FARMINGTON — Regional School Unit 9 board of directors voted unanimously March 10 to support accepting secondary students from Strong or Kingfield if either town leaves Maine School Administrative District 58 and a 10-year tuition agreement is created.

The resolution states: “RSU 9 will accept secondary students, who reside in the communities of Strong or Kingfield as part of a Strong or Kingfield SAU creation from the withdrawal of Strong or Kingfield from MSAD 58. Student acceptance would follow the creation of a 10 Year Tuition Agreement between RSU 9 and the Strong and/or Kingfield SAU.”

Superintendent Christian Elkington said RSU 9 has space available for students in grades nine through 12, but “based on present programming space needs we do not have room to do so in any large way for grades pre-K-8.”

RSU 9 includes Chesterville, Farmington, Industry, New Sharon, New Vineyard, Starks, Temple, Vienna, Weld and Wilton.

He said RSU 9 is not involved in whether towns leave MSAD 58, but is willing to consider future arrangements if communities make that choice.

Besides Kingfield and Strong, MSAD 58 includes Avon and Phillips.

“Whether or not towns make changes in MSAD 58 is none of our business,” Elkington said. “We are not involved in that discussion and are only looking at possibilities based on the towns of Strong, Kingfield and Phillips coming to us and making inquiries and asking us questions.”

He added, “If we can assist based on their future decisions made we will try to assist.”

Laura Columbia, superintendent of MSAD 58, said her district is focused on its own students as towns work through withdrawal agreements.

“As the superintendent of MSAD 58, I want our students to attend Mt. Abram High School, but I understand through this process each town has to make the best decision for their community,” Columbia said.

Mt. Abram High School is in Salem Township.

“Negotiations have begun with MSAD 58 and the town of Strong, and we will be scheduling with the town of Kingfield shortly,” Columbia said.

RSU 9 towns include Chesterville, Farmington, Industry, New Sharon, New Vineyard, Starks, Temple, Vienna, Weld, and Wilton.

SCHOOL CULTURE

Elkington’s update at the March 10 meeting also outlined broader district priorities, including staffing, school health, math support and school culture.

He said a positive school culture is one “in which staff, families, and admin believe that they will be heard, that they can share thoughts, ideas, and concerns with each other in looking to understand and not jump to conclusions or assumptions.”

He said trust and transparency matter because “without it there is not an ability to believe, have hope, or assume best intentions.”

Those values appear in daily interactions, he said, “in how we speak with each other face-to-face, converse through email or on social media, and what our thoughts are before we communicate or when an issue comes up that we question.”

Elkington also said schools should keep working to strengthen belonging for students.

“We (all of us) always can do better at this,” he said. “It starts with your first impressions: face-to-face, in writing, on email, in conference meetings, and what you share on social media.”

His report noted that RSU 9 continues to have openings, and Elkington said the district is “investigating potential opportunities to recruit new teachers from other areas around the US and world.”

The update also thanked district nursing staff as RSU 9 worked to complete the 2025-26 Maine School Age Immunization Assessment Survey by the extended March 13 deadline. Elkington said nurses are “watching measles concerns carefully and are ready to put plans in place if needed.”

In academics, Elkington said a University of Maine at Farmington grant proposal on mathematics teaching could provide support, “especially for any newer teachers that are now with us or we are fortunate to hire in the near-future.”

In a March 6 letter supporting that proposal, he wrote that Maine’s decline in eighth grade math proficiency requires “a much more coordinated, ‘all-hands-on-deck’ approach.”

He also pointed to the district’s support for continued state funding for BARR, or Building Assets, Reducing Risks. In a March 2 letter to lawmakers, Elkington said the framework has decreased chronic absenteeism, boosted staff morale and teacher efficacy, strengthened communication with families and helped ensure that “every student is known and supported.”

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