Chairperson Nicole Yeo-Fisher called the meeting to order and all seven members were present.
Marc Therrien of Work Camp New England presented information on his organization. Work Camp NE is a service organization that provides one hundred youth workers, supervised by skilled contractors, to help community members with household projects. They have, in recent years, had partnerships with other Southern Maine school districts, including Kennebunk and Sanford. The group of students is housed in a local school and works on projects in local homes during the day, before returning to the school for evening presentations and activities. Gorham school leadership is exploring the possibility of a partnership with this organization to benefit residents of Gorham.
Robbie Feinberg, Director of Communications and Government Relations for the MSMA (Maine School Management Association), presented an overview of the state legislative process to the board. He discussed how decisions are made in the legislature and how school committee members could stay informed on upcoming bills and influence lawmakers on priority issues for the local schools.
Assistant superintendent of schools Quinton Donahue presented a summary of the 2026-27 hiring process. This summer 38 professional teaching positions were filled. He summarized the steps in the hiring process, the salary ranges and previous experience for the new hires, as well as a list of observations for the overall experience.
Superintendent of schools Heather Perry presented an outline of the salary matrixes for each of the contracts with employees. Each matrix is part of the negotiated settlement with the specific group of workers and each is slightly different in its composition and structure.
Perry asked the committee to consider the data needed to inform the Fiscal Year 2028 budget target-setting process and to contact her with their questions and concerns.
The complete official minutes of this meeting and a video recording of the proceedings may be found at the School Department website.