Robin Sue Tapley Honored for Service

School Committee Talks Plans Post Reconstruction Vote

Jun 06, 2023

BAR HARBOR—The Bar Harbor Superintending School Committee (for Conners Emerson) Monday night said goodbye to member Robin Sue Tapley who has been on the committee for nine years and chose not to run for re-election.

At the committee’s regular meeting in the Conners Emerson Library, Vice Chair Marie Yarborough read,

“Robin Sue has served nine years on the School Committee. She will say that she does not necessarily enjoy speaking publicly, but during her many years of service she has always used her voice .... to ensure equitable and competitive pay for Conners Emerson's bus drivers, to advocate on subcommittees to create a better school calendar, and to speak up over and over for our need for a safe, inspiring new school for Bar Harbor's future families and children.
Robin Sue, your nine years of service has made such a difference, and we are honored to have worked with you all these years. On a personal note, I will miss Robin Sue's steadfast bravery in always putting forth her opinion even though she knows it may not be shared by others in the room. I will also miss her bravery in putting forth her vote, even though sometimes she knows she will be the only “yay” or “nay” in the room.
Because your nine years of volunteer service has helped the BH school community blossom, we hope you will enjoy this small gift that you can watch grow for years to come, to remind you of your time as a Tiger parent and school committee member. Also, we didn’t want you to have to tell anyone ‘I served nine years on the SB and all I got was this lousy T-Shirt.’”

Yarborough also presented a visibly moved Tapley with a bouquet.

Tapley family, Robin Sue center. Image: Dowsland Photography, used with permission from Tapley

“It’s been great. It’s been lovely. I will miss you all though I won’t miss this job,” Tapley said. “Good luck. I hope next Tuesday we have good news.”

Misha Mytar’s seat is also up. Mytar was appointed to fill Dwayne Bolt’s seat earlier this year. She and Michael Kiers are running unopposed for the two seats at the June 13 election. Bolt had resigned stating that personal and professional obligations made the position untenable. His term would have ended in June 2023. The committee had 30 days to appoint a replacement

SCHOOL RECONSTRUCTION

It’s coming down to the wire.

There are just seven days left until the town election and the committee members implored each other to continue to get the word out about the need for a new building.

The committee also decided to schedule a public meeting, most likely on June 20 at 5:30 after the June 13 election where voters will determine the fate of a $58 million bond to rebuild the ailing Conners Emerson schools.

“I think we’ll need to talk or cry or celebrate,” after the vote, Yarborough said.

No matter what the voters decide, School Committee Chair Alexandra “Lilea” Simis believes that the committee will need several subcommittees after the vote. If the bond fails, she said, they could try to come back to voters by November, but they are going to need millions—and perhaps another bond—just to keep the building going for a few years. As she spoke, a smell emanated throughout the library, during the damp day, the result of biologicals growing where the exterior wall had pulled away from the foundation.

“If this doesn’t pass, we aren’t going to renovate this building, we just have to make it safe and secure,” she said, but that has a high price tag as well.

Mytar agreed that she wanted a whole committee meeting after the vote to synthesize whatever happens at the election.

Committee member Tyson Starling said that he hoped that voters would see that the Warrant Committee and Town Council recommended the bond pass and that would entice voters to do the same.

“We’re either spending $58 million to fix a smoldering hole in the ground,” or almost the same amount to build a new school, he said.

Last week, a private citizen donated $1,000 to the efforts.

“I am just excited that we can begin to feel the support for our kids. I am really hopeful that it will inspire others to give as well,” Simis said.

Currently, the fundraising committee has seven people and it is open to anyone interested in joining them to get the word out, ask for donations, organize an event, and come to meetings, Simis said.

After a public forum about the school project last month, one student showed Simis a drawing of a school house that she wanted to have the new school look like. Another was urged to send her letter in support of the school project to the Mount Desert Islander. She did.

For Simis, she worries that people aren’t understanding that even with consolidation, which would be years out, the school in Bar Harbor would still be needed and would house just as many students, if not more, than attend Conners Emerson now.

She hopes to continually work and simplify the message. “In my mind if it doesn’t pass that’s as big a piece as the finance piece.”

Current consolidation options. Any plan would have to be approved by all town involved.

According to interim Town Manager and Finance Director Sarah Gilbert, donations for the school construction project can be dropped off at the Finance Department on the main floor of the town’s Municipal Building or mailed in to 93 Cottage Street.

Phone Systems, Clubs, and Outdoor Education

Principal Heather Webster said that they hope to spend approximately $28,000 to replace the phone systems in the school. This system would be transferable to a new school. They have been having issues with phones and the intercom and paging systems and have resorted to hunting down parts on Ebay for repairs.

In some classrooms, the main office tries to call them and it sounds as if teachers are speaking through a tunnel. In others, it sounds as if teachers are screaming directly into the ears of staff at the main office.

She hopes to have the work done this summer.

Webster also spoke about a lot of the school’s new hires having gardening and outdoor experience, which she hopes the school will be able to integrate with classroom learning. There were many co-curricular activities and afterschool clubs this years, she said, and she hopes to continue to determine how best to utilize and integrate partnerships outside of the school, exploring options and current partnerships in each grade. However, she said, finding common times for teachers to meet for collaborations between themselves and the community can be challenging.

She also mentioned that the town is still set to do work on the end of the entrance way to the school, but she is not sure of the exact time of that repair.

NEW TEACHERS, TRANSFER RESERVES, AND AUTHORIZATION FOR NEW HIRES

The school committee unanimously approved a slate of new teachers. Webster said that there has been a lot of shuffling around within the school as staff moves to new grades or positions, which she said can be challenging, but also helps educators grow professionally.

Grade 5 math—Schuyler Mann
Grade 7 Math - 1-year position – Gretchen Weisner
K-4 Special Education – Dana Noble
K-6 Special Education - 1-year position – not filled
Students with Unique Needs (SUN)/Grade 5 Special Education Teacher – Melanie Fessler

The committee members also gave Zboray the ability to hire during the summer months if he sends new hire requests to Simis, who has three days to review them. If he doesn’t hear anything from her, he can make that decision and then in August the committee members will officially finish the hiring process.

Members unanimously approved moving $1,000 from the district’s special education funds to the school’s emergency special education reserve.

“We try to have at least $100,000,” Zboray said. This is because the special education needs can require immediate action and be quite fluid. He said the special reserves for the district is about $750,000.