Tied vote puts SAD 4 social media policy on hold

By Mike Lange
Staff Writer

    DEXTER — The School Administrative District 4 Board of Directors had three policies on its agenda for a second reading last week. While the first two were enacted with little debate, an attempt to pass a revised student computer and internet rules policy resulted in a tied vote, 5-5.

Observer photo/Mike Lange

    CLASSIC REBUILD — The SAD 4 Board of Directors took a tour of the Tri-County Technical Center in Dexter prior to their Nov. 12 meeting. Automotive technology student Nate Febus and Superintendent Ann Kirkpatrick look over a 1927 Whippet sedan. Students are rebuilding the four-cylinder engine on the classic car.

    Even under the weighted vote system, the board remained deadlocked at 292 each as the two directors from Guilford, Abbot, Sangerville, Parkman and Cambridge all split their votes.
    The sticking point was a recommendation by the Policy Committee that a phrase be deleted from the document that prohibited use of “chat rooms, Instant Messenger, blogs, social networks, email systems rather than First Class or creating and posting personal websites … without direct supervision of a teacher.”
    The issue generated a lengthy debate at last month’s meeting and many of the same arguments — primarily centered on Facebook usage — surfaced at the Nov. 12 board meeting.
    Those who objected to the revised policy said they felt that social media was a distraction for the students, not a valid teaching tool. “We have enough problems with Facebook outside of school, so there’s no reason why they should use it in school,” said Erika Libby.
    But Board Chair Cinthia Hook said that in order to reach students, “We have to use their means (of communication), not ours.” She pointed out that the school district and many teachers have their own Facebook pages and they’re often used to send out information, not just social notes.
    PCSS Principal John Keane favored the revised policy, saying that it’s counterproductive to outlaw social media during school hours. “If we ban it, we’re not even in the game to teach proper use of it,” Keane said. The principal also said that if the new policy was enacted, “We would put guidelines in place similar to those in a workplace — and then enforce them. Right now, we’re not enforcing them. They’re bypassing the filters by using their smartphones.”
    The district’s technology coordinator, Crystal Priest, noted that the district has been through similar debates in the past. “There was a time when AOL, Instant Messenger and even email faced the wrath of God in front of this group (the school board),” she quipped. “Over the years when we found educational uses for these tools, they became more acceptable.”
    The board decided to ask Keane, Priest and other administrators to draft a policy with more safeguards in place and bring it back to the board at its Dec. 10 meeting.
    Policies on the district’s mission statement and vehicle usage passed unanimously. The new vehicle policy clarifies ATV and snowmobile access to school grounds. Students who use the off-road vehicles need to get a parking permit, use a DOT-approved helmet and adhere to all state laws.
    The SAD 4 Board of Directors also hired Joseph Novak of Holden as a middle school social studies teacher, succeeding Rex Webb who retired this year.
    Novak is a UM graduate working on his master’s degree and did his student teaching at Samuel Wagner Middle School in Winterport.
    In a memo from Superintendent Ann Kirkpatrick, she noted that Novak’s cooperating teacher, the university field supervisor and building principal all gave Joseph (Novak) praise for his innovative lessons, assessment and classroom management.
    Both of Novak’s parents and his sister are also teachers, Kirkpatrick added.