[1:46] All right. Good evening everyone. I'm

[1:47] going to call the meeting of the Auburn

[1:50] School Committee of September 16, 2026

[1:53] to order. Please join me in the pledge

[1:55] of

[1:55] >> allegiance

[1:59] to the flag

[2:01] of

[2:02] the stands nationisible

[2:09] for all.

[2:12] >> I'll start down here on my right with

[2:13] introductions.

[2:14] >> Dan Pon, w five.

[2:16] >> Lydia Chapman, w four.

[2:17] >> Corin Mcwigan, w one. Miss Dedk, w two.

[2:20] Pamela Albert at large. Sue Doris,

[2:23] superintendent.

[2:26] >> Excuse me. Pat Guardia, award three.

[2:28] >> Jay Rich at large.

[2:30] >> Adam Platz and Nolan Platt, city council

[2:32] representative.

[2:37] » Go ahead.

[2:38] >> Megan Ackley, student representative.

[2:40] >> Miles Irvy, student representative.

[2:42] >> Amanda Cooter, business manager.

[2:44] >> Scott Anir, assistant superintendent.

[2:47] >> Thank you and welcome everyone this

[2:49] evening. We're going to start uh with

[2:52] the approval of the consent agenda which

[2:54] includes the approval of tonight's

[2:56] agenda as well as the approval of the

[2:58] minutes of the September 2nd, 2026

[3:00] meeting. Do I have a motion?

[3:03] Corin, do I have a second?

[3:05] >> Second, Misty. All those in favor?

[3:08] Motion carries. Uh we do not have any

[3:10] recognition tonight. Do I have anyone

[3:13] here who would like to address the

[3:15] school committee tonight?

[3:18] Seeing none, we will move on to our

[3:20] presentation tonight with a facilities

[3:22] update.

[3:24] >> Thank you very much. Mr. Anir is going

[3:27] to start that off for us.

[3:40] Good evening everyone. Uh this was an

[3:42] opportunity to try to bring everyone up

[3:44] to speed on some of the things that have

[3:46] been going on with facilities throughout

[3:48] the district. Uh so hopefully we've

[3:51] touched upon many of the the large items

[3:53] and if there are questions at the end by

[3:54] all means there'll be an opportunity for all of you to inquire.

[4:00] Uh some of the things that you have

[4:02] approved up to this point. Uh one of

[4:05] them was the AMS backup water pump.

[4:08] That's a an image of what the water pump

[4:11] um would does look like. Um as you can

[4:13] see there's a bucket underneath and

[4:15] indicating it's leaking and that was not

[4:17] staged. That was uh as of Monday. Uh so

[4:20] we are currently working with scheduling

[4:23] that between maintenance and the

[4:24] contractor to get that done. And

[4:25] remember we need to be sure that the

[4:28] water pump is working in case the uh

[4:31] primary one goes down. We need to have

[4:33] the backup or else the pipes freeze and

[4:35] that would be a bad day.

[4:39] Uh, some other updates. The Fairview

[4:41] fire suppression system is completed. It

[4:43] was updating the work that was already

[4:45] there. Sorry, there isn't an image of

[4:47] it. It's just the behind-the-scenes

[4:49] updates of the suppression system and in

[4:52] the fire panel itself. Uh, the Park

[4:54] Avenue um boiler and gasket and air

[4:57] compressor. Um, I tried to take some

[4:59] pictures from outside, but it was really

[5:01] hard without getting up on the roof, so

[5:03] sorry about that. But same as uh the

[5:06] backup water pump, we are working with

[5:08] scheduling that with maintenance and the

[5:10] contractors. Um that is moving ahead. Uh

[5:13] and I think we will have something by

[5:15] the end of the week in terms of a

[5:17] timeline on that. Fingers crossed.

[5:22] Uh the ELHS hatch enlargement again

[5:25] something that you would improve uh

[5:26] approved. What you can see is the 6x6

[5:30] hatch that goes down into the basement

[5:32] that we would want to be able to expand

[5:34] in order to bring the modular units back

[5:37] out uh because they have to go back to

[5:39] the factory because of the catastrophic

[5:42] damage that has been happening to them.

