PARIS — School Administrative District 17 directors approved adding an additional board certified behavior analyst (BCBA) during their Monday night meeting based on recommendations made by the board’s personnel and finance committees.
“Personnel recommends and supports this committee,” said Board Vice-Chair Jared Cash of Norway and chair for the personnel committee. “There are complexities that have to do with regulations and how thinly spread we are to remarkable levels.
“It was anticipated this could happen coming into the school year and we need (to add) this certified position to keep up with regulations and provide the necessary student support according to statutes.”
“The finance committee recommends the same as personnel,” said Director Robert Jewell of Paris and chair for the finance committee. “We are out of compliance. More students need these services than the person that we currently have can legally handle. We need to add it.”
The position will be paid for through the district’s contingency fund at a cost of $64,000 for the remainder of the academic year. It will be included in the 2023-2024 budget as a fully-funded fulltime position.
In other business, Executive Director of Federal Programs Melanie Ellsworth, Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School Principal Paul Bickford, Oxford Hills Middle School Principal McGreevy, Jessica and Roberts Farm Experiential STEM Educator Sarah Kearsley presented a summary on Oxford Hills’ summer school program for Pre-K, elementary, middle school and high school students, the majority of whom were referred by teachers. Attendance for younger grades at summer school exceeded 90% in most cases, a rate not seen before in the district. At the middle school level McGreevy reported that student attendance for seventh and eighth graders was as high as 80%.
In the high school, students transitioning into their freshman year and attending Streaked Mountain School were selected by referral but could also opt into summer school. Bickford said that several students were able to earn credits towards graduation by attending summer school.
In other business, the board approved Chairwoman Natalie Andrews’ recommendation to delay creating building committees for both Agnes Gray Elementary School in West Paris and Oxford Hills Middle School until after she more planning information from senior administrators.
Directors also authorized Andrews to sign the district’s application for school revolving renovation funds through the Maine Department of Education. Improvement projects are being requested for schools in need of air quality and safety improvements. Submitting the application to the state will not commit SAD 17 to them financially but is necessary in order to determine how much Maine DOE will contribute.
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