Newport school district policy committee to meet June 9 at SAU office

Newport’s policy committee met at the SAU/Towle Building office on North Main Street, keeping the district’s rulebook moving ahead of the June 11 school board meeting. The committee’s work matters because the policies it reviews can shape communication, student support, personnel rules and administrative consistency before the next school year.

The June 9 session was posted for 10 a.m. in the PD Room at 86 North Main St. in Newport. The district says the policy committee typically meets on the second Tuesday of each month at 9:30 a.m. at the SAU Office, a regular schedule that shows the board’s policy work is handled as an ongoing part of district governance rather than a one-time review.

The committee’s membership reaches across the district’s leadership structure. Listed members include interim superintendent Robert Wargo, director of curriculum, instruction and assessment Brynn Kane, director of student support services Darlene Ayotte, Richards Elementary School principal Robert Clark, Newport Middle School principal David Bailey, school board chair Nikki Murphy, school board member Keith Sayer, high school principal Shannon Martin and human resource coordinator Shari Theriault. On the board side, Nikki Murphy is listed as chair, Jessica Packard as vice chair, Paul Brown as secretary, with Melissa Mitchler and Keith Sayer as board members and Wargo serving as interim superintendent.

The committee’s job is more than housekeeping. District policy pages say it reviews existing policies and presents new ones to the full School Board for approval to keep Newport aligned with federal and state mandates. That makes the committee the point where practical changes are sorted out before they reach a public board vote.

The district’s 2025-2026 schedule shows policy committee meetings across the school year, including June 9, May 26, April 14, January 13, December 9, November 17, October 21 and August 25, with several dates marked canceled, including May 12, March 10, February 10 and August 12. Newport’s full School Board was also set to meet June 11 at 5:30 p.m., two days after the policy committee gathering, which could put any recommendations quickly onto the board’s regular agenda.

A separate communications committee also remains active, typically meeting the third Tuesday of each month at 11 a.m. at the SAU Office, underscoring how much of Newport school governance now runs through standing committees before decisions reach the board room.