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Farewell to three directors; no for now to student-director on the board

13 mins read

FARMINGTON – In a small celebration which Chairman Ray Glass called “bittersweet,” the Mt. Blue Regional School District said goodbye to three of the central figures of the school board.

Director Neil Stinneford of Weld, Director Joyce Morton of Farmington, and Director Jo Josephson of Temple, officially ended their tenures with the 15-member board. Stinneford, with 17 years of experience on the board, will be replaced by Paul Duran. Morton, with 10 years of experience, will be replaced by Iris Silverstein.  Josephson, with seven years of experience, will be replaced with Betsey Hyde.


Director Neil Stinneford, of Weld, Director Joyce Morton, of Farmington, and Director Jo Josephson, of Temple, are retiring after a combined 34 years on the school board.

Stinneford, who most recently served on the contract negotiation subcommittee, was typically a voice for fiscal restraint and sound budgets that took both the needs of the district and the taxpayer into account. Josephson, who has served on a variety of subcommittees, including the building committee which is designing the new high school, frequently spoke on the importance of providing the best possible educational opportunities for the district’s students. Morton, who actually attempted to retire at the end of her last term before being asked by the Farmington selectmen to fill a vacancy, served on the policy subcommittee, among others, where several major decisions on the district’s regulations and rules were made.

“This is bitter, because these are our colleagues,” Glass said, prior to a small celebration, “but it’s sweet, in that you’ll have your Tuesday evenings free for the first time in a while.”

Other business, much of it dealing with the new high school construction project, was discussed. The board tentatively rejected the idea of an artificial, “field turf” system for a central competition field on the new school campus.

Currently, the school uses grass fields. However, as several people associated with the district’s athletic programs explained, grass fields were difficult to maintain and could only be used sparingly, in dry conditions. Mt. Blue conserves their central field for football and occasionally other sports.

Building Committee Member, and Franklin Savings Bank Senior Vice President Tim Thompson, who presented the Field Turf concept to the directors, noted that a turf field would be constructed out of crumb rubber and polyetheleyne fibers. It could be used in any conditions, as often as desired.

“It could get more usage from the school,” Thompson said, “but also from the community and from other schools.”

Several directors were interested in the idea, especially when told that the field would reduce the wear on the other, grass fields and allow more sports teams the ability to play at the central area.

Others, however, were concerned about the cost. A turf field would cost an additional $500,000, by PDT Architects’ Lyndon Keck’s estimate, which would not be borne by the state. The state will pay the estimated $260,000 for a grass field, or contribute that amount toward a turf field. However, the added cost could eventually be made up by money saved through the lack of maintenance, with estimated savings approaching $34,000 annually. A turf field, after all, doesn’t need to be watered, fertilized, groomed, cut or lined.

Other directors disliked the concept of a non-natural field, either due to the potential environmental consequences once the field is throw away after 15 years, or due to a desire to stick with traditional grass. Director Yvette Robinson of Farmington, also quoted a Center for Disease Control article, which warned of potential lead exposure once the field began to break down. The article included advice for those using such a field, which included frightening tips such as “wash hands and parts of the body which came into contact with the field” or “shake clothing out after use.”

The flip side of that, as Thompson pointed out, was that Field Turf was considered to be safer in terms of sports injuries, as the crumb rubber base cushioned falls and prevented concussions unlike packed earth. Keck also was certain that a field manufacturer could be found which would not build a field containing lead.

The board, in a straw poll-type vote, decided to move in a different direction. Several directors, however, were mainly concerned about the cost and were willing to look at the idea again should a new source of funding appear.

The board also approved a list of $3.5 million worth of “local only” projects for the new school. Unlike the vast bulk of the $63.5 million construction project, which would be paid for by the entire state, these aspects would be borne locally, in the Mt. Blue Regional School District.

These include site work improvements which the state wouldn’t pay for, such as: 60 new parking spaces, $60,000, irrigation of the fields, $70,000, and a central “courtyard” area, $100,000. The state would also put forward $100,000 for the courtyard.

$100,000 is also set aside for sewer and water line extensions from Route 2, but that is anticipated to be paid for through a grant or, failing that, the state. Mt. Blue currently uses a well system which recently failed, forcing a temporary closing of the school, and dumps some sewer runoff into Sandy River. That system is not acceptable by the state Department of Environmental Protection, so the state has assumed responsibility for the sewer and water line extensions should a grant-writing effort fail.

The list also includes building improvements. The district would pay half the cost of a presentation forum, at $262,500, for 50 more seats in the auditorium, a larger stage, more storage and other improvements, at $478,400, and extra locker room space, coaches’ office space and a small room for officials, at $414,241. A small classroom, for use by the career technical education program’s lab-based courses would cost the school $85,590.

All of these items are not covered by the state, usually because they do not pertain directly to academics. While lauding the state’s willingness to negotiate and generousness, Keck noted that most sports and theater-related facilities would need to be covered by the district.

The last group of local only projects included improvements to the building. These include an emergency electrical generator, at $80,000, paying for half of the cost of geothermal and solar heating systems at $200,000 and $40,000 respectively, and buying a wind power generator for $100,000 and a set of photovoltaic cells for $50,000. In a change for the DOE, the state will completely cover the cost of the wood chip boiler.

Besides the obvious attraction of the energy savings, these alternative energy systems will form the backbone of the new Alternative Energy lab at the school. Students will be able to monitor the systems and study, for example, how a wind turbine works from an actual, functioning wind turbine.

Finally, the committee recommended the purchase of three, sloped roofs, which the state will not pay for. These roofs, Keck noted, were chosen for both functional and ascetic reasons. They will aid in the removal of snow from key areas, as well as break up the monotony of the otherwise flat facility. The total cost of the three, sloped roofs will be $291,290.

All in all, the total local costs stand at $3,535,575. The board also approved a list of possible items which could be named, as a fundraising tool. These include the presentation forum, auditorium seats, food courts, the courtyard and scoreboards, among other items. There are also plans to build a $100,000 concession stand and bathrooms, which would also need to be raised through fundraising efforts, not by the state or district.

Superintendent Michael Cormier said that some interest had been expressed on local businesses naming parts of the school. Any money raised through that could be used for new projects, or to help pay for existing plans.

The school board approved the list of local only projects.

In other business, the board voted down a proposal to add a non-voting student director to the board. That policy failed to pass when only eight of the 11 directors present moved to approve it. Policies, on this board, require a two-thirds majority of the entire board, not just those present. Stinneford and Director Keith Swett, of Wilton, and Director Bill Reid, of New Sharon, voted against the policy. Stinneford and Swett said that they were concerned that another director would slow down proceedings while not actually impacting discussions due to their lack of a vote.

Student Amanda Hall, who was present at the meeting, told the board that she thought the new policy could have helped spur greater student interest in the proceedings and offered the board a new point of view.

“You’re talking about a new high school and getting students to participate,” she said. “This is another opportunity for that, it’s a chance for their voice to be heard. Speaking up from out here [in the audience] and interrupting you is pretty intimidating.”

That policy could be reconsidered later.

Directors also spent several minutes at the beginning of the meeting discussing the minutes from the last meeting. Robinson had an issue with the minutes not reflecting the specific reasons why she and a couple other directors had spoken out against the rehiring of Cormier after his brief retirement. Those specific arguments, she noted, provided context for statements made by the majority of the board, which supported and eventually rehired Cormier.

The minutes were amended to include those comments. The board briefly discussed alternative ways of recording the minutes for future meetings, such as either writing down only actual motions, as is typically done, or possibly using a tape recorder. No policy changes were made however.

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