Hallowell-area school looking to use athletics fund money to put in a new track
When he died, Hallowell resident Melvin Simmons left a financial gift intended to pay for improvements at Hall-Dale High School athletic facilities.
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HALLOWELL Safety concerns about the track at Hall-Dale High School had Simmons Fund committee members discussing its replacement at their meeting Tuesday night.
The track is the committee’s main focus, but it is still in the planning process. Hall-Dale Principal Mark Tinkham said the project could take 12-16 months from the time an architect looks at the field, to the time a final design and the track are put into place. The committee also discussed installing new LED lights, as well.
Board member questions decision-making process at Hallowell-area school board meeting
Regional School Unit 2 school board member Dawn Gallagher voiced dissatisfaction with Superintendent Tonya Arnold s decision-making process to bring students back to school four days a week.
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HALLOWELL Tensions flared Thursday night as Regional School Unit 2 board members learned more about how the district made decisions to bring students back to school more days per week.
RSU 2 Superintendent Tonya Arnold updated the board on efforts to bring students back to school, four days per week. She said most schools have as many students back as possible except for Hall-Dale Elementary School, due to spacing issues.
In divided vote, Hallowell-area school board chooses monthly early release Fridays for next year
Some members of Regional School Unit 2 board of directors say they oppose the plan because of a flawed survey, the second time polling about early release options has been criticized.
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The Regional School Unit 2 board of directors hosts a special meeting Thursday night over Zoom. The board voted to have early release days on Fridays, occurring monthly, in the 2021-22 school year.
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HALLOWELL While some members of the Regional School Unit 2 board of directors said a “flawed” survey had them opposing an early release plan, the district will have monthly early release Fridays for the 2021-22 school year.
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Hallowell-area school board members ask for more details about COVID relief money spending
In emails obtained by the Kennebec Journal, Regional School Unit 2 board members have been asking questions about where and why coronavirus money is being spent across the district.
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HALLOWELL After coronavirus relief funds were used to cover part of the cost of outdoor lights at the Hall-Dale Middle and High School sports fields, Regional School Unit 2 school board members began asking where money was being spent across the district.
School board members didn’t know sports-related items could be purchased with coronavirus relief funds, raising questions among the board members of where the money was being spent at the other RSU 2 schools, according to emails obtained by the Kennebec Journal through a public records request.
While union ‘lost patience,’ Hallowell-area superintendent’s contract still renewed by school board
After a motion to table the contract approval was defeated, Superintendent Tonya Arnold s contract was renewed through June 30, 2023, in an 8-1 vote.
Regional School Unit 2 Superintendent Tonya Arnold, seen during a Zoom school board meeting Sept. 3, 2020.
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HALLOWELL Regional School Unit 2 Superintendent Tonya Arnold said in email to staff Feb. 3 that 85% of the district’s coronavirus cases were because of teachers and staff, a claim that quickly sparked controversy and led the teachers union to say it had “lost patience” with her leadership.
She followed that up the morning of Feb. 4 with another message to district employees apologizing to anyone whose feelings were hurt by her communication from the day before. Hours later, after a motion to postpone the decision failed, the RSU 2 board of directors approved a contract extension for Arnold to