Central Aroostook RPC Meeting
September 3, 2008
6:00 pm
Easton Elementary School Cafeteria
SAU’s Participating: Bridgewater, Easton, MSAD #42, MSAD #45
Members Present:
Bridgewater: Wayne Bradbury; Duska Kingsbury
Easton: Mike Corey; Dave Hopkins; Norman Trask; Frank Keenan, Superintendent (Liaison)
MSAD #42: Greg Day; Todd Grass; Jamie McClay, Nate Smith
MSAD #45: Daren Churchill; Theresa Cochran; Jerry Dow; Tim Humphrey; Mike McIntosh; Andrea Powers; Ed Buckley, Superintendent (Liaison)
Non-Members Present: Gerald Clockedile (RPC Facilitator); Kimberly Hall, Recording Secretary; Fred Boyd (Principal MSAD #42)
Members Absent: Terri Allen (Bridgewater); Nina Bradstreet (Bridgewater); Jan Greico (MSAD #45); Carolee Hallett (MSAD #42); Gehrig Johnson (Bridgewater-Supt. Liaison); Tom Osgood (Easton); Butch Richardson (Bridgewater); Ellen Schneider (Bridgewater-Supt. Liaison);Cary Schumaker (MSAD #45); Roger Shaw (MSAD #42-Supt. Liaison)
1. The meeting was called to order at 6:08 pm in the Easton Elementary School cafeteria by Co Vice-Chairperson, Greg Day (MSAD #42).
2. New business – none.
3. Adjustments to the agenda – none
4. Public comment – none
5. Facilitator Update/Comments – Jake Clockedile
a. Mr. Clockedile explained that if there is a unit entering into a new RSU that has a large unallocated balance; it can be written into the plan that the balance be used to reduce local tax assessment over a number of years rather than using the entire balance at once. But the plan to do this must be written into the plan.
b. Mr. Clockedile reiterated that any plan that includes a process to amend the cost sharing arrangement or any other portion of the plan must also include wording that states that any amendment would require approval by the Commissioner.
c. Mr. Clockedile gave a brief summary of the current status of plans throughout the state.
There are currently:
11 Exempt SAU’s (8 island school administrative units and 3 Maine Indian Education Units.
34 Alternative plans (33 have been approved by the Commissioner and 1 is still in progress)—[these are districts that are large enough that they don’t have to consolidate]
41 Reorganization plans
7 have been approved by the Commissioner (3 approved by voters/4 need voter approval)
10 have been submitted and are awaiting review by the Department or revisions by the RPC
24 additional plans are in progress
Mr. Clockedile went on to say that there are still 9 communities that have no plan, no partners and no prospects.
Mr. Keenan asked about those alternative plans that did not show a reduction in costs but were still approved, if we don’t consolidate do we have the option to file a similar plan. Mr. Clockedile said that would not be an option, we would be penalized.
d. Mr. Clockedile reminded the group that the “safe date” to have a plan ready is November 14, 2008 in order to be ready for a January vote.
Greg Day asked if there was any more information regarding the Attorney General’s ruling about one community dropping out of a group causing penalties for everyone in the group. Mr. Clockedile stated that he would look into this and try to find actual documentation of the ruling.
Mr. Keenan asked if the DOE’s position was not aligned with the Attorney Generals ruling, would they push to have it changed. Mr. Clockedile said that would make sense, but he could not speak for the Department.
6. Superintendent comments/reports – none.
7. Discussion/questions since last meeting – none.
8. Motion by Mike Corey (Easton), 2nd by Norm Trask (Easton) to approve the minutes of the August 20, 2008 meeting as presented. Approved unanimously.
9. Sub-Committee questions/concerns:
Contract/Education: Greg Day stated that Tom Osgood had some needed information for the sub-committee to review. Mr. Keenan presented the required information on Administrative expenses and contracted services for Easton and MSAD #42. MSAD #45 information was also given.
Norm Trask asked about the plan for the Houlton area because it seemed like that plan came together quite quickly and he wondered if maybe this committee was working too slowly. Mr. Clockedile informed the group that the Houlton plan had been in the works for quite awhile. He then urged the group again to utilize plans that have already been created to save time and work.
