LEWISTON — The Lewiston School Committee meeting scheduled for Monday was canceled due to safety issues tied to accessibility and concerns about COVID-19 in the community, according to acting Chairwoman Megan Parks.
Parks said that former Chairwoman Monique Roy, who resigned from her position on Sunday, canceled Monday’s meeting over the weekend due to “safety issues tied to remote accessibility and the current reported surge of COVID cases in our community.”
Items on Monday’s agenda would have included a 5 p.m. discussion on supporting elements of students re-entry into schools and a vote on whether to receive and approve a proposal regarding school resource officers.
“Safety and accessibility issues were multi-tiered and tied to the amount of response this discussion has generated, which continued to grow rapidly this weekend,” Parks said, adding that “(Gov. Janet Mills’) new mandate on masks would require staff to ensure compliance at Connors Elementary School.”
“We did not have adequate staff available on short notice to do this properly,” Parks said.
Parks said the Zoom internet platform in the Lewiston school district “does not allow for the same level of remote interaction that the city’s does,” an issue that was unable to be corrected in time for Monday’s meeting.
“With the current COVID outbreak, it would be irresponsible to expect the community to potentially subject themselves to the virus in order to participate and/or have their voice heard,” she said.
According to the Lewiston Public Schools website, a new date has yet to be set for the committee meeting.
In other business, Parks said Superintendent Todd Finn has not officially resigned from his position, despite issuing a statement on July 8 stating that he was resigning due to “health and wellness concerns for myself and my family.”
Finn, 49, who had been on bereavement leave since July 1 and began a medical leave Wednesday, wrote that “it is only fair to allow the School Committee to begin a search for a new superintendent as I know I will not be able to return in my current capacity.”
However, Parks said Finn had not officially resigned, as he “has not submitted a resignation to the board, as is required by contract.”
“We did not act on anything following Wednesday’s executive sessions because there was nothing to act on,” Parks continued. “He expressed via his attorney, Maria Fox, that he sent the statement to the Sun Journal preemptively, but that he now intends to resign at a later date.”
Asked if Finn was still officially the superintendent or if the position was still up in the air as of Monday, Parks said, “There is no way for me to answer at this time.”
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