Regional School Unit 73 directors vote Thursday night to hire two more staff members for special education. From left are Chairman Bob Staples, Superintendent Scott Albert, and Directors Steven Langlin, Scott Jackson, Sara Hughes, Taylor Guay, Tammy Frost, Doug DiPasquale and Lenia Coates. Pam Harnden/Livermore Falls Advertiser

JAY — Regional School Unit 73 directors voted 12-1 to hire two additional staff members for special education during their meeting Thursday night. The new staff will be educational technician IIs.

Doug DiPasquale was opposed and Andrew Sylvester was absent.

After the meeting, Special Education Director Tammy Holmes said the educational technicians will be working in the Life Skills program. One will be at Spruce Mountain Primary School and the other at the middle school.

“More than 40 kids (with special needs) have moved into the district,” she said. “That’s a high percentage.”

Superintendent Scott Albert spoke of the recently aired WGME report on a bus recall that will start Dec. 1.

The nationwide recall affects over 53,000 Thomas Built models from 2014 to 2020 that don’t have adequate padding on seat backs in the case of collisions or bumpy rides.

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“It affects three of our buses,” he said. “The buses will not have to be pulled from the road. They’re coming here to fix any of the buses in question.

“The new buses that we’ve ordered that are coming in are all set to go,” Albert said.

In other business, directors were invited to a luncheon prepared by students in the Life Skills program at Spruce Mountain Middle School.

Mason Labonte, a student in the Life Skills program at Spruce Mountain Middle School, extends a luncheon invitation to RSU 73 directors for Friday, Nov. 8. From left are, Labonte and Directors Phoebe Pike, Joel Pike, Lynn Ouellette and Dale Leblanc. Pam Harnden/Livermore Falls Advertiser

Student Mason Labonte passed out student-made invitations. He said the menu for the Friday, Nov. 8, meal would be meatloaf, mashed potatoes, green beans, apple crisp and ice cream — all made by the students in the program. He asked that reservations be made by Friday, Nov. 1.

Board Chairman Bob Staples said, “I will be there. You had me at food.”

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