Staff Writer
During the May 19 RSU 39 meeting approximately 35 of the faculty members in attendance were wearing yellow T-shirts bearing the logo AE2 (Eastern Aroostook Education Association). This show of unity bore reflection of the dissatisfaction and frustration RSU 39 educators are experiencing caused by the unsuccessful negotiations between the RSU board/ budget committee and the teachers. Roy Alden addressed the RSU 39 board members during the public comment segment of the meeting. Alden, who stated that as a teacher and coach for nearly 33 years, “I’ve dedicated a good part of my life to the Caribou School System — I’m proud of our students, we have a unique school department that is known throughout the state for our foundation of teamwork and pride.” “We are in a struggle to combine two school systems and we have to be careful to maintain that system,” he added.
Following his words to the RSU board members Alden presented the board with a petition signed by concerned faculty members. In short, the petition stated that the educators were unhappy with the fact that their contracts remain un-ratified after nearly a year.
Alden added speaking for the educators that moral was at an all time low and charged the RSU board/budget committee to give 150 percent, step up their work and work to have the contracts ratified by the end of the school year.
RSU Board Chair Scott Willey, accepted the petition and thanked Alden for his input. Historically following public input during an official meeting, board members (either city council or school) are not obligated to engage in a response.
Frank McElwain, superintendent of RSU 39, said yesterday regarding the contract negotiations, “ We are finding it a challenge to fold together the current contracts from Limestone and Caribou school systems — contracts that are similar in many ways yet with some significant differences in other area. The result is that it is very time consuming.”
“The difference in these negotiations, from those that, for decades were dealt with in a relatively short period of time in a handful of meetings during a contract year, is that this is not a ‘single upgrade’ to the contracts, therefore has become a process that is taking many times longer,” continued McElwain. “With two committees (educators and the RSU 39) wading through the language of the contracts, finding the appropriate wording and its intent, it has become a lengthy process,” he added.
“It is the nature of the situation,” the RSU 39 superintendent said, “ We’ve got to be patient with the process — we are dealing with the livelyhood of 300-plus individuals.”
Kellene O’Hara, a Caribou High School senior, also addressed the RSU 39 board members during the May 19 meeting, voicing her concern about the recent decision that placed the CHS Civil Rights Team among those being discontinued through the effort to reduce the school budget.
O’Hara, an active Civil Rights Team member since she was in elementary school, reminded the board members of the tragic suicide death of the 15-year-old Irish student in Massachusetts, Phoebe Prince, in Jan. of this year, believed to have been caused by bullying.
“This tragedy is precisely what the Civil Rights team at CHS works to prevent,” stated O’Hara. The 2010 recipient of the Samantha Smith Award, O’Hara reminded the panel of the issues the CHS team strives to create student awareness of, including teen dating/violence, domestic violence, black history month, women’s history — and the necessity of acceptance of diversity at school as well as within their own lives.
O’Hara also stated she had been approached by CHS students, expressing their concern that the Civil Rights Team was being eliminated due to current budget cuts.
Again yesterday (June1) when asked about the cut of the Civil Rights Team at the high school, McElwain stated, during the process, the committee looked at all aspects of the budget, prioritizing both curriculum and non-curricular items. “Although the Civil Right Team and its purpose is certainly valuable, cutting it was just one of the hard choices we had to make.”
Other agenda items considered by the RSU 39 board included consideration of a Memorandum of Understanding with the Caribou Parks and Recreation Department on the maintenance and upkeep of the Teague Park and Hilltop Elementary School playgrounds. A motion was made by George O’Bar to approve the memorandum which was seconded by Michelle Albert and passed by a unanimous vote.
The following curriculum changes were proposed by McElwain and approved as a slate by the RSU board members.
• Reduction of French instructional time for grades 4-5 and elimination of instruction at grade 3. The elimination of French instruction at the third grade level is supported in part by: Grade 3 is a pivotal year for students — there is a ‘step-up” in curriculum, expectations and homework. The extra time can be spent on interventions or enrichment for students in math and reading/writing to help them reach their full potential.
• Elimination of computer technology I, computer tech II, computer applications 1-2; presentation graphics and Web-page design. The Maine laptop Initiative (MLTI) has changed the landscape for technology instruction by virtue of the fact that there is one-to-one computing for all students in grades 7 and 8 and has been for a number of years. Students are coming into high school with a very different computer proficiency level than in years past. Due to this increased proficiency level, the enrollment in these courses has decreased dramatically, translating into the fact that all five of these course offerings constitute a half-time position.
• Computer proficiency is mandated by state law for graduation requirements. Caribou Middle School faculty feels confident in “signing off” on all of their exiting grade 8 students as ‘computer proficient.” Students have met proficiency through thoughtful integrated assignments and assessments in ELA, math, social studies and health and science. Mark Jones, principal at the Caribou High School, with the support of the guidance office has determined that a free on-line typing resource will be available for those few students who may move in and need to be brought to and assessed for computer proficiency.
• Elimination of Art instruction in grade 6 at CMS. CMS will house grades 6-8 next year and a six-week rotation schedule for each grade level was considered. Administration recommended going with four course offerings in that rotation for grade six as opposed to the current 5, eliminating art as one of the courses. The four remaining course offerings in the rotation for grade six students include: health, music, computer and technology education.
• Elimination of the Tech Ed instruction from grade 5 curriculum as students transition from CMS to Teague Park. This elimination is supported by the following: while there are a great many benefits to moving grade five to Teague Park School, the move does not allow for the continuation of Tech Education for fifth-graders as the materials and facility are not available. The grade 5 students will be moving into a more traditional elementary structure of instruction without the rotations but will receive expanded art opportunities.
The RSU board also approved staffing changes recommended by the superintendent as well as approved the 2010-11 RSU School Budget, which was also supported during a public hearing and vote held at the Caribou Performing Arts Center on May 26. The budget will now appear on the June 8 ballot for final validation.
A complete list of cuts made to the curriculum and as well as staff positions will appear in a future edition.
The next meeting of the Eastern Aroostook RSU 39 is tonight, June 2, at 7 p.m. in the superintendent’s building.
