BETHEL — The SAD 44 board voted unanimously this week to use part of the federal stimulus money to reinstate two positions that had been eliminated, and to add a third fifth-grade teaching position.

When the current budget was developed, about 16 professional and support staff positions were cut.

Superintendent David Murphy said about $100,000 of the nearly $270,000 provided to the district will go to reinstate a secretarial position to serve Telstar High School and Crescent Park Elementary School and a full-time custodial position at Telstar High School. It will also pay for a fifth-grade teacher at Crescent Park Elementary School.

He said an unexpected increase in the number of fifth-graders prompted the need for a third teacher. The average class size now will be about 16 pupils.

Most of the federal money will be retained for what Murphy described as another tough budget year for the five-town district, which includes Bethel, Andover, Newry, Woodstock and Greenwood.

SAD 44 lost a substantial amount of state aid for this fiscal year and is expected to lose even more next year.

“We’ll be facing a challenging year,” Murphy said.

In other staffing matters, Shannon Waggoner, a former teacher with SAD 55 in Hiram, was hired as a three-fifths-time teacher for music instruction in the three elementary schools. The person who was hired to begin the school year withdrew his acceptance just before the year began.

Also, Crescent Park School Principal Levi Brown will become district health coordinator. The half-time physical education position he held, along with his principalship, will be advertised.

The district had 890 students enrolled, down slightly from the end of the previous school year, as of the first day of school, Murphy said. That number may change when the official enrollment is provided to the state on Oct. 1.

[email protected]