RUMFORD — Regional School Unit 10 has received $658,689 in state aid, Superintendent Deborah Alden told directors Wednesday night.
The money is part of the additional $48 million the Department of Education is getting for 2017-18. With the new state budget, the local share for the district is 40.74 percent, not the 42.44 percent expected before the state budget passed, Alden said in an email on Friday.
“Fifty percent of the increase has to go back to the towns, but apparently that is very complicated and the attorneys are working with the state to figure out how that is supposed to be done,” Alden said in her email.
In new business, the board elected Jerry Wiley of Buckfield as chairman. Wiley replaces Bruce Ross, who resigned and is an RSU 56 board member.
Director Jennifer LeDuc of Rumford replaced Wiley as vice chairwoman.
The board has 13 members from Rumford, Mexico, Roxbury, Hanover, Hartford, Buckfield and Sumner.
During their meeting, the board welcomed new members Travis Palmer of Rumford, Janet Brennick of Mexico and Greg Buccina of Rumford. Palmer was a Mountain Valley High School student representative to the board last year. Brennick was elected for a three-year term, while Buccina has a two-year term left by Frank DiConzo, who retired in June.
In other business, the board voted to purchase Google Chromebook laptops for Mountain Valley High School students and educators. Alden said the lease for the high school’s iPads ran out this year and the district had to make a decision to replace or renew the computers.
Technology director Kevin Kaulback compared prices between iPads and Chromebooks and told the board the total amount for the laptops with a three-year partnership and warranty agreement with a computer sales company was $197,126, which comes to $201 each.
“As far as looking up prices, this is a really good price,” Kaulback said. In comparison, Director Charlie Maddaus of Sumner told the board that the iPad total budget was $369,433 with a projected $33,000 grant from the state.
In other news, Trudi Cormier and Jeffrey Pelletier were appointed as co-advisers for the high school math team; Chris Araujo was appointed as the high school boys’ junior varsity soccer coach; Gary Dolloff was hired as the Mountain Valley Middle School head football coach; and Steve LaPointe was appointed as the middle school assistant football coach.
Donna Peare, high school science teacher, resigned and has taken a teaching position at Spruce Mountain High School in Jay.
New hires at Meroby Elementary School in Mexico are Cheryl Consonni and Lynn Lyons as Title 1 educational technician IIIs, and Theresa Bishop as special education educational technician III.
The board also hired a districtwide occupational therapist, Samantha Larson, who most recently worked for Franklin Hospital in Farmington.
The next school board meeting is at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 14, at a location to be determined.
mhutchinson@sunmediagroup.net
Regional School Unit 10 board directors elected in June are, left to right, Greg Buccina of Rumford, Janet Brennick of Mexico and Travis Palmer of Rumford.
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