The Boothbay-Boothbay Harbor Community School District committee reviewed three job changes, approved five hires and accepted a new meeting schedule June 6. The schedule change will accommodate selectmen from both towns, CSD members and the public so meeting times do not conflict, said Alternative Organizational Structure (AOS) 98 Superintendent Robert Kahler.

Boothbay selectmen meet every second and fourth Wednesday and Boothbay Harbor selectmen every second and fourth Monday, all meetings at 7 p.m. Moving CSD trustees to the first Tuesday and the committee to the second gives all boards the availability to attend other meetings, said Kahler. The plan is to keep the same time and place, 5:15 p.m. at the Boothbay Region High School library. The Building Exploratory Committee will keep meeting every fourth Wednesday at 5:15 p.m.

“When the select boards and school boards are not meeting on the same night, there's more of an opportunity for collaboration which helps out doing budget. Plus, for the CSD next year – obviously, we'll be having conversations around the building project.”

Kahler said the schedule change has the added bonus of not having back-to-back or overlapping meetings in schools across AOS 98. “I always feel badly when I have to scoot out of board meetings when they've needed to be rescheduled. With the current schedule, I end up with multiple board meetings on one night.”

The changes take effect July 1 which sets the trustees up for a July 5 meeting. The committee will meet next on Aug. 9.

The committee approved hiring Amy Henderson and Skyler Davis as third grade teachers, Lauren Carroll for middle school science teacher, Pam Farnsworth for educational technician III in special education, and Emily Higgins for high school science teacher. Boothbay Region Elementary School will shift middle school social studies teacher Kristin Smith to special education, middle school science teacher Sandy Wheeler to middle school Multi-Tiered System of Support, and third grade teacher Lacey Phelps to middle school social studies teacher.