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Biddeford committee approves one ELL teacher and two ed‑tech hires after enrollment rise
Summary
The school committee voted unanimously to authorize advertising to hire one English‑language‑learner (ELL) teacher and two educational technicians after the district reported an 80‑student enrollment increase and a rise in multilingual students to about 410.
The Biddeford School Committee on Sept. 11 voted unanimously to authorize hiring one ELL teacher and two educational technicians after Superintendent Jeremy Ray reported an overall enrollment increase and a sharp rise in multilingual (ML) students.
Superintendent Jeremy Ray told the committee the district’s October 1 head count is about 80 students higher than the previous year and that ML students number roughly 410, a gain of about 95 from last Oct. 1. Ray said the state’s hardship adjustment process could yield approximately $250,000 in additional funds to offset increased staffing costs, with award amounts verified and disbursed beginning in December and applied across the school year.
The committee discussed where extra staff would be assigned and how to structure fractional assignments across schools. Chris (district staff) said initial plans focus on younger grades where most new families have enrolled, with likely EdTech positions at the high school and middle school and a teacher position to be placed by need once assessments are complete.
A motion to hire the additional positions was made and then recorded in the minutes (motion stated to hire “1 ELL teacher and 2 ed techs”). The committee approved the motion by unanimous voice vote; the committee record notes the motion was identified in the discussion as moved by Randy and seconded, and the vote was unanimous.
Ray emphasized the practical recruitment step: authorizing the advertising so the district can attempt to fill positions quickly. He cautioned that exact assignment of hires depends on intake assessments for new students and that the state subsidy increase will be applied across monthly payments rather than as a single lump sum.
The committee also requested follow‑up materials: a building‑level breakdown of ML student participation in extracurriculars and a report on where new families are living to help with outreach and transportation planning. Finance committee members said they support the hires; Superintendent Ray recommended using hardship funds for recurring costs only after the allocations are finalized.
Next steps: the district will advertise the positions, perform student assessments to determine precise placement, and report back to the committee on hires and any subsidy awards from the state.
