SJI School Board April 2025

The meeting opened with the Jazz Band playing two songs in the School Showcase portion of the meeting. During public comment a citizen who is a business owner, spoke of hiring the school’s graduates and students, saying while many were rock stars, some struggled with even basic skills. She expressed concern about some of the educational proposals coming from the state but was not specific about what proposals or the concerns.

The superintendent noted that it was Professional Educators Appreciation Week and said the entire staff in the district built a solid culture of support and good relationship with students. The legislative session closed and the cap on special education funding was lifted. The bids are coming in for re-siding the high school and they will need a special meeting to approve the contract. A risk management report on the deal to lease the fire district a building on Stuart Island, and Fire Chief Monin will attend the May School Board meeting to discuss the lease.

Dr. Bell gave an update on special education. They have forty staff members serving special education students. They hired new paraeducators when they opened the pre-school. Paraeducators work with students in general education settings, where the school seeks to have 80% of special ed students in general education classes 80% of the time. They have seen more social-emotional-behavioral health needs in the post covid era. The percentage of students with special education support is steady at 17%, but some cohorts have higher or lower numbers, so resources shift as those cohorts move through the grades. They provide special education services to home- schooled and private school students.

In the financial report, enrollment is down but adequate to support the budget for the remainder of the school year. Tax proceeds have been coming in; a fuller picture will be available at the May meeting. Once the governor signs the final budget, the schools will hear the amounts they will get from the state in about three weeks. They will prepare the preliminary budget in May and June and must submit the final budget to the state by July 31.  They are still trying to figure out what the impact of federal funding will be on staffing next year.  They will be transitioning to a new finance and data management system in late November.

The board approved resolutions on reduced certificated employees for the 2025-2026 school year and to surplus items. The state athletic association approved girls football as a sport and has new rules allowing transfer students more event participation.

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