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RSU 57 elects Jody Lane chair, adopts new meeting schedule; superintendent and student rep deliver year-end reports
Summary
At its June 25 meeting, RSU 57's school board elected Jody Lane as chair and Anastasia Ferguson as vice chair, approved routine nominations and the consent agenda, adopted a revised meeting-and-committee calendar and heard year-end reports from the superintendent and the student representative covering celebrations, staffing and a new device-collection policy.
Jody Lane was elected chair of RSU 57's school board on June 25, 2025, after the board confirmed nominations and voted unanimously with one abstention. The board also elected Anastasia Ferguson as vice chair and approved the consent agenda and several staff nominations.
The vote came after Dr. Markey, the district superintendent, opened nominations and confirmed there were no further nominees. The board then recessed its formal business and returned to adopt a revised meeting calendar that moves regular board meetings to the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month at 6:00 p.m., with the exception of an Aug. 13 team-building meeting that will begin at 7:00 p.m.
The calendar and committee schedule were the other substantive governance items on the agenda. The board approved a restructuring designed to reduce back-to-back meeting nights for directors: policy committee on the first Wednesday, finance on the first and third Tuesdays (with the possibility of weekly finance meetings during budget season), board meetings on the second and fourth Wednesdays and HR on the third Wednesday. Thursdays were left available for negotiations. The chair said the changes aim to increase efficiency and reduce scheduling conflicts.
Superintendent Dr. Markey and the student representative provided reports summarizing end-of-year school activities across the district. Walker delivered what he called "the final edition of the student representative report for the 24-25 school year," describing celebrations, staggered final-exam schedules, underclassmen awards, grade-level events such as fifth- and eighth-grade recognition activities, field trips and a variety show. Dr. Markey noted the district collected most student devices over the summer as a new policy and said percentage-based grading will be implemented at the high school.
Dr. Markey also described ongoing hiring work and staff departures, saying the district employs more than 600 staff and is the ninth-largest in the state. He warned that a package of proposed state laws under review by the appropriations committee could carry significant fiscal implications; he said appropriations were assessing roughly $3.1 billion in new costs across the set of pending measures and urged the board's legislative contacts to monitor developments.
The board approved nominations for three new hires: Sharon Berry (grade 4-5 teacher, Shapley Memorial), Jack Lucier (grade 4 teacher, Waterboro Elementary) and Sarah Rex (elementary music teacher, Waterboro Elementary). The motion to accept the nominations passed without recorded opposition.
The meeting closed with the new chair thanking members for the year and announcing upcoming meetings on July 16 and July 30 at 6:00 p.m. The board adjourned at 7:27 p.m.
What happens next: the board will implement the revised meeting schedule beginning in the coming month, schedule curriculum presentations at the full-board level per the superintendent's remarks, and bring forward the named new hires for processing.
