District reports: paid family leave rollout, transportation stats, facilities work and special‑education partnerships

District staff gave several operational updates during the directors’ reports portion of the meeting, including the paid family leave payroll rollout, support for multilingual learners, a career readiness partnership for life‑skills students, transportation statistics, and facilities work connected to building closures and renovations.

Katie and the business office were thanked by the superintendent for completing the large administrative task of implementing paid family leave in payroll. The superintendent said the office had been working on the change for some time, had attended webinars and tested processes, and that staff are fielding questions as the district implements statutory requirements. No dollar amounts or specific policy citations were provided in the meeting.

On multilingual learners, a director said the district continues to recruit a certified ML teacher but has not filled the posted position; an instructional ed‑tech has been reassigned temporarily to support multilingual students. The director described outreach to neighboring districts (Auburn and Lewiston) to explore course access for high school students and said schedules and proficiency levels affected available options.

Special education and transition programming received an update: Oak Hill High School is offering a career readiness class for life‑skills students through a partnership with Goodwill and Vocational Rehabilitation. The director described the class as semester‑long and covering workplace behaviors, job search and interviews, and job shadows tied to students’ Individualized Education Program transition planning.

Transportation director Sheena Jordan reported staffing remains fully covered and provided run statistics: 25 bus‑run cancellations this year (each cancellation is an individual run instance, i.e., a morning or afternoon run) and 214 runs covered without cancellation. Sheena said substituting drivers and flex drivers has helped avoid larger service gaps; district transportation has not had an extended shutdown since Nov. 21 and had provided trips for all but two basketball games this season.

Facilities and operations staff reported ongoing work connected to Sabatus Primary and other sites, including energy project inquiries, roofing and window estimates, tile and carpet removal estimates, playground and HVAC estimates, and phone/intercom/PA system quotes for a building whose intercom system is failing. Staff described a significant amount of work coordinating moves, inventories and equipment relocation tied to a school closure and noted the district will include these items in the coming budget discussions.

Directors also described student activities: grades 3–4 gifted visual arts field trips to Colby College and Bates College, planned visits with author‑illustrators, a holiday assembly and successful holiday basket distribution (60 families / 120 children), and an Anatomy & Physiology dual‑enrollment field experience. Academic Decathlon and other competitive activities were also noted.

Board members thanked central office and building staff for preparation and the extra work required by the closure process and related reporting to the Department of Education. Staff said detailed closure materials and the cost analysis will be posted to the district website.