FARMINGTON – After about 30 minutes of discussion, the SAD 9 Board of Directors voted to eliminate three elementary teaching positions from the district Tuesday.
One teaching position each from G. D. Cushing School, Cape Cod Hill School and Cascade Brook School will be cut. Board members will leave ultimate decisions on classroom staffing at the schools next year to the school principals and their staffs, said Ray Glass, chairman of the board of directors.
The staffing cuts are due, in part, to a reduction in enrollment, Glass said.
At their meeting last week, a motion was brought to reinstate two of the three positions, transferring the Cushing position to Academy Hill School and retaining the Cape Cod Hill teacher. But board members voted last week to suspend discussion of the motion to collect more information.
Glass said Superintendent Michael Cormier and Assistant Superintendent Susan Pratt “reasonably defended their original position,” demonstrating “for the most part, class size would be well within the norm for the district.”
No one spoke against losing a teacher at Cascade Brook School on Tuesday.
But Marie Turner, Title I reading recovery teacher at Cape Cod Hill School, thinks the two other positions should be retained. Turner spoke Tuesday night against the proposal.
“We’re just concerned,” she said Wednesday, adding that the two schools losing teachers, Cushing and Cape Cod Hill, were both recognized as improving schools this year.
“We understand the price of oil is going up but teachers come from the point of view that their children come first,” she said. “Now the money and the taxpayers are talking. It isn’t a wise decision academically or educationally.”
But she said she appreciated the board’s willingness to listen to concerns and acknowledged the board has a tough job.
“It is our job and our passion to advocate for our kids,” she said. “If we don’t, who will?”
“We’re simply faced with hard budget realities,” said Glass, adding that the board respected the public’s thoughtful comments.
“Nobody likes to cut teachers,” he said. “But with a reduced number of students coming down the pike, it seemed a responsible thing to do. We’re supposed to be guardians to ensure that our children are well-served. I think they are under this proposal,” he added.
The board voted 10-2 to eliminate the three positions, reducing the elementary instruction budget $84,799 in wages and benefits. It also voted, 7-5, to add $20,000 to the contingency fund in case a teacher is needed later.
“Whatever the decision, we’ll do the best we can and then some,” said Turner. “We have a wonderful staff.”
The board also took no vote after an executive session to discuss an injunction against the district regarding a high school student the board suspended last week after a gun was found in a borrowed vehicle he had driven to school in March. Justice Joseph Jabar issued an order Friday to allow the student to return to school until his appeal could be heard in court April 19.
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