The Gorham School Committee held their regularly scheduled monthly meeting on April 8.  Chairperson Nicole Yeo-Fisher called the meeting to order and all seven members were present. They approved the minutes of the Regular Meeting of March 11; the Budget Workshop Meetings of March 9, March 16 and March 23; and the Special Meeting of March 25. (7-0)

Art teacher Mrs. Sotir and eight students made a presentation about the Village School Family Art Night. The students spoke clearly about their enjoyment of this night and their love of art class. They proudly exhibited their artwork to the School Board.

Kelli Deveaux and Michelle Bourget summarized the Aspire Program from grades PK to 12.  The program has grown since 2017 from a grant and a question: “Everyone has a story, what’s yours?” Presently, there are activities in all buildings, including STEAM Nights (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math), guest speakers, field experiences, career investigations and ELOs (Extended Learning Opportunities). Four students spoke passionately about their personal ELO experiences and the impacts on their career choices and future goals.

Superintendent Heather Perry spoke about the governor’s budget and possible impacts on the Gorham schools. She also mentioned testing cycles occurring in the schools and the upcoming budget activities: joint meeting between the School Committee and the Town Council (4/28), the Town Council approval meeting (5/12) and the public referendum (6/9).  She invited members of the public to attend all meetings.  Finally, in honor of National School Assistant Principal’s Week, she recognized all six assistant principals and thanked them for their service to the school system.

Each School Committee member had the opportunity to talk about recent observations within the schools. Lowansa Tomkins spoke about the excitement of All Schools Band Night, Mia DeSanctis thanked Georgia and Ben from Gorham Community Access Media (GoCam) for all that they do, Jeffery Ballard reminded the public about Gorham Clean-Up Day on April 25 and Michelle Littlefield mentioned All Band Night and STEAM Night at Village and thanked Mrs. Cadell for organizing that event. Eric Thistle spoke about his involvement in two ASPIRE events and how impressed he is with the students in the Gorham schools.  Finally, Nicole Yeo-Fisher reminded the public about the Back Pack Program and that donations would be very helpful at this time as they begin the process of building the summer boxes for students. Donations to the Back Pack Program may be made at growgivegorham.org

In their review of school department policies, they approved for a second reading Child Find (IHBAC) and Referral and Use of General Education Interventions (IHBAA). (7-0)

The committee appointed Sarah Little as ECSE (Early Childhood Special Education) teacher at Narragansett School for the 2026-27 school year. Presently, Sarah is a special education teacher at Narragansett.

The committee discussed the school budget. All members spoke passionately about their roles in the process, the needs of the schools, the thoughtfulness behind each budget line, the importance of balancing student needs and tax impacts, and the need to invest in capital projects.  They spoke about the transparency and openness of the entire process and the professionalism of all school staff throughout this work. The committee voted to approve the budget and to authorize the superintendent to submit it to the town for approval. (7-0)