RUMFORD — The Regional School Unit 10 board of directors voted Monday to add a kindergarten teacher at Rumford Elementary School because of the number of pupils and the high percentage who need special education services.

As of Monday, there were 19 pupils in one class and 20 in two others enrolled for this fall, Superintendent Deb Alden said.

“The other thing we know is there is a high percentage of those kids that already receive special education,” she said. “And so to have a classroom of 19 or 20 kindergartners and already have a high percentage of special education students is very concerning.”

Before the vote, the board discussed the possibility of transferring some pupils enrolling this fall to Meroby Elementary School in Mexico, where there are 12 pupils in two classes and 13 in one.

However, Meroby Elementary School Principal Kim Fuller said a prior move involving pupils “was really unsuccessful in the long run” and that “shuffling kids around is not a good idea.”

In other matters, the board accepted a $5,000 donation from John Beliveau and his wife, Sarah Parent, of Falmouth to the district’s summer feeding program.

Beliveau and his wife are Rumford natives who saw a piece on WCSH (Channel 6) about the district’s summer lunch program for children up to age 18.

The district has lunches available through Aug. 16 at the Rumford and Mexico libraries, Rumford Elementary School and Calvin Wells Recreational Field in Buckfield.

mhutchinson@sunmediagroup.net

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