SAD 70 adds back teacher

Possible AOS with SAD 14 also discussed
By Joseph Cyr
Staff Writer
    HODGDON — Upon further review, Hodgdon Mill Pond will have two kindergarten teachers next year.
    The SAD 70 school board had originally planned to eliminate through attrition one kindergarten position at Mill Pond School, leaving just one at the school. The decision was based on a perceived reduction in incoming students next fall.
    However, the district is now anticipating it could have as many as 28 kindergarten students, as well as 29 pre-K students, making it impossible for one teacher to manage. At a public hearing last month, the move drew considerable opposition from parents and some staff, but the position could not be added back to the 2010-11 fiscal budget at that time.
    According to Superintendent Bob McDaniel, because residents approved the $6 million spending plan at the polls last Tuesday, the district was faced with two options. It could go back to the voters and seek additional money for the position, or it could move money from other “cost centers” in the budget to cover the extra expense. By law, a school district may only move 5 percent from any one cost center, meaning it would have to take money from several different lines in the budget in order to add the position.
    “There are some concerns from our Elementary Principal [Loreen Wiley] that since we went over the budget, the number of kindergarten students has grown,” McDaniel said. “It is my recommendation to reinstate the kindergarten position that was eliminated.”
    The impact of moving up to 5 percent from different locations will be felt next year, McDaniel added.
    “It will make your budget very, very tight,” he said.
    The transportation budget was one area where nearly $10,000 could be moved, he said. What that may mean is fewer field trips, or field trips requiring funding from outside sources.
    McDaniel added he had not decided where all of the money would come from. Much of it depends on whom the district hires for the position. If a teacher at the beginning of the pay scale is hired, the financial impact would be much less, he said, whereas a more experienced teacher would come with a higher price tag.
    “You want to leave enough money so you don’t limit yourself with the person you hire,” he said.
    “I’d rather educate our children than send them on field trips if that’s what it comes to,” board member Lauren Asselin said.
Open to talks with SAD 14
    The school board also learned that SAD 14 (Danforth, Vanceboro and Bancroft) Superintendent William Dobbins contacted McDaniel about the two school boards gathering to discuss the possibility of forming an AOS (Alternative Organizational Structure). SAD 14, like SAD 70, is in need of restructuring to comply with state-imposed guidelines for reorganization, or else faces continued penalties from the state.
    “I informed Mr. Dobbins that we are already involved in talks with SAD 29, but I would bring it to the board to see what their feelings were,” McDaniel said.
    SAD 70 has been in extensive talks with neighboring SAD 29 (Houlton, Hammond, Littleton and Monticello) on forming a two-school RSU (Regional School Unit). A regional planning committee has held several meetings over the past few months to hammer out the RSU plan, but several board members Monday night expressed frustrations at those talks.
    “We aren’t getting much feedback [from SAD 29],” said board member Joel Oliver.
    An AOS differs from an RSU in that both districts would keep their own school boards, and the only thing shared is the central office of the superintendent. Programs and personnel are not shared with an AOS.
    “This is just an opportunity to sit down with them [SAD 14] and talk about an AOS,” board chairman Estela Lane said. “It gives us another option, should things not work out. I think we should just start talking to see where it could go. We don’t know where the talks with Houlton are going to go.”
    “Educationally, I think it would be a poor move,” said board member David Cassidy. “I know it seems like we are at a low point [in talks with Houlton.] I think educationally, we’d be way behind the eight ball.”
    McDaniel said he believed the SAD 29 school board was going to further discuss the regionalization plan at its June meeting.
    Board member Melissa Ivey made a motion to draft a Letter of Intent to form an AOS with SAD 14, stating she didn’t think the district needed to wait another month before taking any action on the matter. That motion did not pass with a 6-6 vote.
    The board then voted 11-1, with Tom Horton opposing, to open negotiations with SAD 14 on the possibility of forming an AOS.
    In other agenda items, the board:
    • Said good-bye to board members Cassidy and Kim Hall, whose terms expired. Cassidy has been with the school board since 2004, while Hall has been a member since 2005. Marcia McGary and Brent Conley, both of whom ran unopposed in last week’s election, will replace the two.
    • Approved the following coaches for 2010-11: Mark Morin, varsity boys soccer; Anita Levesque, varsity girls soccer; Jessica Saunders, middle school girls soccer; David Grant, varsity golf; Vaughn Farrar, varsity girls basketball; and Rob Smith, varsity boys basketball.
    • Accepted the resignation of Smith as varsity boys soccer coach.
    • Approved the following teaching positions for next year: Elizabeth Connors, middle school math; and Kara Wright, high school social studies.
    • Agreed to reduce the Central Office summer hours to Monday-Thursday, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.
    • Gave permission to Farrar to take girls varsity basketball players to Husson College for four-day basketball camp.