July 28, the Boothbay-Boothbay Harbor Community School District CSD) school committee unanimously approved Nicole Mathews for a two-year probationary contract as the new assistant principal at Boothbay Region Elementary School (BRES).  

The former assistant principal, Kim Dionne, was unanimously accepted as a BRES guidance counselor, a job she held previously. Christina Morley was appointed 5-0 as a special education teacher at Boothbay Region High School (BRHS). Tom Perkins abstained due to conflict of interest. Both contracts were first-year probationary.  

Each board member signed a letter brought forth by Abigail Jones of Boothbay. The letter urges MaineHealth's Board of Trustees to preserve labor and delivery services at Lincoln Hospital (Miles Memorial Hospital). Concerns raised include the negative impacts other rural areas have seen from the closure of birthing centers, such as strain on emergency departments, and the effects on schools, housing and labor when regions become less attractive to young families.  

"The CSD School Committee is particularly interested in maintaining enrollment in our district; the closure of the Labor and Delivery Unit will place undue pressure on the community we are charged with overseeing," the letter read.

In other business, board members and attendees suggested agenda items. BRHS Principal Tricia Campbell said raising the passing grade benchmarks from 60% to 70% needed to be addressed, pointing to the recent Champions of Change essay by rising junior Jayden Coulombe and other past student projects. The board did approve the increase in 2020, but it was lowered again during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Attendee Lori Perkins questioned the status of the CSD's student dropout prevention committee, which each school is required to have under Maine law. She also again urged the board to discuss superintendent agreements and having some sort of regulation on the number of children of non-residential CSD employees who can attend CSD schools, since they are not legally required to pay tuition. The CSD trustees have previously discussed this matter.  

Alternative Organizational Structure (AOS) Superintendent Robert Kahler suggested it would be best to have a joint CSD meeting, or have a smaller group convene that can report back. "It's easier to have a conversation or a few conversations, not parallel conversations." 

The issue was tabled until the best path was determined.