By Lisa Wilcox
Staff Writer
CARIBOU — At the RSU 39 School Board meeting held on August 7 in the Superintendent’s Office, Limestone Community School principal Susan White addressed the board regarding switching grades Pre K through 8 to a trimester grading period instead of the current quarterly timeframe in place now.
White explained to the board that due to workshops, holidays and standardized testing, about three of the nine weeks in the school year’s first quarter are lost, and she believes that switching to a trimester grading period would give the students additional time to meet learning targets, achieve standards and allow for re-teaching time. White advised that the change would be at no additional cost; it would just be a matter of the IT department setting up the system.
After discussion about the two calendars for Limestone at the elementary level and the high school level and how that affects the trimester change, the board approved changing the grading period to trimesters for grades Pre K through 8. Grades 9 through 12 will remain on a quarterly grading period.
Lois Brewer, the RSU assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction, asked the board for approval of two elective courses for Caribou High School. Both courses, Speech and Creative Writing, will be taught by English teacher Alana Margeson and will be worth one-half credit. There would be no additional cost to the RSU for adding the courses, as Margeson will use resources from the Internet. Brewer explained that they would like to offer the courses at the beginning of the upcoming school year. CHS Principal Mark Jones will send out an email advising of the availability of the course and it will also be offered during add/drop period.
“We see it as a missing piece for Caribou students,” Brewer explained.
Board member Dale Gordon agreed, adding, “Who doesn’t use speech in their course of work?”
Brewer explained to the board that the courses were once offered, but they somehow slipped away over time. Superintendent Frank McElwain believed that the courses were lost when Dan Ladner, who used to teach them, left and no replacement was ever hired due to budget constraints. The board approved adding the two courses for the 2013-14 school year.
McElwain then addressed the board about RSU 39 once again being the fiscal agent for the Central Aroostook Council on Education. As the fiscal agent, the RSU is responsible for applying for and distributing funds from grants awarded to CACE. McElwain advised the board that the Federal Distance Learning and Telemedicine grant funded by the United States Department of Agriculture was available and he was looking for their approval to apply for and administer the grant on behalf of CACE. The grant offers funds to upgrade telecommunications technologies and provides advanced learning and health care opportunities. The board approved authorizing RSU 39 to apply for and administer the grant.
McElwain then advised the board about changes to the EPS funding system. Independent consultant Lawrence O. Picus was commissioned by the legislature to compare Maine’s system with other states and their way of doing business. McElwain provided the board with an executive summary of Picus’ recommendations based on his research, including items such as a coach being hired for teaching staff, ed techs being changed to tutors and extended school days, among others. McElwain pointed out that the EPS changes address how much each item will cost, not how the school system will go about raising the money to fund them.
During his superintendent’s report, McElwain advised the board of the resignations of Erin Tateishi, Claudia St. Peter and Anita Dickinson as ed techs, and he informed the board that John Poisson has been hired as a mid level soccer coach.
McElwain then presented the board with three teacher nominations. The first was for Mary “Pat” Karpen as a new Spanish teacher at CHS. Karpen is from New Hampshire and has been teaching Spanish there and is interested in coming to northern Maine.
The second nomination was for Casey Cote as the Tech Center’s agricultural instructor. Cote has a master’s degree in education and has been employed as an extension agent, the director of the St. John Valley Soil and Water District, and, most recently, town manager of Frenchville. She is wishing to return to an agricultural interest as she grew up on dairy farm in Auburn.
The third nomination was for Cheryl Deschaine as a Title I teacher. Deschaine has been working as an ed tech in Limestone and has teaching experience in Central Aroostook, Frenchville and East Grand.
The board approved all three nominations.
McElwain also updated the board on the fact that RSU 39 will now be doing bus maintenance for Fort Fairfield and on construction projects that have taken place at various RSU schools over the summer. He advised the board that the Athletic Boosters have broken ground on the addition to the Ski Shack at Caribou High School and that meal prices for the RUS have not changed; however, a change in policy now only allows high school students to charge up to $10 in meals. After the $10 limit, they will need to either pay for their meal or find an alternate lunch.
Gordon concluded the meeting by informing her fellow board members that she will not be running for a position on the board when her term is up. Gordon explained that she has been on the board for 13 years and feels that is long enough to serve. She encouraged the RSU to get word out about the opening as anyone interested in running will need to get their paperwork filed relatively soon.
