Public Information and Announcements

I hope that the first few days of the school vacation have been going well for you and your families. This communication is meant to inform you of future changes to our pooled testing program, the upcoming community meeting regarding the MSAD54 elementary building project, and an update on cases of COVID-19 in our district.

The concept design phase of the MSAD 54 elementary building project is winding down after a year of feedback from staff and the community, including feedback gathered at numerous public meetings and through a community-wide digital survey. The updated concept design plans can be found here: https://bit.ly/3hW1ERK  

On Thursday, April 28th, at 6:00 in the High School Auditorium, the district will be holding a presentation and update on the building project. This will include a presentation by the architects and engineers, discussion of the concept design and budget, and will conclude with a straw-poll vote to support the project. Following the meeting, the State Board of Education will consider the project for funding. The project, which is nearly entirely state funded, will have a tremendous positive impact educationally for the district for years to come. We hope to see you on the 28th!

Last week we had Judge Broderick come to speak to our 7th–12th grade students about reducing the stigma of mental health. He shared his story and answered questions. In the evening he joined a group of parents to share a similar message. We know that a number of families wanted to attend but were unable to make it to the high school. Please watch the following video to hear his message: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7a1Q-nPWKKs

Last week we had 21 new cases of COVID-19. These cases impacted students and/or staff at Canaan Elementary School (3 cases), Bloomfield Elementary School (1 case), Mill Stream Elementary School (4 cases), Margaret Chase Smith School (4 cases), and Skowhegan Area Middle School (9 cases).

It has been a great week and the first days of masking being a choice has gone exceptionally well. I want to take a moment to thank all of our staff, students and families for your continued support of each other through this transition. Everyone has been great about talking through situations and making adjustments to respect everyone's needs. We appreciate all the conversations families had in preparation for the move and feel that it has had a positive effect.

MSAD 54's most recent updated concept design plans.  The District Building Committee anticipates the Concept Design phase to receive DOE support in early April and expects to have plans to the State Board of Education by May, for a June 14th referendum.  The District held numerous public meetings in the fall and will conduct a public meeting in April to provide a summary of Concept Design including the updated plans and scope of the project.

I'm writing to inform you that MSAD 54 will be moving to "mask optional" on March 9th following today's announcement by the Maine Department of Health and Human Services and Maine Department of Education, that effective March 9th universal masking is no longer a statewide recommendation.

On Friday, February 25th, the Federal CDC adjusted their recommendations for both local communities and schools. This marked a significant change in the CDC’s approach to school-based recommendations and has followed the science around the virus and the downward trend in cases across the nation. The Federal CDC made it clear that although COVID-19 continues to pose a risk to citizens, especially those unvaccinated, the community recommendations are shifting to reflect the changes being observed. As of today, Maine CDC is continuing to recommend universal masking in all Maine schools.