DIXFIELD – Western Foothills School District Superintendent Tom Ward will update the board on the new central office configuration Tuesday.

The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. at Dirigo Middle School in Dixfield.

Ward said 6.9 positions in the central offices of SAD 21 in Dixfield, SAD 39 in Buckfield and SAD 43 in Rumford will be eliminated when the three districts officially operate as the Western Foothills district starting July 1.

He said eliminating the positions will save about $221,000. Of them, about half will be phased out through attrition and half by layoffs.

Many of the remaining 23 positions will cover additional duties. There will be one central office at the former Dixfield Elementary School.

In-house interviews will be conducted for positions in the new district starting next week. Ward said all positions should be filled by the end of March.

One of the major reasons for consolidating school districts is to save money by reducing the number of central offices, staff and superintendents.

The Western Foothills board will also consider suspending the $25 board and committee meetings fees until the merged district is official in July. Now, the fees are paid by the member districts because the new district does not yet have a budget.

Ward said the Finance Committee has also been preparating for negotiations with the SAD 39 teachers’ and SAD 43 food service bargaining units.

The Western Foothills board will meet at least once in each of the three districts in the next couple of months so everyone can become familiar with all the buildings.