Superintendent William Shuttleworth was given an extension through June 2005.
By Duane Hayes
Special to the Sun Journal

BUCKFIELD – SAD 39 Superintendent William Shuttleworth was given a contract extension through June 2005 Wednesday by district directors.

Shuttleworth came to the district from the Portland School System in 1999. He has been active throughout the district, visiting schools on a regular basis in order to interact with students one-on-one as well as in group meetings.

The vote to extend his contract was unanimous.

The board also approved plans for the 2004 senior class trip to Florida, which is being scheduled for late next spring. The trip will have a full itinerary, including visits to Florida’s historic sites as well as to Orlando and its tourist attractions.

Shuttleworth said the plan is for students to travel to Florida by plane, a change from past trips that called for bus travel.

“It was decided this year that the kids will go by plane,” said Shuttleworth, “because, in the past, travel by bus used up so much of the time they could have been using for their tour. A trip like what is being planned will be fun for the students but most of all it will be a very valuable learning experience.”

He said fund-raising is under way and praised the efforts of staff and students for their dedication to the goals of the campaign, which will make the trip possible.

He also said he and the administrative staff has opened negotiations with neighboring SAD 17 to research possible ways the school systems can begin to regionalize services that may reduce costs.

“As Governor Baldacci is mandating a move toward regionalization throughout the state, we, along with SAD 17 in South Paris, feel we may be able to combine some services in order to save costs for both districts while continuing to focus our efforts on quality education. We have had some preliminary meetings at this point and plan for more meetings in January after which we will have a news release updating what we have done to that point. I think we can work with our neighbors very well and cut costs through combining many services,” he said.

Periodic reports will be coming out on the issue for both districts as talks proceed.

The board approved the following Buckfield Junior/Senior High School staff positions as recommended by the superintendent: varsity girls basketball coach, Gary Upham; middle school boys basketball coach, Ryan Wilkins; varsity cheering coach, Debbie Wetherell; junior varsity boys basketball coach, Steve Bennett; DI co-coordinators, Judy Smith and Elizabeth Dunn; drama coach, Judi Weeks; and varsity boys volunteer assistant coach, Rusty Williams. All nominations were unanimous.

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