RSU No. 5 Home

January 29, 2010

Dear Parents, Staff and Community Members:

The second half of the school year began this week and things are heating up!  Monday, February 1st is a district-wide professional development day.  Teachers will work as teams in Professional Learning Communities (PLC) to analyze student work, curriculum documents, or assessment data.  It is so important for our staff to have this time to develop common expectations around student performance and consider ways to continue to increase the effectiveness of our work with students.   These days help connect our educators and make them feel like part of an RSU No. 5 team.  The rich exchange of ideas and experiences during these days is so important in helping us to meet our goals around educational excellence.

Strategic Framework
RSU No. 5’s Strategic Framework continues to be revised as we head toward final adoption on April 28th.  The mission and vision have been approved and we are now focused on completing the draft Framework.  The Board met on Wednesday, January 27th to consider the revisions on this section and is providing one more opportunity for public review and feedback on this area prior to adoption at the Board meeting on February 24th.

Also in February- April work will commence on refining and adopting both Financial and Academic indicators.  Stay tuned for more information about how you can participate in this part of the process.

If you have any suggestions or comments, please submit them to welshs@rsu5.org by February 8th.  The most updated draft is available here for your review.  Thank you in advance for your participation in this process.


Budget FY11
As you have likely seen in the papers, RSU No. 5 is facing nearly a $2 million reduction in funding from the State of Maine.  To insure that we make the right decisions about how to move our education system forward in a way that is right for our three towns we are holding an important series of budget meetings at our schools in February.

During these meetings we will give parents, staff, and community members more information about the possible effects of this financial impact and hear your thoughts, concerns, and suggestions.  Your input will be critical as we prepare and present a budget for the next school year.

    The schedule for these meetings which begin at 6:30 p.m. is as follows:
•    Tuesday, February 2nd at Pownal Elementary School
•    Monday, February 8th at Freeport Middle School
•    Thursday, February 11th at Durham Elementary School
•    Monday, February 22nd at Freeport High School, and
•    Tuesday, February 23rd at Mast Landing School

All members of the public are encouraged to attend any and all of the informational sessions.

Transportation Analysis
The Board’s Finance Committee and administration have spent the last few months gathering and analyzing data regarding student transportation.  The goal is to provide a quality system at the most cost effective method possible.  Several options were considered including owning our own buses and employing drivers; contracting services for drivers and buses; leasing buses while employing drivers; and options that combined these in different ways. 

The Board heard a presentation of this analysis at their meeting on Wednesday, January 27th.  The analysis is available on our website (rsu5.org). The video clip of the presentation explaining the analysis will be posted over the weekend. The Board will host a public workshop on this information at their next meeting on February 10th.  Board consideration of action is anticipated at the February 24th meeting.  The goal is to ensure adequate time for public input and deliberation before any decision is made on our method(s) of student transportation.

Upcoming Meetings – January 29th  – February 11th
•    February 2nd – Budget meeting at Pownal Elementary School 6:30 p.m.
•    February 4th – Communications 7:30 a.m. at Central Office (RSU5.org homepage   redesign and Logo)
•    February 8th – Budget meeting at Freeport Middle School 6:30 p.m.
•    February 9th – Strategic Planning at Central Office (Consideration of public input on framework to be forwarded for final vote on February 10th)
•    February 10th – Finance 3:45 p.m. at Central Office
•    February 10th – Board Meeting 6:30 p.m. at Freeport High School
•    February 11th – Budget meeting at Durham Elementary School 6:30 p.m.

Your involvement and support is greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,
Shannon L. Welsh
Superintendent of Schools

To access previous editions of "Delivering on the Mission" click here

  YOU???


Regional School Unit No. 5 is seeking a Durham citizen interested in a position on their Board of Directors.  There is one open seat on the Board.  This will be a three-year term. 

Nomination papers will be available at the Durham Town Office on Thursday, January 7, 2010.  Completed papers must have at least 25 but not more than 100 signatures of qualified registered voters of the Town of Durham.  Nomination papers must be filed at the Durham Town Clerk’s Office during normal business hours on or before February 16, 2010.

The election will be held in Durham on April 2, 2010

If you have any questions about the Board of Directors please contact Superintendent Shannon L. Welsh at 865-0928x5