Former Regional School Unit 56 Director Larry Whittington of Dixfield speaks Tuesday at the board meeting at Dirigo High School during the public comment time. He said the board “has many problems to address,” and “first and foremost, an agenda with both parents and the school board working together is needed.”  Marianne Hutchinson/Rumford Falls Times

DIXFIELD — Dirigo High School students must be full time and fail no more than one class to participate in extracurricular activities, Regional School Unit 56 directors decided Tuesday in approving a revised policy.

During the discussion of the revisions, Superintendent Pam Doyen said students must take at least five classes.

“You can only be failing one of them and you have to be on track to graduate,” she said regarding the policy on activities such as sports, performing arts, competitions and tournaments. The prior policy stated students must pass all classes to participate in extracurricular activities.

The revised policy also states the athletic/activities director, with the school’s principal, “can make exceptions as necessary for students with extenuating circumstances.”

The policy will be finalized following a second reading at the board meeting Sept. 10 at 6:30 p.m. at the high school.

No change was made to a section regarding T.W. Kelly Dirigo Middle School students, who must pass all subjects to participate in extracurricular activities.

In another matter, former RSU 56 Director Larry Whittington of Dixfield, who did not seek reelection in June, spoke during the public comment period, saying, “Returning board members, teachers, staff, students of RSU 56, (and residents) that elected these board members; every one of us needs to be reminded of the board’s obligations to the taxpayers of RSU 56.

“No one involved in the education of our students should create an atmosphere that is unethical and (would) promote self-righteous behavior. This is a destructive force that handicapped the effectiveness of the board’s work.”

Whittington quoted from material at an August 2023 Maine School Management Association training session that school board members’ negative behaviors can cause “public mistrust, not only of the school board, but of public education at large.”

He noted that the school board “has many problems to address,” and “first and foremost, an agenda with both parents and the school board working together is needed.”

He also suggested that the board and community members support “our dedicated educators and their long hours of preparation.”