SAD 70 issues unanimous support for AOS

By Joseph Cyr
Staff Writer
    HODGDON — A union between two local school districts will continue for at least one more year.
    The SAD 70 school board voted unanimously to maintain its status as a member of AOS 48, at least until the end of the 2012-13 school year, but it was not without some hesitation.
    SAD 70 (Hodgdon, Amity, New Limerick, Linneus, Ludlow, Haynesville and Cary) and SAD 14 (Danforth) along with school boards in Orient and Bancroft joined forces in February as AOS 48 under the state mandated school consolidation law. The new union officially began with the start of the 2011-12 school year.
    However, at an AOS 48 meeting Nov. 7, SAD 70 representatives expressed some concerns that the merger was not saving the district as much money as it had expected.
    “We let the AOS board know that there had been some discussions by this board about our apprehensions (about continuing the merger),” said board chairman Estela Lane. “Basically, they (East Grand) are nervous and would like some sort of commitment from us.”
    “When you make a transition like this, there are some bumps in the road,” said Superintendent Bob McDaniel, who was SAD 70’s superintendent before being chosen as the AOS 48 superintendent. “We haven’t really been in it (the AOS) long enough to see what the problems are and what can be done to fix them. In all fairness, you need to play it out. It takes time to work through these things.”
    In the schools’ consolidation plan, language was put in that allowed one or both school districts to withdraw from the AOS without incurring a penalty. It would require going to a referendum vote and would need to be done six weeks in advance of the next fiscal year. The AOS budget process for the central office begins in December.
    As an AOS, the two districts kept separate school boards and retained control over all aspects of their schools, including curriculums, teacher negotiations, contracts and school calendar. The central office of the superintendent, however, was consolidated with one superintendent running both school districts. McDaniel was chosen as that superintendent.
    The adjustment has been greatest for SAD 70, since McDaniel now spends just three days a week in the district, with the other two days spent at the offices in East Grand. The two districts also share a Special Education director.
    SAD 14 previously had a part-time superintendent and Special Education director so the adjustment has not been as great for that district.
    McDaniel said on days he is not in the SAD 70 office, it places extra pressure on the school principals.
    “That is just the nature of the beast when you have a school union and share administrative offices,” he said.
    SAD 70 was penalized $93,000 by the state last year for not consolidating and that figure would have gone up to nearly $100,000 for 2011-12 had the district not consolidated. SAD 14 was penalized nearly $23,000 last year for not consolidating.
    According to McDaniel, the penalties by the state are no longer in effect, meaning SAD 70 could pull out of its AOS with SAD 14 without a fine. That move, however, would have a substantial negative impact on SAD 14, which would then have to go out and find a new superintendent and special services director.
    If SAD 70 were to pull out of the AOS, it would be a “fiscal nightmare” for Danforth, McDaniel said.
    “They were once Union 108, but two towns left to join a different AOS,” McDaniel said. “If SAD 70 pulled out, there is no way they would have the finances to support a Special Ed director or a superintendent.”
    “I think we do need to play it out,” Lane added. “We owe it to them (Danforth).”
    In her principal’s report, Hodgdon High School principal Mary Harbison informed the board that the school has instituted a new policy for students who show up tardy for school. Those students who arrive late are now required to stay after school to make up that time.
    She also let the board know that over the past two weeks, 10 percent of the high school student body had lost the use of their laptop computers for a one-week period for visiting inappropriate websites during school hours. Those sites included Facebook (a social networking site), Tumblr (an online blogging site) and shopping websites.
    “We had an assembly and I informed the students that if I caught them somewhere they didn’t belong, their computer will be mine for a week,” she said. “The students are beginning to understand I really mean it when I say school work only during school time.”
    If the students need to use their laptops for schoolwork in the classroom, their teacher can call the main office and request that the student be allowed to do so, Harbison said. Once school is over, the computer must be returned and those students are not allowed to take the computer home.
    On a positive note, Harbison lauded the efforts of the high school student body for hosting a reception for a student’s father who recently died. Several students also helped the family by stacking wood at their home.
    In other agenda items, the SAD 70 board:
    • Approved Katie Duff as a part-time home-school coordinator for the remainder of the school year. Duff is currently employed as a part-time ed tech in the district. The position is funded with Title I money.
    • Approved Wayne Quint as part-time athletic director. Money for this position was already in the budget.
    • Hired Debra Young as transition coordinator. Funding for this position will be from a grant the district received and will not impact the budget.
    The next regular meeting of the SAD 70 school board will be Monday, Dec. 12 at 7 p.m.