RUMFORD — Mary Gamble, the library media specialist at Mountain Valley High School, told the Regional School Unit 10 board of directors Monday that she heard her position was “at risk” of being cut from next year’s budget.

Although directors didn’t say whether her job is in jeopardy of being cut in the 2018-19 budget, Gamble went on to give a lengthy defense of it.

She said eliminating her position and using an educational technician would hurt students.

“Everything I do is in response to what’s going to be best for students to be able to compete in the world,” Gamble said.

If an educational technician were in the position, he or she would not stay after school hours to help students with projects, as she often does.

Gamble also said she does a lot of school work preparation for the students on her own time.

“Four-hundred students received an introduction to their Chromebook with me this year,” she said, and she researched on her own time to teach students how to use a Chromebook extension.

Gamble said she is also involved in advisory work with students, volunteers to provide students with after-school snacks each day and is a volunteer coordinator of the Girls’ Talk program at the high school.

There are six school libraries in the district and all have librarians, except for Mountain Valley Middle School which has an educational technician as a librarian.

In other business, the board voted to extend school days on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays for one hour beginning Tuesday, in order to make up storm days. The district will extend 20 days by one hour so schools will close June 15.

“We decided this year to (extend) three days instead of five so that it didn’t feel like quite as long a week,” Superintendent Deborah Alden said.

Also, the board approved a daylong field trip to Boston for Mountain Valley High School students. Teacher Chris Brennick requested the trip for his Civil Rights team but all students would be allowed to attend for a fee of $100, he said.

“We want to expose students to an urban setting,” Brennick said. The students will visit the JFK Presidential Library, The Freedom Trail, Paul Revere’s House and Quincy Market.

mhutchinson@sunmediagroup.net

Regional School Unit 10 school board director Greg Buccina of Rumford, left, speaks during the meeting on Monday. (Marianne Hutchinson/Rumford Falls Times)

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