Teachers and staff are concerned about proposed cuts in the Kennebec Intra-District Schools Regional School Unit 2, of which Dresden Elementary is a member.
The RSU Board of Directors will continue a discussion about possible cuts, reductions and position shifting during the next board meeting Feb. 24. The meeting will be held at the Dresden Elementary School beginning at 6 p.m.
RSU 2 also includes schools in Farmingdale, Hallowell, Monmouth and Richmond.
“I really don’t know how this would work,” Dresden Elementary School Principal Martha Witham said.
According to Witham, the RSU proposal for her school is to cut four positions and to reduce work time on two others. The board wants to reduce a custodian’s hours from eight hours down to four hours per week and to replace the half-time hours of a school nurse to one day per week.
“Nothing has been decided yet,” Witham said.
The board proposed to reduce the full time hours of a cook, down to part time. According to Witham, they want to replace the work the cook does with a food delivery service, which she said would effectively eliminate the need to have a cook at the school. The proposal also calls for cutting the library Ed Tech position, which is currently a one-day per week position. Two Ed tech I positions would be replaced with one Ed tech III.
Witham said the school uses its cafeteria for a physical education room. When the cafeteria is not in use, someone breaks down the tables and makes the space available for a physical education class. Witham said a unit school board proposal to combine two full-time positions to take care of custodial and cafeteria services into one would be difficult.
“Things would be different,” Witham said of the potential changes. “Dresden Elementary is a small school to begin with.”
She said the school operates closely with its budget. People often fulfill more than one role at the school and combining positions in a tight schedule would prove to be a challenge.
