Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
RSU 05 budget debate centers on proposed ESOL cut, assistant principals and middle‑school staffing
Summary
At the March 19 RSU 05 board meeting parents, teachers and students urged the board to retain ESOL and assistant‑principal positions while board members and administrators debated reserve moves, staffing tradeoffs and how several fractional teacher positions at the middle school could be reorganized.
RSU 05 school board members spent much of their March 19 meeting reviewing budget options and hearing public comment on proposed staffing cuts, with multilingual education (ESOL), assistant principals at elementary schools and several fractional middle‑school teaching positions drawing the most attention.
Public comment opened the discussion. Student speaker Rosa Fuma urged the board to keep a multilingual teacher at the high school, telling the board the multilingual program "is a lifeline" for students and families and describing the teacher as "an advocate, a guide, and a constant source of support." Several Moore Street School staff — including teacher Bethany Howard and literacy specialist Melissa Gadbois — described how a full‑time assistant principal has supported special‑education programming, teacher evaluations and behavior interventions. Howard said an assistant principal "is justified at Moore Street, and I do not support the removal of an assistant principal from our budget." ESOL staff and counselors also addressed the board: Freeport High School ESOL teacher Jill Hyland warned a 0.5…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
