FARMINGTON — The president of Sandy River Recycling Association thanked RSU 9 students and staff for supporting the recycling program Tuesday night as the schools came up with more than 10 tons of recyclable material in the first year.

Jo Josephson said it had been nine months since she and Ron Slater, manager of SRRA, met with the administrative team and said how pleased they were to begin collecting, baling and selling recyclables from Regional School Unit 9.

Mutual efforts produced a total of 10.5 tons as of mid-May, she said. That included 9,998 pounds of cardboard, 5,021 pounds of mixed paper, 3,280 pounds of high-grade paper and 2,714 pounds of tin. Josephson thanked the contact people at each school, and singled out  exceptional volunteers.

“I especially want to thank Alex Ernest, the pioneer, and David Leavitt, who quietly went about ordering the containers that were needed, and of course, the custodians who were there and are a vital link in the chain,” she said.

She said she looked forward to the next school year, with a goal of doubling this year’s total. The association is working on a district-wide food collection program and welcomes visitors to the facility. Much of the recycled food waste is composted and can be purchased at the facility.

In other business,

* Mark Prentiss, chairman of the school board, served on the committee for Teachers’ Association contract negotiations. He and lead negotiator David Ronald, a high school social studies teacher, announced successful talks to conclude a mutually agreeable plan for the board to approve for the coming year. The committee had two meetings earlier that day, and the teachers unanimously ratified the agreement.

“I just wanted to say that we worked very well together, and the teachers have ratified the contract,” Prentiss said.

* Because the district locked in fuel prices at a lower rate than projected during the March and April budget process, the savings will fund repairs to the Cascade Brook School roof.

* Superintendent Michael Cormier announced that he recently learned the $8,000 of funding for the school health coordinator had been cut. Alyce Cavanaugh has filled that position for the Mt. Blue Regional School District for the past four years. The Bureau of Health at the Maine Department of Health and Human Services funded the position with tobacco settlement money from the Fund for a Healthy Maine through the Partnership For A Tobacco-Free Maine.

“The money across the state is gone as part of budget cuts, and (the Department of Health and Human Services) has given the money to Healthy Maine Partners,” Cormier said.