NEW SWEDEN, Maine — New staff members, student grade averages, and bus contract considerations were among the many topics discussed by the New Sweden School board during Thursday’s meeting in the school library.
The board welcomed their newest member, Andrew McNeally, during the meeting. McNeally is replacing former board member Chris Hearn.
The New Sweden school board also welcomed Julie Jandreau to teach pre-K to first-grade classes.
“Julie Jandreau is a certified elementary school teacher,” said Superintendent Karla Michaud, “and she has worked in Caribou for the past five years.”
After discussing the pros and cons of a new bus contract from RSU 39, the board unanimously decided to not consider it.
“It was a great deal when they first presented this,” said Principal Laurie Spooner, “because they offered us a bus every time we brought one in. Somewhere along the line, they pulled that out of the contract and it didn’t seem like a great deal anymore.”
“The other thing is that it says all emergency repairs would utilize in-stock parts or next day delivery. If they do this for everything, it’s another significant expense,” Spooner added.
“We’re fortunate right now because we have a spare bus,” said New Sweden bus driver Erich Margeson.
“And the delivery time is not that much different,” added McNeally.
“I took a brand new bus into Caribou for an oil change and to replace a mirror,” said Brian Jenkins, a New Sweden bus driver. “They told me that it would be in there for four hours and loaned me another bus to use. So when I came back to pick up the new bus, there was a lithium grease handprint on the hood. If you know anything about lithium grease; it does not come off. There was another handprint on the inside dash of the bus, which did not come off. I was furious, to say the least.”
The board also discussed the school’s report card and grade averages.
“It’s very difficult in a small school when you’re testing under 40 students,” said Superintendent Michaud. “If one kid has a bad day, it skews your averages. Most schools average at a C, and we are currently below that. We have some work to do and are looking to improve. Proficiency-based education will change how these reports come out, but I currently do not believe these reports have a lot of credibility,” she added.
“We should also measure how New Sweden kids are doing in Caribou,” said Brian Jenkins. “Historically, the New Sweden kids are at the top 10 percent of Caribou High, both in academics and sports other than basketball.”
The board unanimously approved financial statements from June, July and August. Board member McNeally also made a motion to approve the changes in insurance reimbursement recommended at the Union 122 board with regards to the comprehensive teacher contract.
School Cook Melanie Lagasse spoke to the board about her participation in the summer meal program.
“I served over 1,900 students in four weeks,” said Lagasse. “I started with five schools. We did New Sweden, Woodland, Caswell, Connor and Limestone. We didn’t really make any money, but we broke even. It helped us get our name out there, too. We were also given the Smarter Lunchroom Best Practice Silver Award.”
