By Lisa Wilcox
Staff Writer
CARIBOU — Caribou High School’s acquiring a Breathalyzer and financial issues were the main topics of conversation at RSU 39’s School Board meeting held on Feb. 6.
Mark Jones, principal of CHS, reported to the board the reasoning behind his decision to purchase a Breathalyzer for use at the school and at school functions. According to Jones, the main objective of owning the Breathalyzer is to make students aware of its existence as a deterrent. He advised the device would be used if there is sufficient reason to suspect a student is under the influence of alcohol.
The breathalyzer CHS acquired is not only capable of detecting alcohol content on the subject’s breath, but it can also pick up traces of the substance in a drink, something Jones believes will be useful since students are allowed to carry clear water bottles at school.
Jones stated that there have been a minimal amount of incidents in the past where he felt the Breathalyzer would have come in handy and projects about one incident per school year, based on past experience. He advised that the machine is simple to use and that it will not have to be certified, as it will only be used to pick up the trace of alcohol; the police will be responsible for providing a certified Breathalyzer test to get specific results.
After Jones’ comments, the board unanimously approved a second reading of the policy regarding use of the Breathalyzer.
The CHS principal’s presentation was followed by a review of the second-quarter financial report from RSU 39 Business Manager Karen Nadeau. Her report revealed that the state’s curtailment will affect the district’s revenue by $47,000 and that local tuition is also down currently by $50,000 and could reach $100,000 by the end of the school year, bringing total revenue loss to possibly $150,000. Nadeau continued with the financial report, also pointing out that the new dietary requirements are proving to be costly for the district’s food budget.
Superintendent Frank McElwain followed Nadeau with his report, providing the following staff updates.
Resignations: Mary Margaret Jerram, kindergarten teacher, Hilltop Elementary School; Susan Lockhart, kindergarten teacher, Hilltop; Leona Michaud, middle level teacher, Limestone Community School, retiring in 2014; Mary Umphrey, Title 1 teacher, Limestone, retiring in 2014; Mark Kalata, carpenter/bus driver, effective Jan. 9 2013; Laura Pelkey, one-on-one ed tech, Caribou Middle School; Lois Walton, one-on-one ed tech, CMS.
New Hires: Evan Graves, assistant track coach, CHS; Kim Kiehn, teacher, after school program, Teague Park; Heidi St. Peter, class of 2016 adviser, Limestone; Todd Albert, wrestling coach, CMS; Steve Austin, wrestling coach, Teague Park; Koralie Emerson, CNA teacher, Adult Education.
Transfers: Kathleen Bell, family consumer science teacher, Caribou High School, to culinary arts teacher, Caribou Technology Center.
McElwain also reported on his continuing experience participating in the Education Leaders group. He advised that they recently visited Jackson Labs in Bar Harbor, IDEXX Laboratories and UNUM, both in Portland, to get a feel for the growing job market in those industries and the education necessary to fill positions with these companies. McElwain explained his next trip with the Leadership group will be to the Lewiston area to visit a few industrial employers there.
The superintendent then gave a brief report on The Maine State Superintendent Association’s Winter Convocation, which, according to McElwain, focused mostly on budgetary issues.
Travis Barnes, the Limestone assistant principal and athletic director, then explained to the board that the Maine Principals Association is looking to reclassify Limestone/MSSM to a class C school from their current Class D status due to the MSSM students increasing enrollment numbers. Barnes explained that he would be speaking with the association about this and presenting the argument that it would not be an accurate move due to the fact that MSSM students do not participate in many of Limestone’s sports programs because their academic schedules differ so greatly. Barnes advised the school has had to do this in the past and was successful and he expected the same results this time around.
Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Lois Brewer then updated the board on the district’s participation in a four-day training on mass customized learning. Brewer advised that the group learned a great deal about the new educational standards and brought home some great information on how to implement a plan to be successful in fulfilling them.
The school board meeting concluded with administration reports from the Learning Center, Caribou High School and the Caribou Tech Center. In the interest of time, all three administrators kept their reports brief and advised that all seemed to be going well.
The next regularly scheduled meeting of the RSU 39 school board is March 6 at 7 p.m. at the Superintendent’s Office in Caribou.
