PARIS — SAD 17’s school board approved an adjusted schedule for key dates, a result of starting the school year late because of COVID-19 related reopening plans. Parent/Teacher Conferences were rescheduled from the original set date of Oct. 22 until Oct. 28.

Directors also approved extending the end of the first trimester for Oxford Hills Technical School to Dec. 4 instead of Nov. 20. The first semester for SAD 17 schools was changed from Jan. 22, 2021 to Jan. 29, 2021.

In his superintendent’s update, Superintendent Rick Colpitts clarified several points for directors, including how board presentations are determined. They are scheduled based on board requests, pending board action and seasonal reviews. Directors may request for presentations to be added to the meeting schedule by either contacting the Board Chairperson, the Superintendent’s office, or by posting it on the district’s online meeting schedule. Colpitts reminded the board that dates for presentations are subject to change depending on other priorities, such as student-related hearings.

Colpitts also announced that the Maine Center for Disease Control and Maine Department of Education will introduce a public data base that shows active COVID-19 cases by school building. The URL address for the database is https://public.tableau.com/profile/maine.cdc.covid.19.response#!/vizhome/COVID-19casesbyschool/maine-covid-19-cases-by-school?publish=yes.

Cases by county, which determines safety designations of green, yellow or red are updated by the CDC. The status of each county may be viewed online at: https://www.maine.gov/doe/framework/part-I/#CRL. Oxford county went from green to yellow on Sept. 25, signaling the need for hybrid learning to be instituted. By Oct. 9 the state reassigned it back to green. No students attending SAD 17 schools have been diagnosed with COVID-19 since school reopened, although 20 have been asked to self-quarantine. Currently, two students are being quarantined out of school due to exposure to the virus.

The Policy Committee updated several policies, including how board chairpersons are elected, use of Robert’s Rules during meetings, and the use of social media by directors while in their official capacity as school board representatives.

In other business, the board approved a donation of $1,239 from Hannaford for Paris Elementary School.

The Curriculum Committee reported that it has elected Sarah Otterson of Paris as Chair. The committee is working on allocation of CARES Act funding and purchases, including  professional development for educators in support of hybrid and distance learning. It also announced that is seeking updates from elementary principals on how the school year is going in their individual schools next month and updates from secondary principals in December.