Superintendent Jim Hodgkin will announce the new athletic director on Tuesday.
By Eileen M. Adams
Staff Writer

RUMFORD – The SAD 43 board gave permission for the superintendent to hire an interim athletic director for the remainder of the school year.

They also approved a school year 2004-05 calendar that is aligned with surrounding districts.

Superintendent Jim Hodgkin said he will announce the name of the new athletic director on Tuesday. He said the person currently serves as an educational technician for special education services.

If the ed tech accepts the position, his current position will be reduced 90 minutes per day. He will also receive a stipend of about $3,500 for the remainder of the school year.

Hodgkin said he plans to advertise for an athletic director to replace longtime director Tim McInnis who recently resigned. Hodgkin said the position may be restructured in the future.

SAD 43 students, as well as those from SAD 21, SAD 44 and Peru, will begin the next school year on Sept. 1. Excluding snow days, the school year would end on June 14.

Five early student release and teacher workshop days have been built into the SAD 43 calendar, bringing the total number of student days to 175, and teacher days to 181.

Hodgkin said one of the teacher workshop days, Oct. 8, is tentatively set to be a regional workshop day when teachers from the four area districts would get together to work on a common topic.

Hodgkin, along with the superintendents from the surrounding districts, have been meeting regularly during the past few months to find ways the four districts could work together.

In other matters, Hodgkin said the district is expected to receive $3,200 from Federal Emergency Management Agency funds as a result of damage caused to the high school during December’s heavy rains. The floor in the gym was severely damaged, resulting in the need for replacement.

He said the district’s insurance company will likely cover a significant portion of a new floor. The FEMA money will be used as the deductible.

“There should be little or no cost to the district for the gym floor,” he said.

The board also approved first year contracts for high school Principal Bruce Lindberg and Assistant Principal Steve Saunders, administrator contracts to Meroby Elementary School Principal Scott Drown, Virginia and Rumford elementary schools’ Principal Anne Chamberlin, Mountain Valley Middle School Principal Charles Lever and Assistant Principal Chris Decker, and Special Services Director Paige Coville, along with continuing contracts for several dozen teachers.

eadams@sunjournal.com

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