September 22, 2025
To: RSU Board of Directors
From: Mark L. Campbell, Superintendent of Schools
Re: October Board Report
September has been hectic! With the number of new students who have entered our buildings, it takes time to stop to chat to get to know them all and welcome them to Cobra Country. As well, trying to fill vacancies has been time consuming. I do have to report that the progress on filling positions has simply led to creating more vacancies! More on that later in my report.
Sub-Committtee Meeting Notes:
Policy met on September 17. At this meeting the committee reviewed 6 policies. One policy remains unchanged while you will be asked to approve first readings on others on October 1. I have provided a brief explanation of the changes for each in my report below.
Buildings, Grounds, and Transportation met on September 17 as well. After hearing from Chris Roux on the work done this past summer, discussions included thoughts on addressing needs at the bus garage and overall storage for the district. The committee also heard from Chris on a request from the Solon Recreation Department to construct a building on the Solon Elementary grounds to house equipment storage for their programs and a concession booth. Chris was asked to continue to work with the Town of Solon to determine where to best locate the structure to ensure compliance with any ordinances and accessibility to power. Lastly, the committee discussed work that needs to be done to the track at the high school. The track has not had any upgrades in several years. Due to the increase in interest in a track and field program at the high school, the maintenance crew attempted to address the surface and determined that the surface needs to be replaced. With an estimate of $10,000 to dig out the old surface materials, purchase of new dust, and laying and rolling of materials, Chris was asked by the committee to complete this project before the ground freezes. This was not a project Chris had planned and budgeted for. As of now it will come out of lines associated with unanticipated contracted services. As the meeting came to an end, the committee recommended the district look at making upgrades to the bus fleet versus major building projects in the 2026-2027 budget. You will be asked to give Chris permission to seek permission from the State to buy two school buses. I speak more on this idea in my report below.
Meetings in October include: Superintendent Evaluation: October 1 (Agenda is in this packet); Policy: October 15 (Agenda will be handed out at monthly meeting); Academic: October 15 (Agenda will be handed out at monthly meeting).
Agenda:
Appointments:
You will see four stipend requests. The first two are positions that were just recently filled and both done by the same person last year. The Teacher Certification chair agreed to do it again after we implemented new protocols for staff on storing professional development done off campus in a Google folder they and the chair have access to. In the past, the Chair has been receiving and storing this information for the staff. Their responsibility is to sign off on the work needed to meet the State requirements for recertification, not be every staff member’s clerical secretary. Nikki did the 504 paperwork last year for me as well as uploaded the necessary information for each plan into Synergy so teachers had access to it. She is going to continue to do this for Mr. Case. The last is the appointment of PJ Vicniere to serve as the varsity boys soccer coach for the balance of the 2025 season. This was a request made by the high school administration based on a decision regarding a personnel matter.
Resignations:
Taylor Fournier - Cook Assistant at CCS- we thank Taylor for the work she did for the past two years in this role and wish her well in future endeavors.
Eileen McDonald - Cook Manager at GSS-we thank Eileen for taking on this position two years ago and wish her well as her transfer to CCS as Cook Assistant is complete. We are currently advertising for the Cook Manager of GSS.
Nominations:
Kelly Vicniere has completed the necessary coursework to get her certification as an Alternative Education Teacher. She has been running the program under the supervision of the HS principal for the past 1 ¾ years. When we budgeted for this position in the current budget, we budgeted for a classroom teacher. Kelly has done amazing work with the students in her program. Her efforts have kept her students in school and engaged.
Melody Rich was interviewed by Ms. Butler, Judi Dunphy, and I. Her answers to our questions clearly demonstrated she has the skill set and desire to support all students with their social and emotional needs. As the lead teacher for Solon, she is experienced in dealing with student behaviors. The position is covered under the Collective Bargaining agreement for the Teachers with additional pay for extra days to clean up all unfinished paperwork around attendance and discipline.
Julie Clark was interviewed by Ms. Butler and me for the potentially vacated position in Solon, and she is ready to step in to lead instruction in 3rd grade. Julie did great work for us last in the 4th grade classroom in Anson.
Action Items:
Item 6: Policy JEA Compulsory Attendance - The Policy committee opted to change out a few lines in the existing policy to be replaced with wording that more clearly defines age requirements for attendance and better defines personal illness/health as recommended by MSMA.
Item 7: Policy JFC Dropout Prevention Students Withdrawal for School - Minor wordsmithing in this policy. The first was recommended by MSMA as reality is we can only encourage students not to drop out. The second is one of the ways in which we can encourage students to stay in school. This wording permits administration, guidance, and family to “think outside the box” to keep students engaged acknowledging there are opportunities beyond our walls at CHS.
Item 8: Policy JJIF Management of Concussions and Other Head Injuries - The committee felt the wording as it existed focused around injuries with athletics. The newer version reflects addressing the needs of all students who suffer a head injury. The committee is recommending a complete adoption of the new wording.
Item 9: Policy JICIA Weapons, Violence, and School Safety - Again, the policy committee is recommending a complete replacement of the wording from existing to recommended policy by MSMA. While some of the wording is the same in both, the committee felt the layout of the newer version provided greater clarity.
Item 10: Policy JKAA - Use of Physical Restraint and Seclusions - the change, the elimination of a single word, is needed to ensure our policy is in sync with recent legislation that removed that word from Statute this summer.
Item 11: Based on discussions at the Buildings, Grounds, and Transportation committee, we are requesting permission to ask the State to be able to purchase 2 buses in the 2026-2027 budget. This is only the first step in the process but an absolutely necessary step to ensure we get reimbursement from the Department of Education in subsequent years. If we get permission, we can add the two to the budget. When all the numbers come together, we can better determine if we can fiscally support the purchase of two buses. Our goal is to replace buses that have high maintenance. These are not necessarily our oldest buses.
Item 12: The Youth and Government Group at the high school is seeking permission for an overnight trip to Augusta to participate in the State convention. You will find a thorough description from Maurice Langlois of the event and costs associated with the trip in your packet. Mrs. Stacey Robinson will be chaperoning this year.