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Teachers and a mechanic urged RSU 10 board to spare positions as budget votes loom
Summary
Multiple public commenters, including a bus mechanic and teachers, told the RSU 10 school board cuts would risk bus operations and push class sizes to policy limits; the board heard and then voted on dozens of staffing amendments.
Several staff and a transportation mechanic urged the RSU 10 school board Wednesday to preserve specific roles as the board weighed a long list of FY27 staffing reductions.
Steve Garcia, who identified himself as the district mechanic, said on the public-comment docket that long vendor turnaround times and chronic road conditions mean the district needs on-site mechanical capacity to keep buses running. "If we have to send that bus somewhere, it'd be...a normal turnaround time anywhere from two days to a week," Garcia said, adding that external vendors charge roughly $100 an hour.
Two teachers described how proposed cuts would affect classroom instruction. "When those students transition into first grade ... we are currently looking at class sizes of 17, 18, 18, and 18 when spreading 71 students across four classrooms," first-grade teacher Sarah Marshall said, urging the board to avoid reaching the policy maximum before new-season enrollments. High-school math teacher Lisa Russell said cutting a math teacher would push her average class size "over 20 students per class," a change she said would hinder differentiated instruction and student growth.
Board members said they heard the concerns but faced a constrained fiscal picture. During the meeting the board ultimately rejected some cuts (notably, a motion to eliminate two positions at Mountain Valley High School for math and English failed) while approving others. Administrators noted several of the positions considered were vacant, that some reductions were tied to retirements, and that enrollment patterns and crediting through Region 9 will change how some courses are staffed in future years.
The board asked administrators and the buildings/grounds committee to test and evaluate the bucket loader the committee recommended and to return with a technical assessment and recommendation. Members also asked business staff to identify additional line-item savings (equipment, advertising, energy) that could create room to restore instructional positions if possible.
The board’s final budget vote followed these discussions and a string of roll-call decisions on individual staffing actions; the FY27 plan will now be presented at the annual budget meeting for voter action.
