Maine Academy of Natural Sciences
Minutes
MeANS' Board Meeting
Date and Time
Thursday November 13, 2025 at 4:30 PM
Location
Maine Academy of Natural Sciences
13 Easler Road
Hinckley, ME 04944
Directors Present
A. Perkins, D. Gram, E. Pariser, G. Bazakas, G. Lichterfeld, L. Karter (remote), M. Callan, M. Harris, M. Oben, N. Findlan, W. King
Directors Absent
K. Case
Guests Present
A. Boudreau, A. Hyde, E. Coleman, Grace Hilmer, P. Henyan, R. Anthony
I. Opening Items
A.
Call the Meeting to Order
B.
Record Attendance
C.
Additions/Adjustments to the Agenda
D.
Public Comment
None.
E.
Staff/Student Presentation: ?
Preparing for Life After MeANS - Senior Student Bella P. presenting.
-Gear UP Maine Rise assisting our students with career-focused trips.
-Had our MeANS Senior Launch Night.
-College Road Trip - our sophomores just got back last week from seeing several colleges over a three-day period.
-Bella P. went to UMA for a tour - Med. Tech. program.
-Job shadows, resources, scholarships to look at - She did a Job Shadow at Maine General afterwards.
-Israel C. (also a Senior) toured UMA's Aviation program.
-Talked about the financial aid resources, etc.
-Agriculture Team - Selling homemade items made by students and our Swag Sale.
II. Consent Agenda (Action requested by approval of Consent Agenda)
A.
Approval of Meeting Minutes from October 9th, 2025 Board Meeting
None.
B.
Approval of Committee Reports
Mackenzie - Enjoyed the campus visit checking out our building and outdoor spaces.
III. Information Sharing
A.
Year 3 of Strategic Goals
-We have updated our goals, and will be forming a sub-committee in January to establish our next 3 years of goals.
B.
Update Shared Drive
-The Board Google Shared Drive exists and is owned by MeANS - Mary has been updating it with documents.
-Virtual Training for an Orientation for the Drive TBD.
C.
Reminder of 2025-26 Calendar of Board Trainings
-Making sure this calendar is in Board OnTrack.
-They all begin at 3:30PM.
-Let Mary know if you do any online trainings so she can keep track of those.
D.
Financial Update/Discussion: Revised 3 Year Budget
Whitney King
-Short $150,000 for next year since enrollment was down.
-Need to decide on where to cut spending - next Board Meeting to present.
E.
IT Staffing
Ryan
-Close to hiring an IT Director - We have a couple of quotes out there right now.
F.
HOS Report
Ryan
-Quarter 1 is in the books - fast, fun, busy.
-Hosted an Outdoor Learning Day, Fall Assessments and Harvest Week/Fest during the same week, etc.
-Practicing Fire Drills, Lockdown Drills - Good feedback.
-Different projects - Food Drive going well, celebrating a new Stinger Award; (1 student per grade) each month.
-Professional learning opportunities, classroom observations.
-Threshold team doing good.
-Looking to hire a Transportation Director.
-MFA - 1st meeting last night - More partnering with families.
-Prepping for Winter Intensives.
G.
Board Recruitment
Board Recruitment Professional Development Meeting
-Needing to look at filling the positions for next year - being intentional with filling the skillsets we are losing.
-Who is the Board Recruitment team? (Forming a Sub-Committee.)
-If you are interested in joining please reach out to Mary.
H.
By All MeANS Letter/Tri-Fold Brochure
Materials created by the Development Committee for our By All MeANS Campaign
-If you see any mistakes let us know and we can edit before finalizing.
-Our By All MeANS mailing list - Being strategic about who we are soliciting.
-Shooting for 100% participation by the Board.
Info. Sharing - H - Development Committee's By All MeANS Letters and Tri-fold.