NEW GLOUCESTER -The SAD 15 school board on Wednesday agreed to hire two educational technicians to meet an increase in student needs identified since school began earlier this month.

An influx of kindergarten students entering Gray and New Gloucester schools was unexpected, said Superintendent Victoria Burns. Ninety-six kindergarten students, an increase of roughly 25 students from last year’s figure, resulted in a “contingency that developed beyond our crystal ball,” said Chairman Dr. Alan Rich of New Gloucester.

The board agreed to hire an educational technician at $12,780 at Russell Elementary School in Gray. The funds, it was noted, will come from the salary account that has some additional money due to the retirement of veteran teachers.

In addition, the board agreed to hire a 20-hour per week Title I educational technician III to provide math remediation to students.

“Reading scores for our third- to eighth-grade students are above grade average,” said Burns, adding the district needs to make the same progress in math.

In other business, Terry Towle, director of finance and operations, said three new buses will be delivered in the next few weeks. He said a plan is under way to have buses no older than 12 years on regular runs. The district’s spare buses are between 14 and 16 years old. Some buses on the regular route date back to 1987.

Towle said he plans to have six spare buses, two for shop replacements and four for sports-related trips.

The district has two new buses temporarily out of service for warranty repair work, one electrical and the other for a leak.

Erin Chase, director of special services, updated the board on her initial work plan since she was hired in August.

“One of the challenges I see right now, is prioritizing which goals to work on first. Due to the history of turnover in special education leadership in MSAD 15, projects have been initiated but not continued. I will need to sort through which should be continued and which should be abandoned and replaced by different ways of doing things.”

Chase said in a memo to the board that she is responsible for over 300 students in five buildings. She is also the primary support contact for teachers, specialists, and parents with special education concerns.

“My fear is that this structure will lead to a ‘reactive’ vs. a ‘proactive’ approach for program management. I would like to look at our resources to explore shifting our current model in order to provide opportunities for greater leadership in the Special Services Department,” the memo said.

Chase has met with parents and plans to establish a parent advisory group.

She plans to establish staff development needs for special education teachers, educational technicians and administrative staff.