Board approves personnel elections, adopts committee policy changes and names MSBA delegate

At its Aug. 26 meeting, the Portland Board of Public Education approved a slate of personnel items, adopted a policy change for board committees and selected a representative to the Maine School Board Association (MSBA).

The board voted by roll call to approve probationary teacher elections, a one-year-only staff appointment (social worker at Talbot Elementary) and an assistant principal appointment at Deering High School; recorded roll-call responses in the meeting transcript show the motions passed. The superintendents office noted the effective date for the assistant-principal appointment should have read Aug. 25.

The board also approved edits to policy BDE (Standing Committees, Special Committees and Citizen Advisory Panels) after prior committee-level work and a first read at the previous meeting; the motion passed by roll call with an affirmative vote.

For statewide engagement, the board opened nominations and elected a delegate to the Maine School Board Association. After nominations and a roll-call vote, the board approved the delegate for the year.

Board members emphasized that personnel items receive no public comment and that human-resources staff have been handling a large volume of hiring and staffing changes in advance of the school year. Chair Lentz and other board members thanked HR staff for their work bringing staffing to an operational level for the opening of school.