MEXICO — The Regional School Unit 10 board of directors approved a school resource officer agreement Monday for the schools in the Rumford and Mexico areas.

Schools included in the agreement are Mountain Valley High School, Mountain Valley Middle School, Rumford Elementary School and Meroby Elementary School.

The board voted to hire Rumford police Sgt. Doug Maifeld for the SRO position at 29 hours per week. Maifeld plans to retire from his job at the Rumford Police Department in January, he said.

Maifeld has also been working in the River Valley area as the officer in charge of the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program at the Mountain Valley Middle School and at the elementary schools for 27 years. he said he plans to to continue running it at the middle school following his retirement from the Rumford Police Department.

Rumford police Capt. Daniel Garbarini, who was with Maifeld at the board of directors meeting, said, “Our hope and our expectation from an officer side is that Sgt. Maifeld will be able to go in there and develop friendships, build relationships, get to know these kids and get to know their day in and day out (activities) and interact with family members.

“The enforcement side really is a low expectation,” Garbarini said. “Certainly that’s a factor, but that’s not the primary focus for an officer in the school.”

Board Director Kathy Sutton of Roxbury said it is important to have an officer who is a good fit at the schools.

“Having the right officer is what is going to make a difference, because we could blow it badly by having the wrong person,” she said.

“Heaven only knows, there is enough negative publicity regarding the police community at a national level and we don’t need that here. We need the right officer for this job and I firmly believe that you (Maifeld) fit that bill.”

In other matters, the board of directors voted to increase the base salary next year for Scott Holmes, director of buildings, grounds and transportation. Holmes’ base salary was adjusted to $72,900 from $67,957.

The board also approved a cooperative agreement for next year between RSU 10 and Oxford Hills Technical School Region 11 in South Paris. The new agreement includes students in grades six through 12, whereas the prior agreement included students in grades nine through 12.

Students attending the technical school take courses in automotive technology, computer technology, graphic design and law enforcement, among other subjects.

A one-year contract was also approved with Black Mountain of Maine in Rumford. Mountain Valley High School and Middle School students will use the mountain for Alpine skiing programs and the $10,000 amount paid by the district will cover students’ ski programs and gate fees for races.

One change from the prior contract with Black Mountain is that the district will no longer have Nordic skiing at the mountain because the program has been discontinued at Mountain Valley High School due to a lack of student interest and problems finding coaches.

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