Staff Writer
HOULTON — The regular meeting of the SAD 29 Board of Directors, held in conjunction with a public hearing on their upcoming bond issue, wrapped up within a matter of minutes.
The public hearing was a requirement for the $5 million bond scheduled for a Nov. 6 vote by member towns. The bond would fund ongoing renovations at the high school and a new arts center project at the school.
Before that hearing was held, board members tackled the rest of their agenda which included approval of new baseball fields at Houlton Southside and Elementary schools. The motion was approved unanimously with no discussion. The new ball fields were proposed by a recently-resurrected Little League association, Houlton Area Little League Baseball/Softball, Inc.; the association is hoping to raise $80,000 for their “Field of Dreams” complex and start ground work this year.
Also at the Oct. 18 meeting, a new high school math and science teacher was approved. Elena Anderson, a citizen of Russia and resident of Canada, was expected to start work Oct. 22.
“She was the unanimous recommendation of the committee,” said Superintendent Steve Fitzpatrick. “She’s going to bring to Houlton High School a significant amount of diversity.”
In other business, Fitzpatrick also reported that enrollment numbers were holding steady at just over 1,300 and that expenditures are currently within 1 percent of last year’s expenses to date.
