The passage of a facilities referendum in April brings with it a large construction project, and the Ellsworth School Board heard updates on the design process at the middle and high schools during Monday’s meeting. 

The referendum budget includes $8.5 million for the high school technical space, $3.8 million for the high school health and physical education center, $3.435 million for high school systems and $1.7 million for a high school secured entrance and lobby/concessions. 

Troy Miller, senior architect at LHB corp, said some of the district’s staff was split into groups where they each discussed the best possible layouts for the new additions to the high school. After some discussion, including on which rooms would work best to be close to each other, a plan was selected. 

Miller said costs and square footage of the spaces could face some changes as the project proceeds, but they can shift around the budget to keep it within what was allocated from the referendum. 

“One of the big changes that we have already encountered that we’re starting to work into the program, for example, is just taking Family and Consumer Ed., that foods lab wanting to do a commercial kitchen, and the dollars that were allocated were probably 50% of what were needed,” Miller said. “As we go through, and we continue to discover more and more of those things, we’ll just keep massaging the budget.” 

It is anticipated that construction could start as soon as the winter, giving the district a leg up over other districts doing referendum construction. Worst case, the presenters said the areas of construction will be ready for students in the fall of 2025, and completely finished by the winter of 2025. 

Fees 

Each board member, with the exception of Gary Kressin, voted to approve middle school and high school fees for the 2024-25 school year. 

Kressin, who has been vocal about the issue in the past, spoke against some of the proposed fees. Kressin urged against fees for some elective courses, citing a lack of elective opportunities due to the size of the district as a factor for students needing to take classes with fees attached. 

“If it’s an elective course that they need in order to graduate, because there’s such few elective courses...” Kressin said. “If there’s a fee associated with it, in order to earn a grade, they shouldn’t be charged for it.” 

Kressin said required items of every student, including the proposed $5 agendas for middle school students, should not be charged to households. Kressin said enrichment projects that are not required for the grade in the class should come at the cost of the students. 

One question raised by board member Steve Mark was how they would designate which classes have fees, as Kressin pushed for some electives to have no fee. 

Board member Michael Petersen said access to education, regardless of a family’s financial status, is important, and the school has systems in place for scenarios in which a student’s family cannot afford the fee. 

“Ellsworth is a proud community, and they don’t want to ask or even insinuate that they need help,” Kressin said. “It’s easier just not to take a class.” 

Kressin said there was a teacher that told students if they cannot afford a fee, they should go to the counselor and sign up for a different class. Kressin did not name the teacher. 

Superintendent Brian Nadeau said the board would need to evaluate the loss of a revenue stream for the budget if fees were removed. An issue mentioned with the removal of fees is that down the road, the school offerings could face budget cuts and a decrease in opportunities. 

After the vote, Mark asked that the topic remains on the list of issues for the board to watch closely as time goes on. 

Athletic Code 

The revised Athletic Code, which was discussed at length during the June board meeting, was back on the table after some of the board’s concerns were addressed. 

The primary change made from the previous meeting was the removal of activities that would have to abide by the code. While the code had only affected athletics in the past, a list of activities was proposed that participating students would need to adhere to the code. The Athletic Code operates under a system that code violations lead to suspensions for a portion of games or events. This caused logistical issues for activities that have one event, like the International Club which has a single, week-long trip, or activities with few events. 

There were also points made about the addition of a grade check at midterm, potentially overwhelming the athletic director and principal at an already busy time. Athletic Director Kevin Haglund said the change affects less than 10 students, and they do not expect a major workload increase. 

Title IX policies were approved at the meeting after Nadeau said the federal government notified districts of new requirements for their Title IX policies. Nadeau said he believes revision to the athletic code will not be necessary because of it, but they will review and bring it back to the board if change is needed. 

Personnel 

The board approved the following personnel changes: 

Hires: Taryl Graetz, sixth grade social studies teacher; Samantha Hunter, elementary special education teaching assistant/PKC staff; Brittany Thompson, middle school long term substitute. 

Resignation: Jason Janke, high school assistant principal and varsity girls basketball coach; Erik Miller, sixth grade social studies teacher. 

Retirement: Thomas Shaw, custodian. 

Extra/Co-Curricular Hires: Nick Foley, mentor; Connie Girdeen, mentor; Kendyl Horn, mentor; Rebecca Hoyt, mentor; Tonya Klem, mentor; Travis Logslett, mentor; Tristan Mueller, middle school wrestling coach; Matthew Peterson, middle school wrestling coach. 

Other Business 

• Approved a $234,000 cafeteria bleacher project as a Fund 46 transfer from Fund 10. 
• Approved student academic standards for the 2024–25 school year. 
• Heard technical corrections and changes to some of the school board’s documents and policies.  
• Heard a presentation on Summer School 2024 and other summer camps/events. There were 567 students that attended summer school, and thanks was given to both transportation and custodial staff.