AUBURN — School Committee members Wednesday appointed Wayne Dorr as the interim building administrator for Walton Elementary School. They also approved changes to the policy regarding school building and spaces rentals.
There was no discussion among committee members before they approved Dorr’s hiring during the half-hour meeting.
At the most recent committee meeting Sept. 20, several parents of Walton Elementary students spoke about their concerns regarding their child’s education after two principals in the last two school years accepted positions at other city schools.
Superintendent Cornelia Brown announced at the last meeting that former Walton Principal Meghan Wood would fill the vacant principal position at Washburn Elementary School. Wood was made Walton principal last school year after the previous principal accepted a principal position at another city school.
In other business, committee members approved the first reading of changes to two policies regarding renting school buildings or spaces.
The policy changes stipulate that anyone renting a school building or space have at least $1 million in combined liability and property damage insurance, which is an increase from the previous $400,000 minimum requirement.
Educational, recreational, cultural and fraternal nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations based in Auburn or Lewiston, along with municipal-sponsored groups or organizations will not be charged to rent school spaces.
There is a fee scale dictating which types of groups must pay which rates. For-profit enterprises and groups hosting events for for-profit enterprises will pay the highest fees. The changes require rental fees be paid at least seven days before the event. Many of the newly proposed rates are lower than current rates.
The changes allow the athletic director or a designee to cancel events planned for outside spaces due to weather conditions without advance notice.
Other changes included changing terms or adding clarifying language to the document, along with striking existing clauses in some areas of the policy. The changes include renaming the School Facilities Use Philosophy policy to the Community Use of School Facilities and rewording the whole policy, resulting in a shorter document.
Committee members approved the policy changes without any discussion.
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