Longtime Boothbay Region High School (BRHS) technology educator Chip Schwehm is on the path to retirement, leaving a big gap to fill. However, it’s not just a matter of finding a teacher with the right personality and skills. Schwehm, the school’s STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) teacher, holds a special industrial arts and technology certificate that allows him to run the shop and technical education program.  

“Being able to find anyone to come up and fill Chip's position would be really, really difficult,” BRHS Principal Tricia Campbell told the Register. According to Campbell, Maine has a shortage of people with 700 Certificates like Schwehm's, and the university system is not training or certifying educators for it.   

However, the school is considering a potential solution before the fall of next year and, potentially, the STEAM program. Oct. 7, the Community School District (CSD) School Committee approved moving forward towards a possible partnership with Bath Tech to create a satellite Career and Technical Education (CTE) exploratory program at BRHS. According to Campbell, Bath Tech can hire someone under a CTE umbrella who has industry experience, such as a carpenter or welder, even without the technical certificate.

Campbell said the person would be hired and supervised by BRHS, but certified and supported through Bath Tech. She also said the program could reduce costs for local taxpayers because CTE programs and Bath Tech are largely paid for by the state. In a letter to RSU 1, Bath Tech Director Tim Gagnon said the program would be funded through the CTE funding formula for Bath Tech.   

“I see nothing but opportunity,” Campbell said, calling it a “win-win-win” for students, taxpayers and the school.   

Campbell said she has already begun conversations with Gagnon, who said the Bath Tech Advisory Board supports the exploratory program. Gagnon also wrote a letter to the Maine Commissioner of Education requesting approval, saying it will enhance Bath Tech’s offerings while assisting partner schools to better prepare students for college and the workforce. Full details about the exact nature of the program and courses offered are to be determined and would be guided by the hire's expertise.  

In other business, the board approved a placeholder bill with changes to the CSD charter to restore power to the Board of Trustees. The trustees approved it Sept. 25.   

The school committee also approved the management of concussions policy for a second read, and they nominated Abby Jones as representative to the Maine School Boards Association’s annual assembly Oct. 23 and 24.