HODGDON, Maine — The SAD 70 school board bid farewell to one of its longtime members Thursday evening as William Fitzpatrick stepped down after nine years with the group.
Fitzpatrick, whose term had expired, chose not to seek re-election to the board. Jared Carter, who was elected back in March, will fill his seat. Fitzpatrick was presented with a monogrammed SAD 70 jacket for his time served on the board.
Kevin Scott’s term on the board has also expired. Scott has been excused from the board in recent months for personal reasons.
“I want to thank Billy for his nine years of service to this board,” said chairman Estela Lane Thursday. “He has been a very involved board member, serving as one of our reps on the Region Two committee. We will miss you.”
“It has certainly been an education,” he said. “I think all parents should have a taste of what it is like to serve on a school board.”
SAD 70 has had difficultly filling its full slate of board members in recent years. The board has 14 seats, but has operated with just 11 members for the past several months. Currently on the school board, there are four representatives from Hodgdon, Tracy Rockwell (whose term expires in 2015), Joel Oliver (2017), Tom Horton (2015) and Carter (2017); two from Linneus, Lisa Dangerfield (2016) and Mark Ganzel (2017); one from Haynesville, Angie Howland (2017); one from New Limerick, Darlene Theriault (2016); one from Amity, Gordon Ledger (2015); and one from Cary, Maureen Friel (2016).
There is one vacant seat each from Hodgdon, New Limerick and Ludlow. The New Limerick seat has been empty for more than a year. Anyone from those communities who is interested in serving on the school board should contact their town office.
The board also learned that a proposal from Greater Houlton Christian Academy to merge that school’s boys and girls basketball programs with Hodgdon’s as a co-operative team had been submitted to the superintendent.
“I didn’t bring that request to the board because the deadline for the MPA (Maine Prinicipal’s Association) was June 5,” explained Superintendent Scott Richardson. “It was thoroughly discussed with the principals and Wayne Quint (athletic director for Hodgdon). I felt it was too rushed and I didn’t feel comfortable bringing it to the board to meet that timeframe.”
Richardson said if GHCA were interested in doing cooperative teams in the future, SAD 70 would remain open to the concept. GHCA originally contacted SAD 70 out of concerns they would not have enough basketball players to field teams next winter.
Lane, along with Vice Chairman Rockwell and a few other board members who were on the sports committee, were consulted, Richardson said. Lane added she was not comfortable pushing the measure through in that rushed of a timeframe.
In other agenda items, the board:
• Received a copy of the “School Report Card for 2014” from the Maine Department of Education. Mill Pond School (grades 3-8) earned a grade of “B,” while Hodgdon High School earned a mark of “C.” The report cards are based on several factors, including student achievement in reading and math; growth/progress in achievement; growth of the bottom 25 percent of students; and Hodgdon’s four-year graduation rate.
• Learned the district received a 21st Century After School grant for both Hodgdon High School and Mill Pond Elementary. It marks the first time that Hodgdon High School will have an official after-school program, Richardson said. Mill Pond School will receive $100,000 each year for the next three years, followed by $74,000 in year four and $65,000 in year five. The high school will receive $77,000 for three years, $57,750 in year four and $50,000 in year five.
• Formed a facilities committee to start a feasibility study of both buildings in the district. The last time an architectural review of the facilities took place was in 1986-87, Richardson said.
The next regular meeting of the SAD 70 school board will be held Monday, July 14, at 7 p.m.