[5:44] So that is an image of it and it would

[5:47] expand in to the bottom leftand corner

[5:51] another three feet.

[5:53] Any questions on some of these projects

[5:56] up to this point?

[6:01] And then there's the ELHS greenhouse.

[6:03] It's going full steam ahead. Um

[6:06] installation is underway. I would

[6:08] imagine there was even more progress

[6:09] since I took these photos on Monday. Uh

[6:12] the frame is completed. They're starting

[6:13] to put the walls and the roof in. And

[6:16] there's a ribbon cutting planned for

[6:17] October to uh as a kind of a ceremony

[6:20] indicate its opening in operation.

[6:27] AMS the project currently right now we

[6:30] are in the design and construction

[6:31] document phase. This tends to be the

[6:33] largest longest part of the process. Um

[6:36] this is taking the concept and really

[6:38] putting it on paper with all of the

[6:40] designers and engineers uh mapping out

[6:43] where every light fixture goes, where

[6:45] every outlet goes, where every stud in

[6:47] the wall goes and measured out and uh

[6:50] speced all the way through. We are

[6:53] continuing progress meet and planning

[6:55] meetings with Heramman uh to go over

[6:58] those documents. They're not complete

[6:59] but just updates making sure that we

[7:02] haven't made any had had to make any

[7:04] modifications and right now we are uh

[7:07] the site and MPS the National Park

[7:09] Service grant the appraisal and site

[7:11] surveys are underway. Uh hopefully we've

[7:15] had some good feedback from the National

[7:18] Park Service grant coordinator that we

[7:20] are getting the right pieces of

[7:21] information and sending them on to them

[7:23] so that once that part is done we don't

[7:26] have a backlog and waiting on one left

[7:29] you know one item left over in order for

[7:32] us to be able to submit for approval.

[7:35] Any questions in terms of the AMS work

[7:38] up to this point?

[7:43] project timeline. We are anticipating

[7:45] that those construction documents that I

[7:47] spoke of will be ready in November. Uh

[7:50] December to January, uh Heramman will

[7:53] look at the pre-qualifications for

[7:55] contractors. This is an important step

[7:58] because it allows they have to submit

[8:00] pre-qualifications to determine can they

[8:02] handle that scope of work. Do they have

[8:05] the right subs lined up? Can they get

[8:07] the um right subs on on site to be able

[8:10] to do the work and can they fulfill the

[8:12] financial requirements of the of the

[8:15] work as well as the insurance

[8:16] liabilities with that? And that brings

[8:19] us to February. Then it goes out to bid

[8:22] and by March we should be able to have

[8:24] our contractor selected

[8:30] elementary school reconfiguration. Our

[8:32] current work we are in the planning

[8:34] phases. We are work meeting regularly

[8:36] with Haramman to go over our filters,

[8:38] talk about the data that we may need uh

[8:41] to move forward which brings the

[8:43] enrollment and demographic and housing

[8:45] study. This is underway. Um our goal is

[8:48] to be able to have as much information

[8:50] as we can so that when the committee is

[8:52] formed, we have that information at our

[8:54] fingertips and don't have to delay the

[8:57] committee works process in order to

[8:58] gather information. So we're trying to

[9:00] frontload and gather as much as we can

[9:02] and Haramman has been a great partner

[9:04] directing us to the right people to uh

[9:07] get that information. So that is

[9:10] happening. Uh we should have the the

[9:13] enrollment pieces and data gathered by

[9:16] the by of October of this year. Uh,

[9:19] another piece that we're doing right now

[9:21] is we're scheduling meetings with our

[9:23] MLL coordinators and staff, our special

[9:26] education coordinators and staff, and

[9:28] our preK coordinators and staff because

[9:31] that it plays an important part of our

[9:33] discussion with our elementary

[9:34] reconfiguration, kind of pull them

[9:36] together, try to find out what their

[9:38] current needs are and their projected

[9:40] needs as um as we look to the future.

