Public participation at CSD school committee meetings is a rare event, but the Wednesday April 16 meeting was a notable exception. Former BRHS industrial arts teacher Fred Lewis, who brought a successful lawsuit against the CSD and its administrators, came to Wednesday night's meeting looking for answers. He got none.

Lewis questioned School Committee Chairman Larry Colcord about statements he had made in response to questions raised by Boothbay Selectman Dan Harris during the February 27 CSD meeting. In his comments, Colcord said that "other concerns arose that warranted the action taken by the school administrators" and that the committee was awaiting court documents to be released.

Lewis asked Colcord, "Have those documents been made public?" Colcord replied, "We haven't got them. Whether they have been made public I don't know. I haven't read them. I haven't received them."

Lewis responded, "It appears that you're upholding these court documents as a means of perpetuating the myth that there was more to what took place than meets the eye."

Colcord responded that he would not comment without first consulting an attorney.

Lewis asked, "Exactly what documents are you waiting to find?"

When Colcord declined to comment, Lewis continued, "I would suggest, Mr. Colcord, that there are no court documents to be released that would make any difference . . . I think you are deceiving the public and the taxpayers." Lewis then left the meeting but assured the committee that he "was not going to go away."

On Friday, Lewis's attorney Daniel Lilley said that transcripts and other documents from the court case were in his possession, and that the CSD's attorneys should have these documents, as well. Superintendent Eileen King said on Tuesday that neither she nor the committee had seen the transcripts, but she had requested them from their attorney.

BRES Principal Mark Tess provided an update on recent activities at the elementary school. Notable events included a teachers/Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens meeting to establish a working relationship between the school and garden; the annual two-day sixth grade drug and alcohol awareness program; and the BRES school art show beginning April 28. Tess said that students were in the middle of NWEA testing, which should be concluded by early May.

BRHS Assistant Principal Joel Austin reported that 15 BRHS students were currently in Germany, nine students would be leaving for Spain on Friday, and eight students were off to China on Sunday. Austin told the committee that 100 students were participating in extracurricular activities, including spring sports and drama.

Sports scheduling within the Mountain Valley Conference has been aligned to reduce transportation costs. Austin said that it was a "logistics nightmare" but now more than half of the away matches are scheduled so that local teams, such as tennis and baseball, can travel together. He estimated that this had saved the school a couple of thousand dollars. Athletic schedules are posted at the school's web site.

King reported that both revenues and expenditures were right on target, with about 23 percent of revenues still to come in and about 28 percent of the expenditures budget still available.

King said that she has been meeting with Peggy Pinkham, CEO St. Andrews Hospital, Boothbay Harbor Police Chief Robert Hasch, and YMCA Director Andy Hamblett regarding the increased illegal use of prescription drugs and alcohol in the community. The group has asked Attorney General Steven Rowe to hold a town meeting on May 5, with student participation and a panel discussion. The group hopes to raise community awareness of the problem and provide resources to people who need them.

A grant application is being developed that may allow for 10-20 local students to participate in a short Ocean Classroom program. King said that she will be investigating ways to raise money to allow at least one student to attend the full program each year.

King was one of two Maine superintendents, along with former Governor Angus King, who were selected to participate in a San Francisco conference on using technology as both an assessment and learning tool in schools. Maine was often touted as a leader in the field during the conference, she said. King noted, "After a year of consolidation and tough budgets, it was nice to go and talk about teaching and learning and to have our school talked about as a shining star." King's trip was paid by Apple.

The bullying policy presented at the last school committee meeting has been reworked to include specific disciplinary consequences. Austin said that the recently instituted cell phone policy has "made a huge difference" in the school's atmosphere and he hopes this will be another positive step. He said that the revised bullying policy gives both flexibility and clear guidance.

Sandra Paxson noted that teachers can sometimes be bullies and asked how that would be handled. King said that like the cell phone policy, the no bullying policy applies to everyone. Any complaints against a teacher would be handled by administrators in accordance with teacher contract procedures.

The committee decided to table the bullying policy until school staff had an opportunity to review the new version, but is expected to adopt this policy in its May meeting. King said that she would ask administrators to follow the policy as presently written in the interim.