News

Please see some temporary changes to our bus service that will be in effect the week of September 16-20, 2024.

Key Points:

• Buses 17 and 20 will have limited service next week.
• Transportation will be sending out a later AM bus to cover for Bus 20, this route will start at 8 am for any student needing a ride to school.
• For students who normally ride Bus 20 for SRTC: Parents will need to drop them off at KHS to catch a shuttle to SRTC.
• These changes are due to temporary staffing shortages.
• We are actively working to resolve this situation as quickly as possible.
• Students arriving on late buses will not be considered tardy.

We recognize that the limited service on some routes may be inconvenient for many families, and we sincerely apologize for any difficulties this may cause. Our goal in sharing this information promptly is to allow you as much time as possible to make alternative arrangements if necessary.

Monday, Sept. 16, 2024

• Bus 20: 
  • Morning service will be delayed; routes will begin around 8 am for all grades
  • No PM service

Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024

• Bus 20: 
  • Morning service will be delayed; routes will begin around 8 am for all grades
  • No PM service

Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024

• Bus 20: No schedule impacts; full service all day for all grades

Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024

• Bus 20:
  • Morning service will be delayed; routes will begin around 8am for all grades
  • No PM service

Friday, Sept. 20, 2024

• Bus 17: No AM or PM service 
• Bus 20: No AM or PM service

Please be assured that our district is continuously exploring all avenues to attract new hires through various platforms. We are committed to resolving this situation and returning to full service on all routes as soon as possible.

Thank you for your understanding and patience during this time. We appreciate your continued support of our school community. If you have questions, the Transportation Department can be reached by calling 207-985-2622.

Sincerely,

Richard Terwilliger-Smith
Operations Director, RSU 21

 

September 11, 2024

Below are responses to questions regarding the meeting on Aug. 30 and the hiring of a new human resources director.

On August 30, the Superintendent completed the final interview in the hiring process for the vacant HR director position, and the School Board held a special meeting to authorize the hire of a new director to fill this role. Several individuals in the community have raised complaints about these actions. As the Chair of the Board, I would like to explain the basis for its hiring authorization and respond to the questions raised.  

The Board and Superintendent have different responsibilities placed on them by state law and reflected in district policy. Policy BDD (Board/Superintendent Relationship) clarifies that “the management of the schools is the Superintendent’s responsibility.”  In contrast, “policymaking is the School Board’s most important responsibility.” Through policy enactment, planning, budgeting, and appraisal, the Board (1) “sets direction for the district” and (2) “evaluates progress toward those goals.” Section 6 of Policy BCA (Code of Ethics) boils down this division of responsibilities in an easily-remembered way: “The Board’s responsibility is not to operate the schools but to see that they are well-operated.”

How is this division of responsibility reflected in the hiring process? Relying on a thorough selection process, the Superintendent makes the final decision as to who she will nominate. In approving the hiring of staff, the Board’s role is to confirm that the applicant nominated is well qualified and to ensure that the nomination is consistent with the policies, processes, and laws that the district is obligated to follow. 

The outgoing HR director provided a detailed public presentation of the hiring process during the August 19 School Board meeting. The district’s hiring process for administrative staff is set out in Policy GCFB and Procedure GCFB-R (Recruiting and Hiring of Administrative Staff Procedures). They were created “to establish a thorough, efficient, and nondiscriminatory practice for the recruiting and hiring of the most qualified candidates for administrative positions.”  

Complaints about the Board’s authorization of the hiring fall into two categories: (i) those questioning whether the Superintendent’s hiring decision is consistent with the district’s hiring policies and procedures and (ll) those questioning whether the Board’s vote to authorize her hiring should be overturned because it violates state law or Board policy re: meeting agendas, notification, or abstentions. None of these arguments are correct. We’ll address each in turn.

Claim: “Dr. Cooper’s relationship with the candidate violated the district’s hiring policies and processes.”
Some individuals have tried to spin Dr. Cooper’s innocent praise for the candidate's board service as a reason to invalidate the hiring process that resulted in the candidate's selection.  This represents a mischaracterization of Dr. Cooper’s remarks, taken out of context, and a misunderstanding of Dr. Cooper’s role in the hiring process specified in policy GCFB and procedure GCFB-R. At the final meeting of outgoing Board members in June 2023, Dr. Cooper made a remark to the effect that "if Scott Harrison ever leaves, I’m hiring her." This was made in the context of expressions of gratitude, by Dr. Cooper and active Board members, for outgoing Board members’ service to the district.  Moreover, Dr. Cooper has no impact on the hiring process until she is presented with one or two finalists selected by the hiring committee at the conclusion of its lengthy, meticulous advertising, vetting, and interview campaign. If the candidate hadn’t been presented to her by the committee as a potential hire, Dr. Cooper would have had no ability to select her. 

Claim: “The special meeting at which the Board’s vote took place was not properly noticed.” 
Approximately 45 hours before the commencement of the special meeting on August 30th, its agenda was posted on the district website and emailed to the same individuals to whom the Superintendent’s administrative secretary and the communications specialist regularly provide agendas (i.e., the school board, town managers and/or Select Board chairs of each of the three towns, the Portland Press Herald and Seacoast Online, and some 30 district administrative staff). Unfortunately, the district’s three policies that address the topic of notice of special meetings are inconsistent, identifying both “24 hours” and “72 hours” as the correct notification period for special meetings. The current Policy Committee, School Board, and Superintendent were previously unaware of this inconsistency since special meetings occur infrequently. The Policy Committee will begin the process of correcting this discrepancy at its October meeting.

