Plummer-Motz School Class Sites

1. The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. in the Falmouth Town Hall. Present were Chairman Beppie Cerf, Kathy Hillman-Reed, Truth Holden, Susan Nevins, Mark Terison, Student Representatives David Sinnett and Chris Murry, Superintendent George Entwistle, and 13 others (Brinn and Cote out).

2. Pledge of Allegiance: All in attendance recited the Pledge of Allegiance.

3. Adjustments to Agenda: Superintendent Entwistle added “Sabbatical Committee” under #5 Communications. A Board representative will need to be appointed to the Committee.

4. Approval of Minutes
a. Mrs. Hillman-Reed with a second from Mrs. Nevins moved the Board approve the minutes of January 18, 2005. The motion passed 5-0.
b. Mrs. Hillman-Reed with a second from Mrs. Nevins moved the Board approve the minutes of January 25, 2005. The minutes were approved 5-0.

5. Communications
a. Mrs. Cerf reported that a letter was received from a parent in support of all-day kindergarten.
b. A letter was received from the Center for Grieving Children thanking the district for its contribution of $600. The district donated this money in lieu of sending holiday cards to employees this year.
c. Mrs. Cerf noted there will be a joint meeting of CBEA school board members and superintendents at the Woodlands on February 17th at 6:00 p.m. to hear David Silvernail and Dick Spencer speak on Essential Programs & Services.
d. Superintendent Entwistle reported he had received one application for a sabbatical and requested board representation on the Sabbatical Application Committee. An administrator, Mrs. Powers, and a representative from each school will also serve on this committee.

6. Comments from the Public: There were none.

7. Recognition: Several students will be recognized in the principal reports which follow.

8. Superintendent’s Report: The Superintendent praised the Leadership Council members for the significant amount of time and effort spent on the ’05-’06 Budget Development Process and the planning to support FPS’s 18-month targets as a result of the Community Dialogue.

9. Principals’ Reports:
a. Lunt School: Ms. Johnson explained that an additional half-day teacher has been requested in the budget to allow for a proposed all-day kindergarten class. An all-day kindergarten class is contingent on fiscal restraints, the number of students who register, and space. A final decision will be made in late spring.

b. Plummer-Motz School: Mrs. Boffa highlighted items from her report as follows. Plummer-Motz participated in the 2005 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The results will show how Falmouth students perform compared to students across the country. With funds from a National Semiconductor award, 34 staff members participated in an “Iphoto” workshop on February 3rd. The 2005 Reading Incentive Program began in the Plummer-Motz library.

c. Falmouth Middle School: Mr. Rodman recognized Gayle Wolotsky who was recently named “Teacher of the Month” by WMGX. Nominated by her student, Kate Ventura, Ms. Wolotsky and her class were treated to a pizza party. Grade 7 student, Adrianna Fox, will represent Maine in New York City as the State’s winner of the Channel 52 nation wide arts competition. Her award includes round trip airline tickets, hotel accommodations, and a 4-day theater arts workshop culminating in a performance on Broadway. As part of its commitment to the Community Dialogue, FMS will be piloting a 5 session professional development opportunity entitled “Better Answers: Written Performance That Looks Good and Sounds Smart”. This is designed to provide structure for the struggling reader and writer while challenging all students to use sophisticated vocabulary when formulating responses. The School is taking a look at the transition processes from 4th to 5th grade and from 8th to 9th grade and also participated in the 2005 NAEP.

d. Falmouth High School: Mrs. Hutton recognized Eliav Bitan as one of the top 50 students in the state for outstanding performance on the MEA. Audrey Farber and Eliav Bitan were chosen as candidates for the United States Presidential Scholars program. Nine students received awards and recognition at the Maine College of Art Regional Scholastic Arts Awards Program: Anna Strayhorn, Kendall Hinkley, Rachel Siviskli, Kristin Barnes, Averil Burner, Elizabeth Thornton, Elyse Rioux, Susan Dodge, and Michelle Beaulieu. A student committee is reviewing the Chemical Health Policy. A parent/community committee will be formed next and the two committees will develop a survey and draft a new policy. Senior Volunteer Day is May 5th. Mrs. Hutton thanked parents who attended the meeting on reporting by standards on February 2nd. Progress reports will be mailed out on March 7th.

