RUMFORD – Wednesday’s school opening went smoothly for all districts in the northern Oxford area, with the only surprise being the higher-than-expected number of new kindergartners.

SAD 43 Superintendent Jim Hodgkin said about 20 more kindergarten pupils enrolled than had been expected, prompting his district to consider what, if any, action the board should take.

A total of 1,617 students attended classes at one of SAD 43’s five schools on Wednesday, a little higher than expected because of the kindergarten numbers.

In SAD 21, about five more kindergartners than expected enrolled, said Superintendent Tom Ward. This had a greater impact than usual because this is the first year the district offers all-day kindergarten classes. Because of the all-day change, Dixfield Elementary School now has three kindergarten classes, along with the usual one at Canton Elementary School. The district wants to maintain a classroom size of about 15 kindergartners, a number Ward said was ideal.

Ward, like Hodgkin, is always concerned with projected student enrollment decline, but neither district experienced that this year. At Dirigo High School, about 20 more students were added to the rolls, many coming from SAD 43 because of the recent vote to merge SAD 21 and the Peru School Department. Previously, all students from Peru had the option of attending Mountain Valley High School or Dirigo High School.

Ward said several families moved to the district this summer, a fact that also boosted the number of high school students. SAD 21’s total student enrollment is now 859, up from 830 last year.

SAD 44 Superintendent David Murphy said the beginning of the new school year marked an organizational change that more clearly separated middle and high school students. Former high school principal Ted Davis is the new, interim middle school principal, a position that hasn’t existed in the district for many years.

Judith Whitman is the new principal at Crescent Park Elementary School, and Roger Sabin was appointed teaching principal at Andover Elementary School.

Student population has remained pretty much the same over the years, said Murphy, usually between 1,000 and 1,500. This year’s total is 1,050.

Similar to SAD 43, SAD 44 is having difficulty filling a secondary biology teacher position, but other than that, virtually all teaching and educational technician’s positions were filled on the first day of school.

The beginning of school for Murphy was as smooth as he’s seen in his 21 years in the district, he said. Ward had similar words.

“It’s like the students and staff never missed a beat. I’m very pleased,” he said.