The Rochester School Board on Jan. 9 approved multiple committee recommendations including new high‑school course offerings, personnel retirements and resignations, job descriptions and the operations committee’s recommendation to proceed with redistricting Scenario 1. Several job descriptions and staffing items were clarified for committee or finance review.

Votes at a glance (selected items)
- Curriculum and courses (Teaching, Learning & Student Supports committee): the board approved adding a credit‑bearing advisory at Spaulding High School, mural painting, history of Broadway, journalism and yearbook production courses, a dental assistant program and an RMS health occupations/first‑responder exploratory class. (Motions moved and seconded at the meeting; all passed on voice votes.)
- Personnel: the board accepted retirements and resignations listed in the packet (retirements included Abra Andrews and Maria Balart; resignations included several paraprofessionals and support staff). The board approved several nominations and hires presented on the addendum, including Thomas Gray for a skilled maintenance role and Ronald Williams as position control manager.
- Job descriptions: the board approved job descriptions for academic evaluator; out‑of‑district coordinator; special education administrative assistant; culture and climate specialist; wellness instructor; IT customer service and support specialist; and technology implementation specialist (agenda backup and committee discussion contained details). The instructional coach job description was sent back to TLSS for further consideration after discussion of funding sources.
- Operations and redistricting: the operations committee’s recommended redistricting Scenario 1 — intended to keep class sizes near an average target of 20 students and to redistribute REACH classrooms — was approved; the board discussed REACH classroom distribution, playground accessibility and transportation logistics and asked operations to continue planning and provide FAQs.
- Contracts and purchases (Finance/Operations): the board approved an HVAC bid to Wicked Cooling Mechanical in the amount of $31,750. The finance committee recommended funding for new programs (dental assistant, HS exploratory classes) with amounts captured in the meeting record; one funding line discussed publicly was educational resources up to $5,000 for the MS Health Occupations class and a full‑time UA teacher at approximately $85,000.

Noted no votes and dissents: most motions passed on voice votes; for the wellness instructor position the transcript records that “Mr. Cormier is a nay” and another board member was recorded as voting no, but the motion carried.

Why it matters: the board’s approvals set new course offerings in motion, move forward a district redistricting plan with implications for REACH program locations and authorize vendor work; the board also requested follow‑up committee and finance reviews on several staffing and funding items before further hires or commitments.

Ending
A handful of job descriptions and the instructional coach funding discussion were returned to committee for additional financial review; committees were instructed to return recommendations to the full board in coming weeks.