e. Director of Quality Educational Services: Mrs. Powers stated the district is focusing on assessment at the 9th and 10th grade level. CBEA is sponsoring cross district meetings for high school teachers this year. Falmouth high School hosted the first meeting for social studies teachers. Greeley High School hosted the second meeting for math teachers. The Physical Science Topic Study group will meet on February 9th and will report its conclusions/proposals on February 17th and then report to the School Board.

f. Technology Integration Coordinator: Ms. Palfrey reported the 8th grade students will be taking the MEAs online this year. Brian Favreau, Anne Macdonald, and Sue Palfrey attended training. Teachers and students were then trained. Work has started on setting up an electronic directory of community resources to support student learning. Ms. Palfrey then highlighted technology uses in the district including a literacy enhancement program written by Mr. Morse called “Literary Companion”.

g. Business Manager: Mr. O’Shea was encouraged by the direction of legal counsel regarding the high school construction issues. He explained that a lot of work was being done on the budget. He and the Superintendent will attend a meeting on how the funding allocation from the State is being calculated based on the EPS model. The district is investigating shared resources in order to maintain or improve services. He attended a conference sponsored to look at Multi-Hazard Planning for Schools.

h. Director of Special Services: A quarterly report will be available at the next meeting.

i. Athletic Director: Mr. Hurley reported Rob Grover has been selected as the new Head Football Coach for 05-06 and John Keyes has been selected as the Softball coach for this spring. The Boys Basketball and Hockey teams have been doing well. Falmouth student, Mark Broadman, has been training with Windham but wrestling for Falmouth and qualified for the State meet.

10. Committee Reports
a. Finance Sub-committee: Mrs. Hillman-Reed noted the committee continues its work on the ‘06 budget development.

b. Facilities Sub-committee: Mr. Terison reported good news from David Ray, legal counsel for the high school issues, that there is a contractual requirement to have insurance and there is insurance in place. In addition, the design team is obligated to pay legal fees. Regarding the Middle School and Elementary School construction applications, the district should hear something in April. An engineering firm who has been taking a look at P-M will be reporting to the committee. Also, traffic problems at the Middle School and High School will be the topic of discussions shortly.

c. Policy Sub-committee: Mrs. Nevins reported that Ann Chapman, Allyn Hutton, and she continue review the Policy Manual. The next meeting will be held on March 7th.

11. Items for Information: There were none.

12. Unfinished Business
a. Update on Community Dialogue: Superintendent Entwistle shared the revised 18-month targets within the five main goals. An addition to the 18-month targets is the development of specific performance objectives for each leadership member.
The Leadership Council is in the process of developing specific performance and development objectives for each Leadership Council member. Outside of the student-centered plan design, there are a lot of other projects and initiatives going on in the district such as the following:
• Development and adoption of budget development process
• Completion of comprehensive facilities plan
• Creation of updated web-based policy manual
• Promulgation of an employee manual
• Administrative review of athletic and co-curricular activities
• Implementation of an improved student record management process and procedures
• Development of a school-specific and district-wide security plan

The next steps include completion of individual performance and growth plans for Leadership Council members, consultation with the distinguished educators who helped kick off the Community Dialogue to provide feedback on the work done since the Dialogue, sharing the final product with the public, and development of a system to monitor and report on the progress.

13. New Business
a. Executive Session: Mrs. Hillman-Reed with a second from Mrs. Holden moved the Board go into Executive Session for the purpose of continuing discussion on the evaluation of the Superintendent and finalizing a Superintendent Evaluation Policy and procedure as per 1 M.R.S.A. § 405 (6) (A). The motion was approved 5-0 and the Board went into Executive Session at 8:20 p.m. At 9:25 p.m. the Board came out of Executive Session

14. Superintendent Election: Mrs. Hillman-Reed with a second from Mr. Terison moved the Board reelect George H. Entwistle 3rd as Superintendent of Schools in Falmouth for the 2005-2006 school year starting July 1, 2005 with an authorized based salary for the year ending June 30, 2006 of $109,771.03. The Board approved this motion 5-0.

15. Adjournment: Mrs. Hillman-Reed with a second from Mr. Terison moved the meeting be adjourned. The motion was approved 5-0 and the meeting adjourned at 9:26 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

George H. Entwistle 3rd, Ed.D.
Secretary

Last Updated: 12/8/05

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