AUBURN – With discussion that lasted less than 60 seconds, the Auburn School Committee voted unanimously to make interim Superintendent Tom Morrill the superintendent for the rest of his contract, or until June 2010.

Last year Morrill was named interim superintendent when Superintendent Barbara Eretzian retired. Before her retirement, Morrill was the assistant superintendent.

Eretzian now works for the school department as a consultant.

The budget allows her to work up to 60 days a year for $45,000.

Morrill’s annual salary of $103,000 will not change, said School Committee Chairman David Das.

Half-day Wednesdays

In other business the committee voted to bring the controversial half-day Wednesdays back to the school committee agenda at a later date, most likely after the school budget is decided this spring.

Reviving the issue was pushed by City Councilor Ron Potvin, Mayor John Jenkins’ representative on the school board. Potvin explained that many parents found the recent school committee vote on keeping the practice “distasteful.”

A sub-committee studied the K-6 half-day Wednesdays issue and recommended the number of early release days be reduced by six. But the committee rejected that, voting 4-3 against that idea on Nov. 28.

“That vote did absolutely nothing for the public,” Potvin said.

Several committee members, including Das, Bonnie Hayes and Thomas Kendall, objected to revisiting the issue, saying the committee has much work to do and it won’t serve the community.

Potvin said the committee now has new members, he had a right to ask for items to be on future agendas, and insisted the committee be polled. Das did that by asking members to vote on allowing the early-release Wednesday issue to be on an agenda at a later date.

Voting in favor were the four new members: Potvin, Francois Bussiere, Jason Pawlina and Larry Pelletier. Voting against were Hayes, Kendall and Das. Member Lane Feldman, who first spoke out against half-day Wednesdays, abstained.

At issue is Auburn’s policy of holding a half day of school every Wednesday to allow teachers time for staff development. Teachers support the policy, but many parents do not. That weekly practice is not held in many – if any – other Maine schools.

The committee also voted unanimously to create a new sub-committee to inform the public about school issues. One issue the committee wants the community to learn about is the master plan, which includes major repairs to Edward Little High School.

The task of the soon-to-be-appointed sub-committee will be to recommend how Auburn schools can reach out and inform citizens.

– Bonnie Washuk

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