On Tuesday, the SAD 58 Board of Directors elected Jessica Caine to serve as chair of the board. Joanne Bachelder was elected to serve as vice chair.

Incoming directors Benjamin Davis of Kingfield, Jessie Stinchfield of Strong, Joseph Ford of Phillips, Mary Nodine of Kingfield, and Rebecca Croteau of Strong, were all sworn in after taking the oath of office at the start of the meeting.

To help prepare these new directors to serve, the board talked about setting up board training. They voted to hire the Portland firm, Drummond Woodsum, to conduct the training. The cost is estimated at $1,000 and training is scheduled for late August.

In an effort to streamline the number of board subcommittees, after a discussion on what to consolidate, directors decided to reduce the number of committees to five: Finance Committee, Academic Policy Committee, Educational Policy Committee, Personnel Committee, and the Operations Committee.

The Personnel Committee will meet prior to the monthly board meetings, while the other committees will meet consecutively on the same day, with the specific schedule to be announced.

The full board will meet on the third Thursday of each month.

In other business, Superintendent Laura Columbia reported that a survey will soon be distributed to parents and community members. Concerns were raised by some directors about ensuring all taxpayers receive the survey because the survey’s purpose is to gauge the district’s vision regarding educational approaches for schools.

During the meeting, three letters of resignation were acknowledged from Kylee Alton, special ed teacher; Catherine Burris, art teacher; and John Nickerson, special ed teacher.

Additionally, Jillian Withee’s nomination was put forward for transfer from Physical Education to pre-K at Phillips Elementary School/Kingfield Elementary School.

Scott LeHay was appointed the district’s integrated pesticide control officer and asbestos officer, Superintendent Columbia was appointed truancy officer and homeless liaison, and Sabrina Reed-Carrier was appointed foster care liaison.

In a moment of recognition and celebration, directors applauded the maintenance team for their exceptional work.