REORGANIZATION PLANNING COMMITTEE MEETING

Mount Desert Island High School Library

Thursday, 2 August 2007

DRAFT Minutes

Commencement of Meeting and Review of Agenda

                Facilitator Bill Ferm called the meeting to order at 7:06 p.m.  and reviewed the topics on               the agenda for this meeting.

Review of Facilitator’s Minutes from July 23^rd

Mr. Ferm asked the committee what format they would like the minutes or notes to be in.  Several suggestions were presented regarding video taping, audio taping, or even podcasting the meetings so the minutes would not have to be as detailed. 

Rob Liebow expressed concern that with the school year approaching Selena could not continue to devote the time necessary to provide notes as extensive as the first set. The RPC discussed hiring someone else, but until the question of what expenses the state will pay for that decision can not be taken.

MOVED by Jeff Smith, seconded by Gail Marshall and unanimously voted that with respect to each discussion item the minutes reflect the salient point, the synopsis of discussion and any action taken. 

Election of Chair/Co-Chair for Committee

The committee discussed the roles of the chair and/or co-chair.  A suggestion was made to have small “working groups” to accomplish tasks and have chair or co-chair work with facilitator to format agendas and run meetings.   

MOVED by Paul Murphy, seconded by Rebecca Lenfesty, and unanimously voted to appoint Gail Marshall as chair and Brian Hubbell as vice-chair.

Discussion of Role of Facilitator

The role of the facilitator was discussed in conjunction with the election of chair and

co-chair.  Facilitator is available to keep meetings running smoothly and keep the committee on task.  The chair and co-chair will deal with the substantive issues at hand.

Report from Committee on Proxy Voting and Phone Conferencing

Tammy Tripler, Rebecca Lenfesty, and Brian Hubbell reported to the committee of their findings regarding proxy voting for committee members who may not be able to attend meetings.  Suggestions were made at the last meeting to look into phone conferencing, PolyCom, and written proxy votes.   The difficulties with communication are different for every outer island.

Consensus was reached that each outer island would determine the best way for them to vote by proxy and that each one may be different.

Presentation by Rob Liebow of Preliminary Scenarios – Financial Considerations

Rob Liebow presented financial spreadsheets and explained the scenarios which             differed based on which towns might participate.  These templates were provided by the                Department of Education and did not take into consideration the Private and Special Act            for funding for the high school.  Mr. Liebow requested this information from the DOE             and the DOE has responded that they will provide this to Mr. Liebow, but could not get                it to him prior to this meeting.

Mr. Liebow also noted that the financial data presented was limited only to the current budgets of each school system and did not take into account many changes that would be triggered by the formation of an RSU.

Report of Committee on Legal Counsel

Gail Marshall reported to the committee that she spoke with Dick Spencer, an attorney at Drummond, Woodsum and MacMahon.  He did not know how the committee was supposed to pay for legal services.  The only possibility at this point would be to have each school contribute a portion toward the legal costs and then have the RPC pursue the reimbursement of these costs with the state.

                Mr. Spencer is willing to work with us and recommended meeting before we develop our              plan. He agreed with the logic behind having a plan ready to present to the           Commissioner of Education by December 1.

                It will be necessary for schools who are currently represented by Drummond, Woodsum and      MacMahon to sign conflict of interest waivers so that he can represent this RPC. And if       conflicts do arise, it might be necessary to seek alternative counsel.

                Questions were raised regarding the need for legal counsel.  Legal counsel would be       necessary to help the committee create a school system that fully meets the expectations        and needs of our communities as well as  the requirements of the law.

Consensus was reached that Gail Marshall, Brian Hubbell, and Paul Murphy will make further inquiries about the Department of Education paying for necessary RPC expenses, including legal fees. 

Mr. Ferm asked the committee to keep in mind the different options for formulating the school system and that we should be aware of the pros and cons of all scenarios. 

Next Meeting Date and Future Agenda Items

Wednesday, August 8, 2007 at 7:00 p.m. in the MDIHS Library

- Notice of Intent documents

- Further financial calculations from the Department of Education

- Common Goals in the development of the new RSU structure 

Mr. Ferm reminded the committee of the following:

Rob Liebow will follow-up on letters to the Department of Education.

Paul Murphy, Gail Marshall, and Brian Hubbell will look into legal funding.

Gail Marshall, Paul Murphy, and Phil Worden will begin looking at different models for the formation of the school system.

Adjournment

MOVED by Rebecca Lenfesty, seconded by Phil Worden, and unanimously voted to adjourn the meeting at 9:12 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Selena Dunbar, Recording Secretary