LIVERMORE FALLS — RSU 36 school directors voted 6-4 Thursday to approve a community-service day for high school students in May.

The split vote on the community service day came after Director Lynn Knight of Livermore Falls gave a report on the Nov. 30 Curriculum Committee meeting.

Some directors had previously requested that 60 hours of community service be considered as a graduation requirement. Students would have had to completed 15 hours each of their four years in high school.

Knight said that high school Principal James Holland had discussed adding community service as graduation requirement with students and teachers.

According to the minutes of the curriculum meeting, Holland said several concerns were expressed by students including having a non-academic requirement that could prevent graduation and the amount of hours.

Some teachers thought 20 hours was good and thought the school should provide the opportunity, the minutes state. Concerns raised included adding to the workload at this time and wondered if the community could handle 300 students doing community service.

In the end, the teacher advisory committee recommended a community service day be piloted in the spring, and an evaluation of the process be done afterwards.

Both students and teachers favored the community-service day, Knight said.

The recommendation to the school board was to hold a community-service day in May, have the plan developed by a student committee and have it include four to five hours of community service followed by a barbecue and activities.

This will be a trial to see if it works, Knight said.

The whole idea was to have the requirement be 60 hours, Vice Chairwoman Denise Rodzen of Livermore Falls said. That is 15 hours a year, a little more than one hour each month, she said. An hour of raking leaves for a senior citizen, she said.

“I think 15 hours a year is not asking much,” Rodzen said. “I’m disappointed with the recommendation.”

Knight said concerns were raised about the school’s liability if a student goes off on their own to do community service and something happens.

Superintendent Sue Pratt said Holland was not opposed to having a community service requirement, he just wants to establish a protocol and this would be a start.

Rodzen said the board has been talking about adding the requirement for 10 years.

Director Jennifer Pooler of Livermore Falls asked if the community could handle 300 kids in one day.

“The town can handle it,” Director Ann Souther of Livermore Falls said.

Knight said personally she would like to see it done but not as a one-day thing.

Souther said students need to take the initiative.

“We’re not going to hold their hands for the rest of their lives,” she said.

Pratt said Holland just wants to make sure it will work.

Rodzen suggested that Knight take the recommendation back and see if any more “oomph” could be put into it.

Pooler added that she didn’t think the kids need to be rewarded for doing something good.

“I agree. I don’t think they need to rewarded,” student board representative Lexi Niedner of Livermore said. “I don’t agree it should be a requirement. I think kids should go out and do community service because they want to.”

Niedner also said if students have this community service day, they may decide they like it and want to do it on their own.

When the vote came Chairman Ashley O’Brien, Elaine LaPointe, Diane Gould, Cindy Young Gina St. Pierre and Knight favored the proposal.

Opposing the measure were Rodzen, Fred Nadeau, Pooler and Souther.

In another curriculum recommendation, the board unanimously approved students being able to earn a fine arts credit by passing digital media and the photography. They are presently provided courses at the high school. Previously they could only earn the credit by passing band, drama, technical theater, fine arts, two dimensional art, three dimensional art and both mechanical and architectural drafting.

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NOTE: The vote and the addition of one RSU 36 school director, Gina St. Pierre was missing from the initial story. It has been added in.