FARMINGTON — The Regional School Unit 9 Board of Directors Tuesday night, Jan. 12, unanimously approved the budget timeline process, an emergency remote learning plan for elementary schools and an interim assistant principal for Mt. Blue High School.

Kris Pottle, RSU 9 business manager whose June retirement was announced, presented the budget timeline. It sets Tuesday, April 13, for the community forum when interim Superintendent Monique Poulin will present the proposed budget to the public for feedback and questions. The budget referendum is set for June 8.

Chairwoman Angela LeClair said she is looking for school board volunteers to form the budget committee.

Curriculum Coordinator Laura Columbia reviewed the elementary remote learning plan which details how students would transition to a fully remote learning scenario under emergency situations. The plan was developed by gathering feedback from teachers conducting hybrid classes.

School days would maintain the 9:30 a.m. to 3:12 p.m. schedule with a minimum of one-hour, direct instruction. This hour could be broken into increments depending on the teacher’s preferences and the grade level. The schedule includes three and a half hours of independent learning and a one-hour lunch break.

Specialized classes such as art, physical education and music would utilize a mix of recorded videos, office hours and live instruction. Grading and assessments would continue through Zoom, Seesaw, emails and mail.

The plan also maintains the blue-gold hybrid schedule so students would still have several days throughout the week of fully independent learning. By continuing with the hybrid model, the transition to remote learning would cause less disruption to families but Columbia said the district would coordinate with individual families.

“We have this model, but we know that we’re going to need to work with families and their situation,” Columbia said.

Special education teacher Galen Dalrymple was named interim assistant principal at Mt. Blue High School.

“He’s been a special educator here for a number of years,” Poulin said. “He has filled in from time to time over the past couple of years … we’re all pleased that he has accepted the offer.”

In other business, LeClair said that she’s requested a cost proposal from Steven Bailey at Maine School Management Association (MSMA) to aid in the search for RSU 9’s superintendent. Poulin is temporarily filling the position after Tina Meserve’s resignation in December. 

“We’ve used them several times in the past [MSMA] and it’s a lot of work considering that our business office and HR department and everybody is doing multiple jobs,” LeClair said. “It’s imperative that we hire someone to do this.” 

LeClair said that she is looking for board volunteers to join the superintendent search committee and that Bailey suggested the committee consists of no more than 15 people.

The committee will consist of community members, staff and board members and will have three months to identify and interview eligible candidates. The aim is to have a job advertisement placed by the end of this month or by early February.

During the superintendent’s report, Poulin stressed the need for special education technicians with the district facing 22 vacant positions.

She also announced that RSU 9 school nurses now have the opportunity to receive the first round of the coronavirus vaccination from Franklin Memorial Hospital.

The board went into executive session for labor contract discussions with the teachers’ bargaining unit.