TOPSHAM
The School Administrative District 75 school board is holding a final hearing on its adopted $34.7 million 2013-14 school budget in a 30- minute public hearing at 6 p.m. tonight before it starts its regular meeting at 6:30 p.m.
The meeting is at Mt. Ararat High School in room 201. The board traditionally holds this final public budget hearing after it has adopted a budget, which usually no one attends and the board wouldn’t be expected to change its adopted budget. The district wide budget meeting is May 23 at 6:30 p.m. at the Orion Performing Arts Center next to Mt. Ararat Middle School.
The budget decided on at that meeting goes to voters in the individual members’ towns at the polls June 11.
The school board will appoint several teachers to either second probationary contracts or third and continuing contracts tonight.
As a result of its adopted 2013-14 budget, the school board is slated to eliminate a full-time English teacher at the high school and a full-time literary specialist at Mt. Ararat Middle School.
The board will also consider eliminating a full-time high school physical educator, a full-time foreign language teacher, and a full-time art teacher at the high school and middle school.
The board will then create halftime positions for these three positions, and then in a separate vote, approve transferring Ryan Holes to the half-time high school physical education slot; Dorothy Bradford to the half-time high school foreign language teacher position; and Mary Pennington to the half-time art teaching position at the high school and middle school.
The school board will also consider voluntary hour reductions of a special educator and a special education coordinator at the middle school.
The board will be asked to accept the resignations of Emily McLeod, special educator at Harpswell Community School and Woodside Elementary School, effective Aug. 31; and Wendy Edwards, a Williams- Cone School literacy teacher leader, effective Aug. 31; and consider the retirement of Patrick Moore as the district’s director of special services as of June 30.
Technology Director Kerry Gallivan will update the board on the Maine Learning Technology Initiative, and the board will then hear a report on the district’s security efforts, including possible grant funding and other projects.
An executive session is scheduled for the board to consider disciplinary action regarding a student.
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