A much-needed school board meeting was called to action on December 2, 2024. This meeting marked the beginning of teachers’ contracts and the official end of Mr. Cherry’s employment. With updates on labor negotiations and operational improvements to RSU21, the meeting highlighted aspects of administrative progress. Topics of this meeting ranged from a finance department improvement plan to the resignation of Farausi Cherry, KHS’s former assistant principal. One of the most notable outcomes of this board meeting was the approval of contracts for teachers who have worked for the entire first quarter of the school year without them. The meeting underscored the importance of group discussion and much-needed reworkings within the RSU21 district. 

After the meeting on November 18, 2024, the school board came together last week to discuss areas of necessary improvement. After quickly addressing the minutes from the previous meeting, the floor was opened to discuss the resignations of Farausi Cherry and Kirstin Shapiro. The resignation of Shapiro, a board director, leaves a vacant seat in the school board. This will likely need to be addressed through appointment or special election regarding how to fill this position. Mr. Cherry has been absent from his role at school since August, when he made a few guest appearances at fall sports practices. He submitted his official resignation back in November of 2024, but this was not addressed until the most recent school board meeting. Both his and Shapiro’s resignations were addressed in the consent agenda from the board meeting, approved by the board with minor amendments.

This board meeting also addressed the topic of teacher’s contracts. The discussion over contracts for teachers has been prominent and very public over the past few months, with teachers avidly protesting and publicly expressing their disapproval regarding contract language and pay scales. The board agreed upon a three-year collective bargaining agreement to last until 2027. In discussions during the executive session of the meeting, the primary focus remained on KAKEA, the teacher’s union. One significant outcome of this new agreement includes the ratification of back pay for teachers.

This decision, although highly necessary for the RSU21 school board, was not unanimous. The final vote passed with one oppositional vote from Gayle Asmussen Spofford. During the vote, she remarked, “This contract that’s been brought to us tonight was decided by, or based on, a negotiation team that started in 2023. There were some really critical and important pieces at that time that the board wanted to carry on the work of the previous contract, and so in good conscience, I cannot vote for this contract.” This goes to show how despite the long-running emphasis for new contracts for RSU21 teachers, there is still division regarding some terms. 

Currently, staff at the high school are working to fill new positions amongst teachers. KHS is in the process of hiring two new guidance counselors to fill positions for Mr. Wing and Mrs. Heathco. Typically, guidance is divided amongst three counselors to support members of the student body, but since Mrs. Heathco transferred to Sea Road school in October of this year, the guidance has only been split between two counselors. We have since welcomed Mrs. Cornell to the KHS math department, and Mrs. Lamprey to the KHS English department as a long term substitute for Ms. Longworth. HR has since posted new job openings for a social worker, a girls’s soccer coach, an assistant volleyball coach, an ultimate frisbee coach, an assistant principal, and a STEM teacher. 

With teachers now on new contracts, will normalcy return to KHS? It’s hard to say. In recent weeks, students and staff were informed that a school-based clinician had been arrested due to a driving infraction. This comes shortly after Mr. Lansing, a math teacher, resigned and left the KHS community. He was, however, quickly replaced with a new hire. Although it has been a rough start to the school year for the staff and students, many remain hopeful for the future amidst many changes. There is a general consensus that motions from this board meeting seem to be moving in the right direction for RSU21.