Emma Parrish, of Sidney, has been named to the MassBay Community College dean’s list, in Wellesley Hills, Massachusetts. Emma Parrish, who studies liberal arts, achieved this outstanding academic honor for the fall 2022.
Vassalboro Community School (contributed photo)
Vassalboro School board members met earlier than usual April 6 to give preliminary approval to the 2023-24 school budget request, amended slightly from the draft they’d reviewed March 29 (see the April 6 issue of The Town Line, p. 2).
They then met with the Vassalboro Budget Committee to present the proposed school budget for that committee’s review.
The school board and the budget committee are scheduled to meet separately Tuesday, April 11, the school board at 6 p.m. at Vassalboro Community School (VCS) for its regular monthly meeting and the budget committee at 7 p.m. at the town office to consider its 2023-24 recommendations.
The revised school budget totals $9,027, 846.55, Superintendent Alan Pfeiffer reported. Of that amount, $145,475.81 is requested from local property taxes.
Pfeiffer distributed a sheet showing that fixed costs total almost 89 percent of the budget. These he defined as salaries and benefits, tuition, business services, the facilities director and fuel oil.
The superintendent, and during discussion with the budget committee Principal Ira Michaud, listed some of the reasons the proposed budget includes more people to assist students with individual problems and needs. They include residual effects of educational and social losses due to covid; many students being raised in single-parent homes or by grandparents; and effects of substance abuse (like a parent dying of a drug overdose, or a child permanently affected by being born to an addicted mother).
These issues are state-wide, not unique to Vassalboro, Pfeiffer said.
Michaud added to budget committee members that more Vassalboro students are being identified for extra help; staff are getting “better at figuring out students’ needs.”
Having the town’s Red Cross warming center for emergencies located at the school adds a small amount to the school budget, for maintenance and generator fuel, Pfeiffer added.
The school board’s discussion ended with Pfeiffer, Michaud and Assistant Principal Tabitha Brewer listing good things about VCS.
They included the school board approving collective bargaining agreements with salaries and benefits that keep VCS competitive in the area; the proposed social service staff additions; in-house curriculum planning for the coming school year; “a wonderful staff” (Michaud) who care enough about their students to spend extra time leading after-school programs; and a strong parent-teacher organization.
“It’s a lot of fun – we have fun every day,” Brewer said.
“We do,” Michaud agreed.
When school board and budget committee members met together, Pfeiffer expanded on some of the points made at the school board meeting.
The salary and benefits increases in six contracts range from three to six percent, he said.
The food service account, which was $180,000 in deficit in 2018, is currently $89,000 in the black. The 2023-24 budget does not include money to support the food service program.
Secondary tuition is up significantly. The figure is set by the state each December, based on secondary schools’ actual costs.
A year ago, Vassalboro’s budget did not foresee the 6.5 percent increase in December 2022. Pfeiffer hopes the two percent increase in the 2023-24 budget will cover what happens in December 2023.
“Tuition makes me the most nervous,” he told budget committee members.
Special education is another area of uncertainty, because if only one child needing extensive help moves to Vassalboro, costs rise significantly.
Budget committee members had questions on several topics, and Pfeiffer invited them to submit more before their April 11 meeting.
Pfeiffer and Michaud said:
The joint meeting ended with distribution of printed copies of the March 2023 VCS newsletter, also available at public places in town and on-line on the vcsvikings website under the “News” heading.
Seniors of the Trimester, from left to right: Lilly Fredette, Sophie Steeves, Damon Wilson, Grace Hutchins, Kassidy Barrett, and Malachi Lowery. (contributed photo)
On Friday, April 7, 2023, Erskine Academy, in South China, held a Renaissance assembly to recognize second trimester award recipients.
Recognition awards were presented to Elijah Pelkey, Hannah Ratcliff, Kyle Scott, Abigail McDonough, Hailey Estes, and Jeremy Parker.
