RUMFORD — Regional School Unit 10 directors indicated their preference Wednesday for two librarians for four schools in Rumford and Mexico and one for two schools in Sumner and Buckfield in the coming school year.
The straw poll taken at the workshop meeting differed from a proposal by Superintendent Deb Alden and administrators for two librarians for Sumner and Buckfield schools, with one of them overseeing educational technicians at Rumford Elementary School and Meroby Elementary School in Mexico.
The board voted June 17 to cut two of the five district librarian positions, in part, because the state is providing less money because of student enrollment. The vote included adding two educational technicians for a total of three.
Director Jennifer LeDuc of Rumford said she requested Wednesday’s workshop because she wanted to rescind the June 17 vote.
“We were not informed properly of what we were voting for,” she said, “so I’m angry that we’re talking more but we can’t (vote) at a workshop.
LeDuc said that in four meetings with the board “it was very clearly stated that there would be a librarian at Meroby Elementary School overseeing a library tech at Mountain Valley Middle School and that there would be a librarian at Mountain Valley High School who would be overseeing a library tech at Mountain Valley Middle School and it would be a one-to-one model in the Nezinscot region. That was what I voted on.”
Director Janet Brennick of Mexico said she felt administrators and Alden didn’t necessarily think about students when they proposed having no librarian at the Rumford and Mexico elementary schools.
“I don’t know how you could think that a half a day for a librarian from each of our elementary schools in this region is equitable to our kids here in this region,” she said. “I don’t know how you guys came to that conclusion. I wasn’t in that meeting. What I do know is it is not equitable.”
mhutchinson@sunmediagroup.net
Regional School Unit 10 Director Kathy Sutton of Rumford addresses the board Wednesday evening in Rumford about placement of librarians for the next school year.
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