OXFORD – SAD 17 Assistant Superintendent Patrick Hartnett said this week it’s a “buyer’s market” for school districts looking to augment their ranks.

The Oxford Hills School District has hired 34 new employees this summer and more are expected to be on board by the beginning of the new school year Aug. 28.

Hartnett told directors at their meeting Monday night that the candidate pool is “robust.”

While the market is good for schools hiring, Hartnett said unfortunately the market is good because many districts have had to make reductions. That results in qualified and experienced teachers and other staff ending up in the pool, which along with new and recent graduates, creates a “buyers market” for school districts that are hiring, he said.

“We typically have the most applicants for our elementary classroom teachers,” he said. “We have the fewest for middle and secondary math, but we were fortunate with the quality over quantity in that case this summer.”

The directors approved a dozen new employees Monday night, including a high school Latin teacher, a grade two teacher at the Paris Elementary School, a grade five teacher at Oxford Elementary School, a grade five STEM teacher at Rowe Elementary School in Norway and a special education assistant director at the Central Office in Oxford.

The board also approved the appointment of four educational technicians, an upper level resource room teacher at the Rowe Elementary School and an extended school day school year site coordinator.

The new hires will be part of a group of about 600 employees who are gearing up for the new school year.

School opens for kindergartners at Waterford and West Paris schools only, and grades one through seven, and grade nine on Wednesday, Aug. 28. All other students start Aug. 29.

“We’re off,” Superintendent Rick Colpitts said. “It feels like we’re there already.”