SALEM TOWNSHIP – Mt. Abram High School seniors met with SAD 58 directors Tuesday afternoon to discuss the state of the school and their desire for a paved parking lot and track.
Eric Field said students parking in the lot “need a boat to get across” on wet days. Students also said the track needed paving and that, if lights were installed on the track field for use by the soccer teams, “it would be cool,” according to Brandon Stanley.
Seniors called for the reinstatement of black and white photography classes, sound-proofed classroom barriers, and an end to the portfolio program, which requires students to track their own academic achievements by keeping a binder of successfully completed assignments.
“It’s ridiculous to have a requirement of that for graduation,” student Jocelyn Plog said.
Superintendent Quentin Clark called the meeting a success, stating that overall, Mt. Abram students were “much more complimentary” of the school than they were when the annual meetings began in the 1990s.
“Nine years ago there was no shortage of complaints. I sat here with buckets all over the room catching water from the (leaky) roof,” he said.
Students and faculty voiced concerns about a proposed change in Chemical Health Coordinator Cheryl Fisher-Burton’s position. Currently, she works at the high school full time. Under the proposal, she will split her time between all schools and serve at Mt. Abram once a week.
Most students expressed a strong desire for her position to remain as is, and many faculty concurred.
Social studies teacher Barry London stated that, “She does a tremendous amount of work. I am ignorant to what these kids go through. I do strongly believe that this high school needs Cheryl here more than one day a week.”
School board members said most of the complaints by both students and faculty were financial issues that were partially brought about by Maine’s 2004 change in school funding policy.
According to Clark, although SAD 58 will receive $14,000 more this year than in 2004, “oil prices alone have gone up by $40,000.”
Board Chairman Mike Pond told students, “It’s very important you speak up if you have something to say. Those that are silent don’t carry any weight at all in the world.”
Board member Alan Morse added, “It’s up to you folks to vote, to write letters to Augusta. You are the best informed about what education should be in this country.”
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