Mr. Keenan asked the group as a whole what their sense was of their respective communities with regard to the feeling about this process.
MSAD #45 – split – some really supportive and others against
MSAD #42—very apprehensive
Bridgewater – a strong base that had advocated the break from MSAD #42 – leery of joining another SAD
Easton - general feeling that the community is against
Tim Humphrey noted that many community members are basing their opinions on what they are reading in the media so it is extremely important that our plan be done well and explained to the public so that the voters can understand exactly what they are voting for or against.
Wayne Bradbury noted that many people just want to know “what will happen if we don’t consolidate?” and we only know what the penalty will be for the first year. Mr. Clockedile stated that the penalty will probably increase each year based on valuation, but that is not known at this time.
Tim Humphrey reminded the group that there are many pros to the consolidation idea. There is the possibility to increase efficiency and share resources. Mr. Clockedile asked the group to keep in mind that student population for this group has dropped 15% in the past 10 years, if the trend continues for the next 10 years; the entire student population for this proposed RSU would be only 750 students. He stated that this group needs to look at the feasibility of being able to sustain their individual school systems without consolidating and whether the chance of maintaining the schools would be better as a consolidated group.
Tim Humphrey went on to say that creating a plan that showed the weaknesses in the law may give legislators more “teeth” to make changes.
Mr. Keenan stated that in order to have a plan pass with the voters, it would need to mitigate the increase in salaries. Mr. Clockedile said that one group laid out a 7 year plan of transition to deal with salary leveling.
Mike Corey asked about plans having a safety net pertaining to increases and decreases in costs. Mr. Clockedile one group had in their plan that if one community showed a decrease while others showed an increase, half of the decrease would be distributed to the other communities to offset the increases.
10. Sub-Committee presentation of draft materials to date – none.
11. Members broke out into subcommittee groups for a work session at 6:43 pm to work on their areas of the plans.
Return to full committee at 8:34 pm.
12. Reports of Sub-Committees:
Finance: Mike McIntosh presented proposed language for Section 8 of the plan with regards to Trust Funds, Scholarship Funds, Reserve Funds and Ownership of such funds. Draft was reviewed by the committee, motion to call a vote by Mike Corey (Easton), 2nd by Todd Grass (MSAD #42), and results as follows:
Easton – approved
Bridgewater – approved
MSAD #42 – approved
MSAD #45 – approved
Greg Day reminded the committee to make sure any drafts submitted include the section of the plan they represent. Mr. McIntosh said he would add the section number to the document and email it to Kim for insertion into the plan document.
Mr. McIntosh also reported that the Finance Sub-Committee is planning to meet next week for additional work.
Contracts/Educational Planning: Greg Day reported that the Contract sub-committee is planning to meet next Wednesday to complete their draft document. They feel that they have all the necessary information; it just needs to be organized and put into a written draft.
Governance: Norm Trask discussed a draft regarding the make up of the new RSU Board, weighted votes, method of voting, etc. An electronic draft will be sent via email to the committee with the plan to vote on it at the September 17 meeting.
Disposition of Property: Todd Grass presented a draft of Section 5.0 regarding disposition of real and personal school property. During sub-committee work two questions came up that needed clarification by the committee.
a. How will maintenance of property and vehicles be handled? After discussion, the general consensus of the group was that maintenance would continue as is and that language will be written into the plan.
This question also brought up a concern regarding the deeds for the two school buildings in Easton. The Elementary School building deed is in the name of the Town of Easton while the High School deed is in the name of the Easton School District. The “Easton School District” is not a legal entity so both deeds should be in the name of the Town of Easton. Mike Corey said he would bring the matter up at the Board of Selectmen meeting on Monday.
b. The Disposition of Property subcommittee would like to propose a recommendation for the New RSU to complete a Phase 1 Environmental Assessment within one year of formation as a baseline for future decisions. This was discussed by the group and approved by general consensus to include wording of such in the draft document for section 5.0.
