RUMFORD – The SAD 43 board on Tuesday voted to eliminate four positions as a result of moving students from Virginia Elementary School to the district’s two other elementary schools. They also assigned Virginia students to the other schools, beginning with the 2005 school year.
Reassigning students to Meroby Elementary School, in Mexico, and Rumford Elementary School is the result of a board decision in January to stop using the 50-year-old Virginia school as an elementary school. The small school, currently with a student population of about 110 youngsters in kindergarten through grade 5, will be used to house the district’s day treatment program, and perhaps one other special program.
Superintendent Jim Hodgkin said on Wednesday that students who live at Smith Crossing, on the South Rumford Road, Wyman Hill Road, Burgess Hill Road, Franklin Annex, Hall Hill Road, and in Milton Plantation, which represents about 22 youngsters who had attended Virginia, will be sent to Rumford Elementary School. Students from those areas who are already attending Meroby under waivers will be permitted to continue pending new waivers. All other Virginia students will be sent to Meroby.
Hodgkin said the space currently occupied by the day treatment program at Meroby will be remodeled into two classrooms. A third classroom is already available at Meroby for a class.
In addition, the 12 students in the transitional grade one class, who come from all over the district and who had attended classes at Virginia, will be reassigned to Rumford.
According to the reconfiguration policy adopted at the board meeting, the reassignments were based on the least disruption to the kindergarten-through-grade-5 program, transportation costs and fairness.
The positions of a special education teacher, a custodian and two educational technicians at Virginia were eliminated as a result of the reconfiguration.
Two of the employees currently holding these positions will likely be reassigned to other district schools, according to seniority.
Hodgkin said the resulting savings to the district, once the elementary schools have been reconfigured and necessary remodeling completed, will be about $112,000.
The final vote for reassignment of students and elimination of positions was unanimous, he said. Board members Tracey Higley, Anne Simmons-Edmunds and Tammy MacDonald were absent.
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