JAY — Directors of Regional School Unit 73 on Thursday approved changes to student handbooks for Spruce Mountain primary, elementary and middle schools, including how parents pick up students at the elementary school.

Morning drop-off will be the same as last year with vehicles from state Route 4 entering the back parking lot between the tennis courts and the school and making a loop back to Route 4.

A new road has been built from that parking lot to School Bus Road. Parents will come down Hyde Road through the new road by the bus garage, pick up students and exit onto Route 4.

“Parents shouldn’t be backed up,” Principal Pat St. Clair said.

Director Joel Pike liked the plan but asked if residents were told about the change. Previously, some residents didn’t want as much traffic through there, he noted.

St. Clair said residents hadn’t been contacted but with pickup starting at 2:08 p.m. and ending at 2:20 p.m. at the latest, it shouldn’t be a problem. Having all right turns should also help, he added.

The first day of classes Wednesday for most district students will be as normal as possible, Superintendent Scott Albert said.

With the board’s approval later in the meeting to hire Michael Morrell of Jay as a science teacher at the high school, all teaching positions are filled, Albert said.

Morrell stepped down as board vice chairman last November.

There are five education technician positions open: two for special education, two for Title 1, and one for social/emotional learning. Positions for a bus driver/custodian and a couple grant-funded custodians are unfilled, Albert noted.

“I think we are in great shape overall,” he said. “I think it says a lot for our district. I think we have done a good job of having good contracts for people, I think they understand that we care about education in these three towns and it looks good for us.”

RSU 73 includes Jay, Livermore and Livermore Falls.

A computer instructor took the elementary school librarian job, St. Clair said, but there was no interest shown for the computer job. He met with Jennifer Stone, the school’s social worker, and they decided to use those 45 minutes of instruction to focus on healthy living — relationships, eating and so forth.

“It will fill a need for the kids,” he noted. “They won’t be losing academics but will gain so much more.”

Asked if students would still get the computer help, St. Clair said every student has a laptop, and he has talked with the middle school principal to make sure students will be ready when they move up.

“I think (the students) will be all right,” St. Clair said. “I think healthy living is more important right now.”

Homecoming Week at the high school will be the first week of October, giving freshmen a little extra time to learn about the school, Principal TJ Plourde said.

High school students will have the opportunity to obtain credit for completing 100 hours of community service, which applies toward a student’s grade point average, Plourde said. Guidance and main office staff will track student hours and have a list of where volunteers are needed, he noted. There are more opportunities in the summer than winter, he added.

Community service hadn’t been done for a while but was restarted last year, Plourde noted. Seniors can go to previous years to get those numbers for credit, he said.

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