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MSAD15 board elects Penny Collins as chair; members debate accuracy of prior minutes over alleged superintendent raise
Summary
At the June 11 meeting MSAD15 elected Penny Collins as chair and Gary Herman as vice chair, appointed a new part-time art teacher and formally accepted validation referendum results; a substantive dispute arose over whether earlier minutes correctly record a motion to raise the superintendent's pay.
The MSAD15 Board of Directors on June 11 elected Penny Collins as the board’s new chair and Gary Herman as vice chair and approved several routine personnel and administrative matters, while spending more than 30 minutes resolving an objection to wording in the minutes from a prior meeting.
Minutes dispute and clarification: during the approval of past minutes, a board member challenged the June minutes, saying the text incorrectly records that she "moved to give the superintendent a raise" and that she had only sought to reword an agenda item. Members debated whether the change constituted an agenda adjustment or the same business discussed in executive session. The chair and other members maintained that the motion and a clarifying amendment were made and voted on; the lack of an audio recording for the earlier meeting was noted. The dispute remained unresolved by the meeting's close, though the current minutes were accepted for the record.
Leadership elections: nominations opened for chair and vice chair. Penny Collins was nominated, seconded and declared the new school board chair after a voice vote; at least one member abstained and a second member later said they also abstained. The board then nominated Gary Herman as vice chair and elected him by voice vote.
Personnel and recognitions: the board recognized students who earned diploma endorsements and publicly thanked Diane Busher, the district’s long-serving director of operations and finance, who will retire on June 30. The board approved the appointment of Bradley (Brad) Nord to a three-day-per-week probationary art-teacher position at Dun School; Nord introduced his teaching and design background to the board.
Administrative business: the board approved a motion authorizing the treasurer to prepare and deliver assessment warrants and schedules to member municipalities for fiscal year 2024–25 and signed the computation and declaration of votes for the validation referendum during the meeting.
What’s next: the board will finalize bond-related meeting dates and follow-up tasks after public presentations in mid-July and will reconvene later in July and in August to handle warrant language and referendum preparations.