13. Other Discussion Items:
Mr. Keenan reminded the group that, based on our current meeting schedule, there are only 4 more meetings before the “safe date” of November 14. He encouraged the sub-committees to meet together outside of the normal meeting times. Mr. Clockedile took this opportunity to discuss the meeting schedule for October. He stated that both he and Mr. Keenan will be away during the week of October 1. Discussion ensued and the group decided, by consensus, to plan to meet each Wednesday in October (with the exception of October 1) to ensure that the plan can be completed by the November 14 date. If the plan can be completed early, and all meetings are not found to be necessary, they can be canceled.
14. Facilitator summary comments: Mr. Clockedile stated that the next meeting (9/17) will be key for this group. It is important to start getting draft documents out to the committee for review and vote. He also reminded the group to work on explanations and exhibits to back up the language in the plan.
Mr. Clockedile also recommended that, once the plan is completed, it needs to be reviewed by an attorney and that takes approximately 2 weeks. That review, however, can take place simultaneously with review by the DOE and informational meetings within the communities. Greg Day questioned whether to use a local attorney for this. Both Mr. Clockedile and Norm Trask recommended using a firm that specializes in school law. Mr. Clockedile stated that there are several firms in the State that are familiar with the RSU process and that decision can be made as we get closer to completion.
Mr. Keenan asked if the informational meetings should be conducted in the individual towns by their own representatives to the RPC committee. Mr. Clockedile recommended doing it as a full committee so that each town is receiving the same information. He felt that doing a meeting in each community is recommended, but that there should be a team which includes representatives from each involved community making the presentations. Greg Day recommended that all meetings be held over the course of one week with the same PowerPoint presentation used for each meeting. Plan to discuss this more at the September 17 meeting.
15. Next meeting date: September 17, 2008 at 6:00 pm at the Easton Elementary School cafeteria.
16. Meeting adjourned at 9:15 pm.
Respectfully Submitted,
Kimberly Hall
Recording Secretary
Central Aroostook RPC Membership
Name Community Phone E-mail
Terri Allen Bridgewater 425-2161 polyop61@hotmail.com
Wayne Bradbury Bridgewater 227-2828 janet@pioneercable.net
Nina Bradstreet Bridgewater 429-8130 ninab@stepstones4youth.org
Duska Kingsbury Bridgewater 425-7149 duska@pwless.net
Butch Richardson Bridgewater 429-8811 rrichardson2ainop.com
Ellen Schneider* Bridgewater 764-4101 ellen.schneider@sad1.org
Gehrig Johnson* Bridgewater 764-4101 gehrig@sad1.org
Norman Trask Easton 764-4193 ntrask@curriertrask.com
Michael Corey Easton 488-6917 mcorey@hydroblendinc.com
Tom Osgood Easton 488-6932 tosgood@mamusg.com
Dave Hopkins Easton 227-3446 dhopkins@ces-maine.com
Frank Keenan* Easton 488-7700 frank.keenan@eastonschooldistrict.org
Roger Shaw* MSAD #42 425-3771 rshaw@sad42.k12.me.us
Nathan Smith MSAD #42 429-8095 polisciguy02@hotmail.com
James McClay MSAD #42 227-8606 jmcclay@amhc.org
Greg Day MSAD #42 425-5301 gskkday@verizon.net
Carolee Hallett MSAD #42 425-2242 carolee@07me.com
Todd Grass MSAD #42 429-9497 toddgrass@hotmail.com
Daren Churchill MSAD #45 455-4046 dschurchill@verizon.net
Andrea Powers MSAD #45 455-1002 townmanager@washburnmaine.org
Jerry Dow MSAD #45 455-5913 perhamtown@yahoo.com
Michael McIntosh MSAD #45 455-4812 m_mcintosh@yahoo.com
Jan Grieco MSAD #45 455-4907 jangrieco@ainop.com
Theresa Cochran MSAD #45 455-5865 tcochran@ainop.com
Edward Buckley* MSAD #45 455-8301 edpbuckley@yahoo.com
Cary Schumacker MSAD #45
Tim Humphrey MSAD #45 455-4988 jandthumphrey@aol.com
Jake Clockedile Old Orchard 205-5334 ggclock@gwi.net