[9:44] Um, and we're also gathering in

[9:46] administrator input from our building

[9:47] administrators, uh, to try to hear from

[9:51] them what they're seeing as their

[9:53] current trends, whether that is a bubble

[9:55] in second grade, kindergarten, or a

[9:57] decline in third grade. And I'm just

[9:59] making upgrades right now, but really to

[10:01] try to understand what they see as their

[10:03] current needs as well as what they've

[10:05] seen for trends uh moving ahead from

[10:07] their perspective.

[10:12] Where we are with the advisory

[10:14] committee, we're looking at about 10 to

[10:15] 15 members uh representations from

[10:18] teachers, parents, administrators,

[10:20] school committee as well as city

[10:22] council. interest has already been

[10:25] expressed uh by many members that had

[10:28] previously served on the AMS advisory

[10:31] committee um as well as we've heard from

[10:33] others uh expressing their interest. If

[10:36] we need to do additional outreach that

[10:38] will occur this fall and if we need to a

[10:41] selection process will be needed to be

[10:44] used as we try to make sure that we're

[10:46] having the appropriate representation

[10:48] but not having a committee size that

[10:50] gets too large and unmanageable.

[10:54] Uh and we are we're projecting that

[10:56] November, December of this year, we'll

[10:58] kick off those meetings with that group.

[11:05] I'm using my teacher hat and pausing for

[11:07] any time. Okay.

[11:11] Uh

[11:13] the elementary reconfiguration timeline,

[11:16] we have the enrollment demographic and

[11:17] housing studies. November the advisory

[11:20] committee formed

[11:22] uh monthly meetings and then the other

[11:25] piece is starting late winter early

[11:28] spring we'll develop the community focus

[11:30] groups so that we're trying to reach out

[11:32] into the community particularly around

[11:34] the neighborhoods surrounding all of our

[11:36] schools and then we've already marked

[11:39] out that May of 2027

[11:42] uh that group would bring a

[11:43] recommendation back to you uh as the

[11:46] final decision maker. there.

[11:52] Some key takeaways. We are completing

[11:54] and moving forward with many of the

[11:56] projects that you have approved. Some um

[11:59] as of yesterday afternoon u we got some

[12:02] information. Uh others were just doing

[12:05] that coordinating with contractors and

[12:07] maintenance. The AMS project is moving

[12:10] full steam ahead. We're just following

[12:12] right within the timeline that Haramman

[12:14] had set out and we're waiting on those

[12:16] construction documents and elementary

[12:19] configuration. Again, as I said, we're

[12:21] trying to gather up as much of the

[12:23] information and frontload that prior to

[12:26] developing the committee so that we're

[12:28] not having any delays trying to gather

[12:30] information and trying to be as

[12:32] thoughtful as we can.

[12:38] And that's my presentation. Any

[12:41] questions?

[12:41] >> Any questions? Yeah.

[12:44] >> Any questions for Scott about anything?

[12:48] >> I think the one I don't so much have a

[12:51] question as a comment, but I appreciate

[12:54] kind of just the overview. Um, I think

[12:56] it's important to, I know it came up in

[12:57] our facilities subcommittee meeting, but

[13:00] just to clarify that the elementary

[13:02] reconfiguration process is like just

[13:05] starting now. And that will be a process

[13:08] that will involve a lot of people and a

[13:10] lot of discussions and that an ultimate

[13:12] decision about whatever happens with

[13:14] elementary schools in Auburn has yet to

[13:16] be made despite whatever rumors may be

[13:20] uh around in the community. and that decision when it is made will come

[13:24] from this body. So I just want to make

[13:27] sure that everyone is clear about that

[13:31] and that the community is clear about

[13:32] that.

[13:35] Anyone else have any thoughts or

[13:36] questions?

[13:37] >> I did have a quick question and just to

[13:38] go back I may have blanked out. You said

[13:41] catastrophic damage on one of those

[13:42] slides.

[13:44] Yeah, some water was able to penetrate

[13:46] into some of the coils uh that were part

[13:50] of the geothermal system. And so we've

[13:54] been having ongoing conversation of um

[13:57] how that occurred to find out the

[14:00] responsibility of getting the repair or

[14:02] replacement for that.

