Update from Superintendent Matheney
Dear South Portland families and staff members,
I’m writing today with updates and information from the school district:
Upcoming calendar items for your attention:
Today, Monday, November 13: Board Meeting (6:00pm, SPHS Lecture Hall; this meeting will be preceded by an executive session. More information here.)
Wednesday, November 15: Elementary Boundaries and Configurations Meeting (5:00pm, SPHS Learning Commons)
Tuesday, November 21: Early release
November 22-24: Thanksgiving Break
Wednesday, December 6: Early release for staff professional development
Friday, December 22: No school; winter break begins
School resumes on Tuesday, January 2
2023-24 Calendar
I wanted to share some key information about the remaining 2023-24 school year calendar. At this point, June 13 remains the final day of the school year. The existing calendar already provided for two days of school closings. Thus, the district does not have to immediately change our calendar because of our closings on October 26 and 27. However, some changes may be necessary in the coming months because of winter weather. Please keep in mind the following for your planning purposes:
As noted, June 13 remains our final day of school. However, families should keep in mind that Friday, June 14 may become a school day.
Our first school closing because of winter weather will be a traditional snow day.
Our second and third school closings because of bad weather will be remote school days. We will not have additional remote days except under very exceptional circumstances.
The district can submit a request to the Department of Education to waive October 26 and 27 as required school days (but has not yet decided to do so). You can share any input on this topic or anything else related to potential calendar changes here.
I will share another calendar update with you in early December.
Elementary Boundaries and Configurations
Please check out the Elementary Boundaries and Configurations web page for key postings including:
October 18 Steering Committee presentation slides
October 24 Community Forum presentation slides and input (here and here)
Articles and resources (If you have additional suggestions for this document, please email them to me at mathenti@spsdme.org.)
Just a reminder: Steering Committee meeting, this Wednesday, November 15, 5:00pm, SPHS Learning Commons
We’re Hiring!
Check out all of our employment opportunities including…
Bus driver (pay starts at $22.30/hour)
Special Education teacher (One-year only elementary school position)
Custodian (pay starts at $20.34/hour)
Cook/Baker (pay starts at $18.36/hour)
City Comprehensive Planning
We encourage you to learn more about the City’s ongoing comprehensive planning efforts by visiting their website.
November is Native American Heritage Month
We encourage you to check out two resources celebrating the history, heritage and contributions of the indigenous people of North America:
I hope everyone has a great week!
Sincerely,
Tim Matheney, Superintendent of Schools
