LIVERMORE FALLS — RSU 73 directors voted unanimously Thursday to use the south campus’ high school honor roll grade requirements for this school year.

The grade standards at both campuses of Spruce Mountain High Schools in Jay and Livermore Falls are the same.

There is a difference, however, in the grade percentage when it comes to being named to the honor roll between the two schools.

Director Vicki McLeod of Jay broached the subject, saying she received a call from someone asking about the difference in the grading system to be named a scholar athlete.

An athlete becomes classified as a scholar athlete by participating in a sport and maintaining honor roll status in academics.

Highest honors at both schools is 95 or better in all classes. Highest honors at Livermore Falls is 90 or better in all classes, and in Jay it is 92 or better.

Honors in Livermore Falls is considered 80 or better for all classes; in Jay it is 83 or better.

For the rest of the school year, students at both campuses will be eligible for the honor roll using the Livermore Falls’ high school standards.

The board was given the handbooks to review at the last possible day before school started. The handbooks were already printed at that time.

North campus Principal Gilbert “Specs” Eaton said the former principal of the Livermore Falls school and the former superintendent of RSU 36 and others sat down in April to develop specific ranges for the honor roll and other matters.

Both principal and superintendent left the school district before school started in August.

“When we came out of that meeting, I thought we had it all worked out,” Eaton told the school board.

He said he took his notes and went back and built a handbook for the north campus in Jay.

The changes were not communicated to the south campus staff since the principal had left.

Both Eaton and the school board didn’t catch the errors until after school started, he said.

Vice Chairwoman Mary Redmond-Luce of Jay suggested that they go by grade percentages instead of a letter grade to determine honor roll eligibility.

Chairwoman Denise Rodzen said if they changed it mid year, it could be detrimental to some students unless they went with Livermore Falls campus requirements.

Eaton said the south campus is in the process of getting it straightened out.

It was a perfect storm of confusion, he said.

District administrators plan to come up with a proposal that would be parallel in each school prior to the new school year.

Redmond-Luce made a motion to adopt the south campus honor roll eligibility qualifications for the rest of the 2011-12 school year.

Eaton said the eligibility level is a little more liberal than the north campus but “we can do it.”

There is still a half-credit difference between graduate requirements between the two schools.

Students attending the Jay school need 24.5 credits to graduate and a student attending the Livermore Falls school need 24 credits. The difference is the Jay school requires a student to earn a half-credit in career essentials to graduate.

Credits and grading issues are expected to be worked out so that they are equal at both campuses before the next school year begins.

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