Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE – While rumors have been swirling that SAD 1 will be taking over The Forum and the Presque Isle Indoor Pool, SAD 1 Superintendent Gehrig Johnson said that’s not quite the case. At the April 16 SAD 1 board meeting, Johnson told directors that he, business manager Charles Anderson, and Lucy Richard, board chair, met recently for lunch with the leaders of the City Council when the idea was first mentioned.
“Council Chair Walt Elish asked Lucy if we would have an interest in the pool and Forum,” said Johnson. “It took us back a little bit.
“In order for any discussion to take place,” he said, “the city needs to make the request, and the Council needs to vote on it. At a recent meeting, a motion was never made, although we’ve heard it will come up again at a future meeting.”
Recognizing that the district uses the pool for swim meets and is the “biggest user” in terms of the Forum’s ice season, Johnson said no real discussion has taken place at this time.
“No formal request has been made on their part,” he said, “so there’s really nothing to discuss. However, rumors are out there and people heard a little about it at the last council meeting, so I wanted to set the record straight.
“Before anything would happen,” said Johnson, “we would convene this board and crunch the numbers. This board may not want to respond to the idea if it formally comes to us. This board controls the process.”
When asked his personal opinion, Johnson said he felt the district was “pretty busy” without taking on any additional responsibilities.
“I don’t think we’re looking for something new to take on,” he said, “but ultimately, it will be your decision.”
In other meeting news, Johnson told directors that no new information had come out of Augusta regarding the school consolidation issue. He said that silence was “worrisome.”
“In a nutshell,” he said, “we’re in the last moments of the legislative session and nothing has been done. It’s all still up in the air. What worries us is that there’s been silence since the school consolidation law was repealed.
“All we know for sure is the governor vetoed LD 1932, and the House repealed the entire law,” said Johnson. “We don’t know what will happen.”
Johnson said he should have more definitive information regarding the school consolidation law at the May school board meeting.
A number of teachers have completed one year of satisfactory teaching in the district and were reappointed for the 2008-09 school year. They include Mindy Bragg (mathematics), Alison Ireland (school nurse), Margaret Bujold (Spanish), Trevor Esposito (Spanish) and Randall Harper (social studies) at Presque Isle High School; Paula Weinstein, special education at Pine Street Elementary School; Melissa Buck (grade five) at Zippel Elementary School; Phyllis Hanson (pre-kindergarten) at Mapleton Elementary School; and June Bagley (Title I math/reading) at Presque Isle Middle School.
The following teachers have completed two years of satisfactory teaching and were reappointed for the 2008-09 school year to a continuing contract: Jennifer Espling (grade one) at Pine Street Elementary School; Christie Doyen (grade four) at Mapleton Elementary School; and Angela Kelley (grade four) at Zippel Elementary School.
Also at the April 16 meeting, directors:
• Accepted the resignations of Cindy Anderson, special education teacher at Presque Isle Middle School; Dan Madore, sixth-grade math/English teacher at PIMS; and Beth Ann Miller, music specialist for SAD 1.
• Hired Sharmon Clark as a special education teacher at PIMS. Clark attended the University of Maine at Presque Isle where she majored in elementary education/special education. She has seven years of teaching experience – most recently as a Special Education Ed Tech at Mapleton Elementary School.
The next regular SAD 1 meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 21 in the Presque Isle High School board conference room.
