M E M O R A N D U M

 

 

DATE:            December 19, 2008                            

 

TO:                 Board of Education

 

FROM:           Connie Brown, Superintendent of Schools

               

RE:                 NEWSLETTER

 

 

WELLNESS PERSON FOR DECEMBER:

 

The Wellness Person for the month of December is Mr. Charles Izzi.

 

Capital Area Technical Center Director Scott Phair had the following to say about Mr. Izzi:

 

CATC would like to nominate Chef Charles Izzi.  Charles is continuing to model a healthy lifestyle by working out and maintaining a high quality diet. He has lost a great deal of weight and his health and spirits are an inspiration to all of us here at CATC.   

 

Chef Charles Izzi is a graduate of Johnson and Wales University specializing in Culinary Arts and Hospitality.  He has been the Capital Area Culinary Arts Instructor for more than 20 years. In that time, Chef Izzi has inspired hundreds of students to pursue careers in the Culinary Arts and Hospitality Industry.  He is well known state wide for his successful support for a number of food-related activities.  He supervises the food operations for Camp Vega in Fayette, Maine, in the summer, providing three or more meals a day for over 800 campers and staff members.  He is the epitome of professionalism and provides outstanding customer service.  His attention to detail and compassion for his students mark him as an exemplary educational role model.  He has worked diligently for the past several months to modify both his diet and to implement an exercise program to improve the quality of his life.  He approaches everyone with respect and ensures that everyone is treated with dignity.  He is simply the heart and soul of CATC.

 

HOLIDAY BREAK:

 

The Holiday Break begins on Wednesday, December 24th, and ends on Friday, January 2nd.

School will resume on Monday, January 5th.

 

NEWSLETTER:

 

There will be no Newsletter for the weeks of December 22nd and December 29th.

 

COMMUNITY FORUMS ON PRESSING ECONOMIC ISSUES FACING THE CAPITAL CITY:

 

[The below information was authored by Augusta School Board Ward 2 Member Susan Campbell.]

 

I have had several people ask me to let them know when the City would be holding Public Forums regarding the upcoming City/School Budget situation.  As I’m sure you know, we are facing interesting economic times unlike we’ve seen in a very long time.  The State of Maine has issued a curtailment on spending, which means they are not sending the schools money previously promised because they don’t have it.  Augusta has acted quickly to try to preserve as many things as possible and put a budget freeze in place.  This is the second year in a row we have had to do this. 

Between the loss of funding for the current school year and what looks like loss of funding for the next school year, coupled with anticipated increases, we need to find about $1,500,000 in next year’s Budget.  This is no small task.  In addition, the City side of the Budget will have anticipated increases and possible revenue shortfalls.

The School Board has instructed the Superintendent’s Office to look at ALL possible scenarios, including raising taxes, cutting positions, reducing programs, and closing schools to determine the potential cost savings as well as pros and cons.  Not that I’ve seen many pros to any of this, but we need to find a way to provide quality education to our children and meet this budget deficit with the least impact possible.

I know there will be many emotional reactions to this situation.  I have a few of my own.  However, once we get past that, we need to look at the reality of the situation and come together to find a solution that will work for most, if not all, of us. 

The City Council and the School Board will be holding two Joint Public Forums to discuss the many options and get feedback from residents on the best solutions to this situation.

The dates for these Forums are as follows:

 

  • 7:00 p.m., Monday, December 29th, in the Gymnasium at the Buker Community Center
  • 7:00 p.m., Tuesday, December 30th, in the Gymnasium at the Hodgkins Middle School

 

For more information on the possible options please visit: 

 

http://www.augustaschools.org/Budget/2DEC2008-Finance.htm

Please mark your calendar and come to one of the meetings and offer your thoughts.  This is not a situation any of us want to face, but here we are and we need to pull together as a community to find a reasonable solution.

Please feel free to forward this to any Augusta residents you think may be interested.

I’m looking forward to seeing you all, and thank you for taking the time to help.

 

PROPOSED PLACEMENTS FOR UMF STUDENT TEACHERS IN THE AUGUSTA SCHOOL SYSTEM FOR THE FIRST AND SECOND QUARTERS OF THE SPRING 2009 SEMESTER:

 

 

First Quarter – Spring 2009 Semester

1/21/09-3/20/09

Student Teacher

Mentor Teacher(s)

School

Matthew Davis

Bruce Dostie

Cony High School

Stacey Bova

Jamie Schofield

Farrington School

Micole Moore

Barbara Tobias

Farrington School

Kimberly Scarduzio

Vicki Stanchfield

Farrington School

Monica Bell

Elizabeth (Beth) Vautier

Lincoln School

Rachel Gray

Erin Sirous

Lincoln School

Meghan King

Janet Frake

Lincoln School

 

 

Second Quarter – Spring 2009 Semester

3/24/09-5/14/09

Student Teacher

Mentor Teacher(s)

School

Matthew Davis

Bruce Dostie

Cony High School

Stacey Bova

Jamie Schofield

Farrington School

Micole Moore

Elizabeth (Liz) Chadwick

Farrington School

Kimberly Scarduzio

Vicki Stanchfield

Farrington School

Monica Bell

Janet Frake

Lincoln School

Rachel Gray

Erin Sirous

Lincoln School

Meghan King

Kristine Poulin

Lincoln School

CALENDAR:

 

UPCOMING DATES:

(Please Note:  The Calendar is to be used as a guideline.  Dates/events are subject to change.)

 

Date

Time

Meeting

Location

 

Thurs., Dec. 25th

 

Christmas Day

 

Mon., Dec. 29th

 

 

7:00 p.m.

Presentation by the

Augusta School Department at the

Joint City Council/School Board

Public/Community Forum

re:  Budget Deficit Issues

 

Buker

Community Center

Gymnasium

 

Tues., Dec. 30th

 

 

7:00 p.m.

Presentation by the

Augusta School Department at the

Joint City Council/School Board

Public/Community Forum

re:  Budget Deficit Issues

 

Hodgkins

Middle School

Gymnasium

Thurs., Jan. 1st

New Year’s

Day

School Holiday

Schools and Offices Closed

 

Mon., Jan.5th

 

5:00 p.m.

TENTATIVE

Personnel & Negotiations

Committee Meeting

 

Superintendent’s

Conference Room

 

Mon., Jan. 5th

 

6:00 p.m.

 

Finance

Committee Meeting

 

Superintendent’s

Conference Room

 

Mon., Jan. 5th

 

7:00 p.m.

 

Curriculum & Education

Committee Meeting

 

Superintendent’s

Conference Room

 

Thurs., Jan. 8th

 

6:00-7:00 p.m.-

Social Hour

 

 

7:00 p.m.

 

Reception – Social Hour

 [Light refreshments will be served prior to the 7:00 p.m. meeting.  The Madrigals will perform at

7:00 p.m. to start the meeting.]

 

 

City Council/School Board Swearing-In Ceremony/

Council Regular Business Meeting

 

City Council

Chambers

 

Wed., Jan. 14th

 

7:00 p.m.

 

Regular Meeting

Augusta Board of Education

 

CATC

Cafeteria

 

Mon., Jan. 19th

 

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

 

School Holiday

Schools and Offices Closed

 

CLB/gih