Claim: “The addition of the HR Director’s nomination to the Special Meeting Agenda was improper.”
The hiring of a new HR Director was added to the Consent Agenda section of the Special Meeting Agenda 15 minutes before the meeting’s Executive Session took place.  Admittedly, this did not provide much advance notice to anyone. However, this change complies with district policy and was justified by the situation’s urgency. The Board satisfied the requirements of the “Additions and Adjustments to the Agenda at a Meeting” section of Policy BEDB (Agendas) by upholding this change by a super-majority vote of two-thirds of its members. The addition of another nomination to the Consent Agenda was completely consistent with the purpose of its special meeting, which was called to authorize last-minute new hires before the school year began on the Friday before Labor Day. The HR Director’s nomination was added at 11:45 a.m. because the Superintendent had just completed the final interview with the candidate – the final step in the selection process. The Superintendent and Board naturally wanted to ensure a seamless transition between the outgoing and incoming HR directors. Delaying the hiring process and leaving the District without an HR director would have negatively impacted staff and the district as a whole.  With over 700 employees, our HR director is responsible for managing the onboarding and training of new staff, ensuring compliance with all labor laws, addressing employee leave requests (FMLA), and managing accommodation requests for employees with disabilities.  We considered it essential to have an experienced HR director in place for the start of our school year. Students’ welfare would also have been harmed if their teachers were inadequately prepared for the opening of classes. None of the individuals who have complained about the director's hiring have articulated a reason why leaving the post vacant would benefit the district’s students and staff. 

Claim: “The Board members who served with this person should have abstained from voting on her nomination.”
Ten of the twelve members of the Board attended the August 30th special meeting. Eight voted in favor of the consent agenda that included the candidate's nomination, one voted against, and one abstained without explanation. Some in the community have stated that three of the eight Board members who voted in favor of the nomination should have abstained because they served on the Board with her. Neither the Board policy on abstentions (BEDFA) nor state law requires this. Under policy BEDFA, abstentions are only “intended for situations where a member may have a direct or indirect pecuniary interest in the matter being voted on or when voting on minutes from a meeting for which they were not in attendance.”  No one is accusing any Board member of benefiting from Therrien’s hiring financially. 

Moreover, voting to authorize the hiring of a Board member with whom one has served is not a “conflict of interest” or an “apparent conflict of interest” that Board members are obligated to avoid by abstention from voting under Policy BCB (Board Member Conflict of Interest).  The “Appointment to Office and Other Employment” section of Policy BCB specifically addresses this issue and only prohibits former Board members from being hired less than “one year after the member ceases to serve on the Board.” The candidate's tenure on the Board ended 14 months ago, so she satisfies this requirement – a topic that the policy clearly considered, but rejected, as constituting a “conflict of interest” or “apparent conflict of interest”. Having a well-known professional association with another, by itself, does not constitute a conflict of interest that acts to prevent an elected representative from casting a vote on an issue of importance to our district. 

The School District Administration followed the appropriate Policy GCFB and Procedure GCFB-R (Recruiting and Hiring of Administrative Staff Procedures) as occurs with all administrative hiring.  We are most fortunate to have this new HR director serving our district.  Her background, professional training, and familiarity with the school district’s policies have allowed a seamless transition for our HR and payroll staff. We encourage everyone in our district to understand that a district of our size and caliber must maintain the highest standards of professionalism in supporting our staff and faculty.  We believe this allows us to do so.

Best Regards,

Lesley S. Stoeffler, Board Chair
LStoeffler@rsu21.net

Here is this week's Community News from the RSU 21 Communications Department!

Inside:

• Important changes to bus service next week
• Inside the classroom at Sea Road School
• Our very own Community Champion

 

There will be some temporary changes to our bus service that will be in effect the week of Sept. 9, 2024. While we have some challenges, we also have some good news to share.

Key Points:

• Buses 11, 17, and 30 will have limited service next week.
• Bus 18 is fully restored and will resume its regular schedule on Monday.
• These changes are due to temporary staffing shortages.
• We are actively working to resolve this situation as quickly as possible.

We recognize that the limited service on some routes may be inconvenient for many families, and we sincerely apologize for any difficulties this may cause. Our goal in sharing this information promptly is to allow you as much time as possible to make alternative arrangements if necessary.

Monday (9/9/24):

• Bus 17: No AM or PM Service

Tuesday (9/10/24):

• Bus 17: No AM or PM Service

Wednesday (9/11/24):

• Bus 17: No AM or PM Service
• Bus 30: No AM Service, Bus will run in the PM for School to home transportation

Thursday (9/12/24):

• Bus 17: No AM or PM Service

Friday (9/13/24):

• Bus 17: No AM or PM Service
• Bus 11: No AM or PM Service

We're pleased to announce that Bus 18 is back to its full, regular schedule starting Monday, Sept. 9. This restoration of service is a step in the right direction, and we're working hard to achieve similar results for other affected routes.

Please be assured that our district is continuously exploring all avenues to attract new hires through various platforms. We are committed to resolving this situation and returning to full service on all routes as soon as possible.

Thank you for your understanding and patience during this time. We appreciate your continued support of our school community. If you have questions, please call the Transportation Department at 207-985-2622.

Sincerely,

Richard Terwilliger-Smith
Operations Director, RSU 21