[14:08] » Great. Anyone else have any thoughts or

[14:11] questions?

[14:12] Okay. Thank you.

[14:15] Uh moving on to our school committee

[14:18] student representatives report.

[14:30] Good evening.

[14:34] Um, so at Park A, staff welcomed

[14:38] families into the school for an open

[14:40] house to share what is happening in

[14:41] classrooms as well as celebrating the

[14:43] beginning of the year. And this week

[14:46] also recognizes art and education week

[14:48] where Park AB celebrates their wonderful

[14:50] art teacher, Mrs. Stro. And students got

[14:53] to create a piece of artwork together

[14:55] with her help. Um, and soon students

[14:58] will begin NWA testing and Girls on the

[15:03] Run has started at Park A and this

[15:05] includes like 15 girls and overall it's

[15:08] an amazing way to begin the year for

[15:10] Parkav.

[15:13] Washburn has their second annual popup

[15:16] farmers market which featured a local

[15:18] tomato pico de gallo taste test surveys

[15:22] and uh prize wheel and along with some

[15:25] amazing guests Washburn's vendors shared

[15:27] education resources and introduced

[15:29] locally grown produce to the students

[15:31] and families of Washburn and a lot of

[15:34] people joined them at farmers market

[15:36] including some student volunteers from

[15:38] ELHS who've got their hours in for

[15:41] thing.

[15:43] Um, Sherwood settled into routine. They

[15:47] um began their NWA testing this week and

[15:50] students are doing a great job staying

[15:52] focused and putting in their best effort

[15:54] and persevering through the state

[15:56] testing. And um Friends of Sherwood

[15:59] Heights, their parent organization, has

[16:01] already planned several activities and

[16:03] events for the community and sponsored a

[16:05] BMX biker assembly where the kids got to

[16:07] see some really cool tricks and hear a

[16:09] message from the um biker about kindness

[16:14] and making positive choices and empathy.

[16:17] and sixth graders got to spend a day at

[16:20] Y camp and they participated in a lot of

[16:22] different team building activities and

[16:25] the salsa club um students have been

[16:28] making homemade salsa using fresh

[16:30] produce from the Sherwood Heights garden

[16:32] and lastly there will be a family dance

[16:34] on October 7th from 6:00 to 7:30 and

[16:37] Sherwood hopes to see a ton of families

[16:39] at the event. It's free will be a lot of

[16:41] fun and will help build community.

[16:45] Fairview has welcomed back about 500

[16:48] students and seven new staff members.

[16:50] They're also excited about the addition

[16:51] of Girls on the Run, a program for all

[16:54] girls third through sixth grade of all

[16:55] abilities. Twice a week after school,

[16:57] their team meets for physical for

[16:59] physical movement and interactive

[17:00] lessons led by Miss Richardson, Miss

[17:02] Kravitz, and Mrs. Peterson. And they

[17:05] focus on friendship, teamwork, and

[17:06] self-respect. The fall season program

[17:09] will end with a celebratory and

[17:10] non-competitive 5K event. So, they're

[17:12] off to a great start as well.

[17:16] Okay. So, so far AMS has only had one

[17:19] incident with cell phones. Their uh

[17:21] policy has been the same for about five

[17:23] years and they're staying strong. Uh I

[17:27] think last week they had Carrie Cenor

[17:31] from the Uain system come in for a

[17:33] presentation about ocean ecology. They

[17:35] were learning about uh ecosystems in the

[17:37] oceans and then they took a tour of

[17:38] Casco Bay visiting the aquaculture sites

[17:41] and more. Uh AMS has also began their

[17:44] aspiration trips to Bates where they go

[17:46] and learn about uh just college life,

[17:48] what it's like um personal like um

[17:53] financial aid and all the things about

[17:55] college. Uh

[18:00] yeah, that's everything about this

[18:01] slide. Yeah. So Amos has had a good

[18:03] start to their year. [laughter]

[18:05] Uh so Franklin has continued to uh train

[18:08] for their mission the 5K for the dog 5k

[18:12] and they have a bunch of their students

[18:14] are doing very well in technical

[18:15] programs with through LRTC their welding

[18:18] and LRTC programs are

[18:20] yeah they have had very few um cell

[18:22] phone issues due to the way they're like

[18:25] they maintain it with cell phone cubbies

[18:27] where that every student has they're

[18:28] optional but um not mandatory but if you

[18:32] have a cell phone problem then they do

[18:34] become mandatory.

