MSAD 38 School Board meeting

I am writing in response to reporter Doug Kesseli’s July 6 article on the MSAD 38 School Board meeting of July 5. I am one of the members of the school board.

Kesseli reported only a portion of the meeting’s discussion, choosing to leave out important, substantive pieces of what took place during the public forum, especially with regard to specific action taken by the board. Perhaps our small school didn’t warrant anymore space.

Many people expressed concern that evening about staff leaving. The concern was not solely with the administration. There was concern expressed by both members of the public and the board that the problems may not lie with the administration, but in other areas. These other problem areas were expressed to be with the staff and inaction of the school board. Usually when morale is a problem communication has broken down somewhere. Sometimes it has been purposely cut off for reasons unknown. Our problems probably lie in all these areas.

The most glaring omission in the article was that of action taken by the board to look into the problems of staff morale and school atmosphere. The board informed a committe with outside representatives of both towns to see if problems can be solved prior to the opening of school in August.

We have a wonderful school. For a small, rural school with limited resources, we have accomplished quite a lot. We offer our students many special opportunities and the results are tangible. When Etna-Dixmont students go on to high school (we send our secondary students to Nokomis High School in MSAD 48), they excel in all areas. They excel and partake in all activities, both academic and athletic, at the high school. This demonstrates to me that when students leave the Etna-Dixmont School they have received a well-rounded and complete education.

The reason the Etna-Dixmont School is an excellent school is the people who work to create an atmosphere where a positive education can take place; the dedicated and hard-working staff and administration, and the people in the towns of Etna and Dixmont who support the school with tax dollars and volunteer work. These people make the school what it is . When people work hard to create a negative atmosphere or to maintain it there is no good which can develop from it.

We have always, and I include the board, staff, administration, and communities, worked to provide the children in our school with a good education. I have no reason to think the new staff members will not participate with as much dedication as staff who have been here for years. New staff always have.

I started writing this because I was upset with the article which reported only part of what took place at Thursday’s (July 5) meeting. As I continued writing, I realized just what a fine school sits on the town lines of Etna and Dixmont and, further, that the people who are working to make it an even better school will succeed in doing just that. Phil Dolan Dixmont

EDITOR’S NOTE: Kesseli’s original story contained references to the formation of the committee and to the issues raised in this letter. The story was edited to fit available space.