Eight seniors received Senior of the Trimester Awards: Sophie Steeves, daughter of Theresa and Gerald Steeves, of China; Kassidy Barrett, daughter of Peggy and Jason Barrett, of Windsor; Malachi Lowery, son of Hollie Hilton, of Vassalboro, and John Lowery, of Ellsworth; Lilly Fredette, daughter of Jessica and Jason Fredette, of China; Grace Hutchins, daughter of Teresa and Randy Hutchin,s of Litchfield; Damon Wilson, son of Aimee and Jeffrey Wilson, of Windsor; and Zuriah Smith, son of Charyl Malik, of China. Seniors of the Trimester are recognized as individuals who have gone above and beyond in all aspects of their high school careers.
In appreciation of their dedication and service to Erskine Academy, Faculty of the Trimester awards were also presented to Ethan Rettew, Social Studies Instructor; Marguerite Cullivan, Physical Education Instructor; and Betsy Benner, Guidance Counselor.
Faculty of the Trimester, from left to right: Betsy Benner, Ethan Rettew, and Marguerite Cullivan. (contributed photo)
Vassalboro Community School (contributed photo)
Vassalboro school officials – primarily Superintendent Alan Pfeiffer, Principal Ira Michaud, and Special Education Director Tanya Thibeau – led school board members through the proposed 2023-24 budget at a March 29 workshop meeting.
Board members raised some questions during the workshop and were encouraged to send more as they reviewed the figures and explanations. The board is scheduled to meet again at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, April 6, at Vassalboro Community School (VCS), before a joint meeting with budget committee and select board members at 7 p.m.
As of March 29, the proposed 2023-24 school budget was a little over $9 million, with state and school revenues providing more than $5 million and the remaining almost $4 million requested from local taxes.
Pfeiffer shared two pieces of good news. Vassalboro’s state allocation went up by about $115,000 when state education officials recalculated, he said; and the increase in insurance, budgeted at 10 percent, will be no more than six percent (a saving of at least $44,000 from the March 29 total; final figures are due April 7).
The superintendent said the school budget has not increased substantially in four years, despite increasing costs, and warned that the situation can’t last forever. Unlike many others, Vassalboro school department has no debt, he added.
Pfeiffer expressed appreciation to Finance Director Paula Pooler and her staff for many hours of work on the budgets for Vassalboro and its former partners, Waterville and Winslow. Vassalboro continues to save money by sharing staff with the other two towns.
Plans for 2023-24 include adding two VCS staff members. Pfeiffer and Michaud propose a second school counselor, and Thibeau recommends hiring an educational technician to work in the resource room with students who need extra help.
Pfeiffer made two points about staffing. First, he said, students are still dealing with effects of covid, and more than usual need individual attention. Second, special funds, like the 2020 federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, are contributing; when CARES funding ends, board members will need to decide whether to add money to the budget or reduce services.
CARES-funded personnel are aware that their employment may end when the CARES program ends in 2025, he said.
Board members are already looking ahead to future needs. Director of Maintenance and Grounds Shelley Phillips summarized building work discussed at the March 2 board meeting: repointing and cleaning the exterior brickwork, replacing the roof over the gymnasium and the cafeteria, replacing curbing along driveways and parking lots and air-conditioning the third floor.
Board member Jessica Clark asked Michaud about his long-term plans. The principal promptly replied that he would like VCS to offer an alternative education program, for students who don’t do well in regular programs, especially older students (grades six through eight).
Alternative education programs are aimed at integrating formal education and job skills, and often include an outdoor or environmental component. The example Michaud gave was a course led by an arborist, who would teach students about trees and also show them why they need reading, writing and math skills to succeed in the profession.
After the April 6 budget discussion, the next regular Vassalboro school board meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 11, at the school. It will be on the second Tuesday of the month, a week earlier than usual, because the week of April 17 is school vacation week.
Brianna Paine, of Madison, was named to the Fall 2022 dean’s list at Berry College, in Rome, Georgia. The dean’s list honors students who posted an academic average of 3.5 or better on a 4.0 scale while carrying a class load of at least 12 hours during the semester.
Emma Concaugh, of Oakland, was named to the College of the Holy Cross, in Worcester, Massachusetts, fall 2022 dean’s list.
A member of the class of 2024, Concaugh was named to the dean’s list for outstanding academic achievement during the fall semester of the 2022-23 academic year.
Vassalboro Community School (contributed photo)
Vassalboro School Superintendent Alan Pfeiffer doesn’t know yet how much larger next year’s school budget will be compared to this year’s, but he expects an increase.
