At the January 24 meeting of the Boothbay-Boothbay Harbor Community School District School Committee, BRES Principal Mark Tess began the meeting with a presentation on the ongoing and planned activities at the school. Some items of interest include the winter book fair (January 24-February 2), a special showing of Charlotte's Web for first and second graders on January 26, and a bingo fundraiser for an ice rink on February 3. The Wildcat cheerleading squad will attend the Busline League cheering competition on February 15. The second semester, mid-trimester ended January 26; progress reports will be sent home on February 2.

Tess praised fifth and sixth grade science teachers Michelle Miclette and Mame Anthony, who have recently been awarded a $4,600 science grant from National Semiconductor. The science program designed by Miclette and Anthony, "Plants Aplenty," will introduce students to plants, their growing requirements, and include hydroponics. Tess said that the "judges were unbelievably impressed with the proposal" developed by the teachers.

Jack Tourtillotte, BRHS Principal, provided the committee with a detailed athletics budget and data on student enrollment in different sports. Tourtillotte said, 'For the amount of dollars that are spent for the number of kids served, it's a pretty good return on your buck." Some sports that had been cut in previous years are back in the budget because of student interest.

BRHS is still looking to fill the softball and field hockey coach positions.

Trish Harrison, Special Education Director, presented an overview of planned in-service programs for Ed Techs. Harrison said that she was pleased that "there were so many presenters from our district that have special skills to share."

Eleven students will be participating in the Special Olympics at Sugarloaf Mountain from January 28-30. Four BRHS and four adult chaperones will be accompanying the Special Olympians, who will participate in alpine and bi-skiing events.

Superintendent Eileen King provided the committee members with a packet of information regarding Governor John Baldacci's proposed school consolidation plan. A public forum on school consolidation with Geoff Herman, Director of State and Federal Relations of the Maine Municipal Association, was scheduled at the Edgecomb Eddy School on January 30. There will be a public hearing on the school consolidation plan at the Maine Legislature on February 5; King will attend and asked if any committee members were interested in attending and/or testifying.

King said that she had met with BRES/BRHS staff that day to discuss the governor's consolidation proposal, and is planning a question and answer session for parents. She said, "The only thing we can do is to become as educated as we can."

The 2007-2008 draft budget review continued with presentation of Special Services, Technology, Health, Food Service and Transportation budgets. Judy Dorr, BRES Technology Director, presented a technology budget slightly higher than last year's, with increased dollars for repairs, new equipment, and new computers. Dorr said that she is "just trying to keep up with the technology" and tries to "think a class size a year for upgrades—it's nice when all the kids are working on the same page in a classroom."

Dave Landry presented the BRHS technology budget. Budget increases are proposed for repairs, computer supplies (80 percent for printer cartridges) and upgrading the computer system, including a new server. King and Landry discussed holding off on the biggest proposed new expenditure -- $30,000 to buy another 15 laptops and supporting equipment -- until the school consolidation process was more clearly defined. King noted that a lot of the technology budget is covered by state subsidies.

Landry said that he is ready to officially open the parent portal to the high school's power school network. Through this system, parents and students will have instant access to student's grades, homework assignments, attendance and schedules. Tourtillotte said, "Dave has spent hours and hours on this and deserves a lot of credit. This is going to be a tremendous tool for parents." Parents will be receiving a flyer that explains system use and provides a personal identification number to access the system.

Harrison provided an overview of the Special Services budget. Proposed increases include mileage and personnel for transportation, testing protocols and increased enrollment, and new programs to meet the state's new secondary math requirements. King noted that a lot of equipment and technology for Special Services' programs are funded through local entitlement grants.

King presented the Health program budget. She said that when the health center services were expanded, parents were asked if they would agree to have tax dollars support the health center. This year's proposed budget includes one-half of the health center cost of $12,000; this is a cost-share with St. Andrews. King said if tax dollars are used to fund the health center, some method of recouping costs for out-of-town students will have to be developed.

The biggest consideration in the Transportation budget is the need to upgrade the bus fleet. King said that the Transportation Director would like to purchase one new bus this year, but King thinks that this could probably be put off for one more year. She said that the CSD has to begin to get into a rotation of buying and replacing buses. A new bus would cost about $75,000, which would cost about $17,000 each year over a five-year loan period. The Food Service budget includes a $2,000 increase for staff training that is required in food preparation, sanitation, and safety.

The committee has now reviewed all proposed budget expenditures for the 2007-08 school year. At the February 14 meeting, King hopes to have a draft of the expected revenues for 2007-08.