RUMFORD – Two people with ties to the River Valley area have been named to two new positions in SAD 43.

The SAD 43 board appointed John Bernard athletic director for grades six to 12 and Diane Taylor-Moore as assistant special services director.

Bernard has taught in SAD 43 for more than 30 years, the last 25 as physical education teacher at Mountain Valley Middle School in Mexico. His new position will be year-round, and he will be considered an administrator. The position pays $50,000 annually. He was selected from a field of 25 applicants.

Superintendent Jim Hodgkin said the athletic director position was expanded to full-time from a stipend position to help ensure the continuity of the district’s sports program. Also, the previous athletic director was responsible only for grades nine to 12. The new position begins July 1.

Taylor-Moore, originally from the Frye section of Roxbury, has devoted more than 30 years to special education, including 18 months in her most recent position with the Spurwink School in Portland. Her position pays $62,000 annually.

The district has been searching for an assistant special services director for several years. Finding a qualified person now was particularly important because the district plans to launch a Day Treatment program within the district for elementary-aged children this coming fall.

Hodgkin said there has been a need for the position for some time. About 20 percent of SAD 43 students have been identified as special needs/education students. Taylor-Moore will assist Director of Special Services Paige Coville, as well as play an important role in the new Day Treatment program.

Also on Monday, the board settled a one-year contract with the district’s 11-member secretarial bargaining unit.

The total increase for wages, health and dental insurance came in at about 10.4 percent. The district will pay 100 percent of a single-subscriber for health and dental insurance.

Hodgkin said the higher increases for the secretarial bargaining unit than for some of the district’s other bargaining units is an effort to bring the SAD 43 secretarial staff salary and benefits in line with the state average for similar positions, and to clear up any discrepancies within the local unit.

Following a closed session, the board agreed to settle a teacher contract issue that resulted in placing two of the district’s three speech and language teachers on a higher salary scale. Hodgkin said the two now have clinical licenses that merit a salary scale adjustment to master’s degree plus 30 credit hours. The total cost to the district is $2,200.

[email protected]