[18:36] Yeah. So, yeah, since this the beginning

[18:38] started this year, there's been no

[18:39] increase in cell phone problems.

[18:42] And then our open house at EHS was very

[18:45] good. Uh,

[18:48] and families enjoyed a meet and greet in

[18:50] nature of that evening. And then spirit

[18:52] week is coming up within the next two

[18:55] weeks. All of the classes are prepping

[18:58] for our skit, spirit week, uh, outfits

[19:01] and days and all the things. Our theme

[19:03] this year is

[19:06] yeah, decades. Uh

[19:10] yeah, our our cell phone policy is we're

[19:13] doing pretty good based on the amount of

[19:14] students we have. We have an average of

[19:16] 5.36 incidents a day, which is very I

[19:20] would say pretty good for the amount of

[19:21] students that we have in the building.

[19:23] Uh Charles Ellis National Merit is a

[19:30] National Merit semi- finalist. Uh Mr.

[19:33] Breler is up for the Filbrite teachers

[19:39] um classroom program. And

[19:45] oh yeah, he's a third teacher. Miss Aley

[19:47] and Mrs. Towns have also been chosen for

[19:49] this program. And then Gabe Newsome and

[19:53] Steven Corey are part of the fire

[19:55] science 2. Then they've completed a 110

[19:58] fly stair climb on 911.

[20:02] >> That's all we have.

[20:05] >> Any questions?

[20:06] >> Great. Thank you. Does anyone have any

[20:07] questions?

[20:12] » And I love that Sherwood Heights has a

[20:14] salsa club, a salsa making club.

[20:17] >> Tell you, my brain did not go to salsa

[20:18] as food. I'm like, "Oh, they're dancing.

[20:20] It's very very specific. [laughter]

[20:26] Thank you both.

[20:31] Uh moving on, I do not have a

[20:33] chairperson's report tonight other than

[20:35] just to remind people about the MSMA

[20:37] conference that's coming up um at the

[20:39] end of October. If you are interested in

[20:41] attending, please reach out and email um

[20:45] Dr. Doris or Cindy Sheeks and they will

[20:48] get you registered. Um,

[20:51] moving on to our city council update.

[20:53] Adam, do you have an update?

[20:54] >> Yeah. Uh, just a short update that at

[20:57] our meeting u two nights ago now, uh, we

[21:00] received the presentation of the draft

[21:02] comp plan. Um, the comp plan is a

[21:05] extensive and exhaustive document

[21:07] showing kind of the the path that Auburn

[21:10] would like to take for the next decade

[21:12] or so. Um, there's certain areas where

[21:15] that um, crosses over and intertwines

[21:17] with the school department. So, I would

[21:18] encourage everyone to check that out.

[21:20] It's available on the website. There are

[21:22] links to the comp plan. And then within

[21:24] that, um, if you explore within that

[21:26] website, you'll see their uh,

[21:28] opportunities. I I think some of the

[21:29] last opportunities to have your voice

[21:31] heard. Um, those are coming up. I don't

[21:33] have the exact dates. Scott might have

[21:35] the date, but maybe he doesn't. Look it

[21:38] up on the website. It's right there.

[21:39] It's, but it is coming up shortly. And

[21:41] again, important to note, um, there have

[21:43] been multitudes of opportunities to

[21:45] speak up until this point. And so those

[21:47] opportunities are running out. So if you

[21:49] read the document and you say, "I don't

[21:51] like that." You've only got a few

[21:52] chances left to let your voice be heard.