One item on the school board’s March 21 agenda was continued review of sections of the draft 2023-24 budget (see The Town Line, March 16, pp. 8-9). Board members discussed the school health program and building and grounds maintenance.
They scheduled a budget workshop Wednesday, March 29, at Vassalboro Community School (VCS). If they have enough information from the state education department and other sources, they hope to review the entire budget.
Pfeiffer reported March 21 that fuel prices had been determined, and he and Director of Maintenance and Grounds Shelley Phillips are pleased. The school department has locked in Dead River Company’s low bids: heating oil at $3.07 a gallon (10 cents over the current year, and they had feared at least a dollar increase); diesel fuel at $3.11 a gallon; and the small amount of propane needed at $1.74 a gallon (slightly less than this year, Pfeiffer said).
The total building and grounds budget Pfeiffer and Phillips shared with school board members is over $577,000, an increase of more than $31,000 (5.8 percent) over the current year. Higher wages and associated benefits account for much of the increase.
Phillips presented details on building maintenance plans. Two ongoing projects are replacing worn-out plumbing fixtures and replacing fluorescent lights with LED (the acronym stands for light-emitting diode) lights.
She told board members three major projects are pending in the next two or three years. The 31-year-old school (still referred to as “the new building,” she commented) needs its exterior brickwork cleaned and repointed and the gymnasium roof replaced; and curbing along driveways and parking lots needs replacing.
During discussion of the much smaller health budget, Pfeiffer commended new school nurse Megan Sutherburg and former nurse Mary Ann Fortin. Fortin, he said, subs when necessary and came in for several days to help during an outbreak of influenza.
An early highlight of the March 21 meeting was Principal Ira Michaud’s report on the VCS Pi Day celebration. Students competed to recite from memory the most digits of the number pi (which begins 3.14159 and goes on indefinitely).
Michaud reported, using adjectives “amazing” and “astounding,” that the runner-up in the contest was fifth-grader Serena Lacroix, who recited 130 digits and was disappointed: she’d done 150 in practice. The winner was sixth-grader Adrian Souza, who recited 187 digits correctly.
Winners were allowed to throw a pie at either the principal or the math teacher. His report included a photo of fifth-grade math teacher Lorraine Kingsbury and himself garnished with whipped cream.
The principal looks forward to scheduling other student competitions, like a spelling bee and a geography bee.
He also praised school counselor Gina David for holding Bubble Day to celebrate the first day of spring. Students blew bubbles on the playground; Michaud reported some called it “the greatest day at school they had ever had.”
Michaud summarized recent professional development programs, including one shared with Regional School Unit (RSU) #18 staff at the invitation of RSU #18 Superintendent Carl Gartley. The majority of teachers who attended said they would welcome more such cooperative programs; Michaud hopes some can be scheduled.
In other business, school board members unanimously approved the revised board handbook they have worked on for some weeks, subject to a replacement for the outdated cover photo. Pfeiffer plans to have the handbook on the VCS website, vcsvikings.org, and to distribute paper copies to public places in town.
After the March 29 budget meeting, the next regular Vassalboro school board meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m., Tuesday, April 11, in the VCS library. If another budget meeting is needed, it will be held as soon as possible after March 29.
The following students were named to the dean’s list at Rochester Institute of Technology, in Rochester, New York, for the fall semester of the 2022-2023 academic year. Full-time degree-seeking undergraduate students are eligible for dean’s list if their term GPA is greater than or equal to 3.400; they do not have any grades of “Incomplete”, “D” or “F”; and they have registered for, and completed, at least 12 credit hours.
Kieran McCarthy-O’Flaherty, of Oakland, who is in the computer engineering program.
Jasmine Ward, of Skowhegan, who is in the accounting program.
Brianna Paine, of Madison, was named to the Fall 2022 dean’s list at Berry College, in Rome, Georgia. The dean’s list honors students who posted an academic average of 3.5 or better on a 4.0 scale while carrying a class load of at least 12 hours during the semester.
Maggie Pono, of Skowhegan, has been named to the Champlain College dean’s list, in Burlington, Vermont, for the fall 2022 semester.