FARMINGTON — RSU 9 Superintendent Tom Ward told school directors Tuesday that he plans to present a school restructuring plan at their next meeting Jan. 28.
Restructuring will allow the district to make better use of facilities, he said.
There is overcrowding at Mallett School in Farmington, Cushing School in Wilton and Cape Cod Hill School in New Sharon, he said.
Rooms and spaces are not being used in the buildings the way they are supposed to be due to the number of students attending the schools, Ward told directors in November 2013. He tasked administrators to develop a plan to ease overcrowding at the time.
There was an influx of students at the Mallett School prior to school opening, and the district had to add another kindergarten class to make six kindergarten classrooms at the school. The newest classroom had to be moved up to the second floor of the new school that opened in 2011. That was possible because there was a separate staircase kindergartners could use, Ward previously said.
Music and art classes are being held in the Cushing School cafeteria, which also doubles as the gymnasium, Ward had said. That school serves prekindergarten through second grade. The Mallett School houses prekindergarten through sixth grade and Cape Cod Hill School serves students in prekindergarten through sixth grade.
“Our middle school should really be a grade-six-through-eight school,” he said Tuesday.
Restructuring will benefit all students. There would be benefits of consistent curriculum across the district, he said.
“We will talk about the benefits in a presentation,” Ward said, scheduled at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 28, at the Presentation Forum at the Mt. Blue Campus, which houses the high school and career and technical education programs.
No decision will be made at that next meeting but administrators are seeking the board’s input on the proposal.
Ward said he is also going to present a proposal for early-release days but is not sure it will be Jan. 28.
In a previous district he worked in, there was a one-hour delayed start on some school days that allowed for staff development, he said. That district also offered supervised activities for families with child care needs.
“There still is going to be a need for early-release days but not as many,” Ward said.
This school year, grades prekindergarten through six have 17 early-release days, and dismissal times vary according to each school in the 10-town district. Those in upper grades have nine early-release days.
Teachers at the elementary school level have less preparation time than those in upper levels, he said.
The issue for parents and staff on having too many early-release days is the loss of “very important” teacher-student contact time, he said.
RSU 9 includes the towns of Chesterville, Farmington, Industry, New Sharon, New Vineyard, Starks, Temple, Vienna, Weld and Wilton.
dperry@sunjournal.com
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