community. They are researching Vietnam and Southeast Asia. She proposed a unit and gave it to the principal who approved it. The students have created a website for their own use and so the community can see what they are doing. They have researched the biology of the Southeast Asia area. They also are working on the effects of agent orange. Mary reviewed how the topic is integrated into the Learning Results. They have contacted someone who lived in Southeast Asia who is providing information on the project. The students will make a presentation during the parent/teacher conferences. They want to gather recipes from Southeast Asia and have a tasting table. Barbara Fiora and Pam Speary, from Kids Consortium, explained their program, where they receive their funding and how they provide technical support for the program through professional development. They explained that service learning is a hands-on teaching model. In the first year, they expect the program to implement and document one high quality service learning project.

B. C.R.E.S.T. Program
“C.R.E.S.T.” stands for Community for Rural Education Stewardship and Technology. This is a three-year grant. The students and teachers attended a conference at the Darling Marine Institute. They came up with the acronym of B.R.I.D.G.E. (Better Resources for Island Development & Growth for Everyone) for their project. They identified not enough available, affordable housing as their project. To study this, they will map how much property has been sold to part-time residents over the past ten years. They must construct a website as part of the grant. As part of the grant they will receive a laptop, GPS units and software. The Island Institute noted the quality of the students’ work.
Kim Larsen and Tom Duym reported that they are also working on a project with the students to trace the descendants of the “Deer Isle Boys” who won the America’s Cup in the 1900’s. They will be visiting the Deer Isle historical society for additional information.

C. Superintendent’s Goals for 2006-2007
Walter Kumiega commented that Robert Webster included a list of his goals in the notes. If anyone has any additional goals for the Superintendent, they should e-mail them to him.

D. New or Revised Policies

1. School Committee Bylaws Policy 1.02
Skip Greenlaw suggested that the Superintendent check with legal counsel as to the legality of the added line in #7. Discussion held on agenda items. Skip Greenlaw would like to strike the Moment of Silence. Aimee Hunt disagreed and sees it as useful. Walter Kumiega suggested there may be some flexibility in the agenda format.

2. Adult Education Director Job Description 9.10
No changes were made to the policy.

3. Post Secondary Enrollment Options Policy 3.17
No additional changes were made to the policy.

4. Technology Integration Specialist Job Description Policy 9.23
Aimee Hunt suggested including the amount of experience with the teaching sector.

5. School Health Services Policy 3.08
No changes were made to the policy.

8. ACTION ITEMS
Motion by Hunt, second by Adams to extend the meeting by 15 minutes. Vote: 5/Y, 0/N.

A. Acceptance of Service Learning Grant
Motion by Greenlaw, second by Hunt to accept the Service Learning Grant. Vote: 5/Y, 0/N.

B. TABOR Mailing
Amy Hunt has some additions to the mailing. Skip Greenlaw commented that he thought the Superintendent had done an excellent job on the mailing. Motion by Greenlaw, second by Hunt to approve the mailing with suggestions. Vote: 5/Y, 0/N.

C. TABOR Resolution
Walter Kumiega commented that the Hampden School Committee approved the resolution. Motion by Hunt, second by Adams to approve the resolution as presented. Vote: 5/Y, 0/N.

E. Snow Plow Bid
Walter Kumiega read a bid from Eaton’s Forest Products and Excavation in the amount of $50.00 per hour plus $40.00 per yard for sand and salt. Motion by Greenlaw, second by Hunt to accept the bid from Eaton’s. Vote: 5/Y, 0/N.

F. Reschedule November Meeting Date
Walter Kumiega noted that the next regularly scheduled meeting will fall on election day. Traditionally, the school board has rescheduled this meeting. It was agreed to reschedule the meeting to November 8, 2006. Motion by Greenlaw, second by Hunt to reschedule the next regular school board meeting to November 8, 2006. Vote: 5/Y, 0/N.9.

COMMUNICATIONS
Skip Greenlaw commented that he is working on setting up a debate on TABOR. He is having some difficulty finding someone for the pro-TABOR side.

10. Adjournment

Motion by Babbitt, second by Hunt to adjourn at 9:35 p.m. Vote: 5/Y, 0/N.
Respectfully submitted,JoAnna Haskell
Administrative Assistant