[21:54] So

[21:56] >> great. Thank you, Adam. Uh moving on to

[22:00] our committee reports, our finance

[22:02] subcommittee agenda, and the minutes

[22:04] from our September 8th meeting are

[22:06] linked. Um

[22:09] Adam or Amanda, do either one of you

[22:12] want to give a quick update? Yeah, I

[22:14] mean I most of the agenda items on that

[22:17] meeting were our ongoing items such as

[22:19] staffing updates, um grant updates as

[22:22] well as our budget updates. Nothing was crazy there. I think the biggest

[22:27] one, which I can I can allude to and if

[22:29] you want to add extra light to it, but

[22:31] the revolving loan um is we need to

[22:34] bring that up in this meeting. Um, we

[22:36] had been hoping to apply for a state

[22:39] revolving loan fund um, which would have

[22:42] given us up to $2 million uh, for the

[22:45] AMS project. And this was something that

[22:47] we had been hoping would be available

[22:49] um, for that future that bond uh, and

[22:52] that project. We've learned that the

[22:55] state is not accepting applications for

[22:58] that revolving loan for this cycle. Um,

[23:02] what they've told us is that that's how it happens. the the loans

[23:06] been not the fund has been tapped into.

[23:08] So now they have to wait for things to

[23:11] charge back up. I can't remember the

[23:12] reasoning, but in any case, it delays

[23:15] our ability to access it uh and and

[23:18] forces us to come up with some creative

[23:19] solutions um to replace what maybe could

[23:23] have been

[23:25] >> and it was not anticipated because these

[23:27] funds have been available every year for

[23:31] I mean many many many years. So, um,

[23:34] Amanda, do you have anything to add to

[23:36] that or No. Okay. [laughter]

[23:39] Anyone have any questions about

[23:42] that? That was kind of the biggest piece

[23:44] of news.

[23:47] Okay. Uh, the policy subcommittee agenda

[23:50] from yesterday is linked and the

[23:52] curriculum subcommittee agenda and

[23:54] minutes from the September 2nd meeting

[23:56] are linked. Orin, do you want to give a

[23:58] quick update on those?

[24:00] >> Yes. Um, Dr. Dr. Doris gave us the uh

[24:03] professional development calendar for

[24:05] the year. Um and

[24:09] uh the areas of focus um included

[24:11] training on the new additions of the my

[24:12] view and my perspectives in the literacy

[24:15] program. Um you can see that in the

[24:18] agenda, but uh also we went over the

[24:20] curriculum evaluation cycle. If you have

[24:23] any questions about what that is or what

[24:24] that looks like, it is linked in the

[24:27] agenda. Um it's a five-year cycle that

[24:31] Dr. Doris um put together years ago, you

[24:34] know, a few years ago, and we're

[24:36] actually re really into it now. Um but

[24:40] the five-year cycle is every piece of

[24:43] curriculum is reviewed. We recently did

[24:47] the literacy, this year's math

[24:49] curriculum. And on this um the

[24:53] evaluation cycle that's linked here, you

[24:55] can see it's very detailed um and shows

[24:59] all the steps that we're going to be

[25:00] taking in each year how that works. So,

[25:04] and the math curriculum evaluation has

[25:07] begun. Um so we'll be see hearing more

[25:10] of that throughout the year. Um if

[25:12] anybody has any questions, let me know.

[25:16] >> Thank you. Any questions for Corin?

[25:20] Okay, the health and safety subcommittee

[25:23] just met on Monday and that agenda is

[25:25] linked and those minutes will be linked

[25:26] at our next meeting and the facilities

[25:28] subcommittee minutes are linked from our

[25:32] meeting last week which Scott pretty

[25:34] much went over everything that we

[25:35] discussed at that meeting. Um, we don't

[25:38] have any old business tonight and we do

[25:39] not have any new business tonight. A

[25:42] list of all of our upcoming meetings are

[25:44] listed there. Our next regular school

[25:46] committee meeting is on Wednesday,

[25:48] October 7th. Do I have any future agenda

[25:50] items or requests for information?

[25:55] Okay, seeing none at this time, I'll

[25:57] entertain a motion to adjurnn.

[25:59] >> So moved.

[26:00] >> Jay, do I have a second? Corin, all

[26:02] those in favor? And we are adjourned at

[26:05] 6:24. Thank you, everyone.

City of Auburn, Maine, School Committee Meeting, September 16th, 2026

Transcript