FARMINGTON — Members of the RSU 9 school board voted Tuesday to hire an educational technician II for Cushing School in Wilton.

The money will have to be found in the regular budget because the district’s contingency fund will be overdrawn by about $30,000 if expenses continue as they have been by the end of the year. The district budgeted $115,000 for contingency in the current budget.

One kindergarten class at the Cushing School has 19 students while the other two have 18 students each, Superintendent Tom Ward said.

The board’s rule is if there are 19 students in a kindergarten class, then an ed tech needs to be put in the classroom, he said.

The position would be 5½ hours per day, and would be considered a floating position in case the other two classes exceed 18 students, he said.

District Business Manager Kris Pottle explained the condition of the contingency fund.

There are 10 students enrolled in charter schools, but the district only budgeted for two, she said. If they stay enrolled, it will cost the district $65,000, she said.

The district had budgeted for three out-of-district placements for students that need special services, she said. There are four this year, and the cost is unknown at this time, she said.

The district also had to hire a literacy educational technician III for one year for Cascade Brook School in Farmington in September. The four third-grade classrooms at the school each had 24 to 25 students in them at the time.

The cost for that was $18,000, Pottle said.

An educational technician position for the gifted and talented was changed to be a teaching position. That was $12,000 more than what was budgeted, she said.

Director Angie LeClair of Wilton said she attended a conference where there was a discussion about charter schools having a negative affect on school districts. She said one district asked the students and their parents why they were choosing to leave. In at least one case after the discussion, the student chose to stay.

She asked if school officials were doing that in this district. Ten students are a lot of students, she said.

“In some cases, the students were previously homeschooled,” said Leanne Condon, assistant superintendent/director of curriculum.

Seven of the students were not enrolled in RSU 9 schools last year, Pottle said.

The hard part is that the district is not notified of students taking part in virtual charter schools until they are enrolled.

Chairman Mark Prentiss suggested they put charter schools on another agenda, since the original discussion was about hiring an educational technician.

The board’s next meeting is at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 25, in the Forum at Mt. Blue Campus. A Finance Committee meeting will be held at 6 p.m.

dperry@sunjournal.com

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