When SAD 46 members Steve Foster, Gerald Rudmin and Patricia Smith, of Dexter, Steve Crane of Exeter, Andrea Rollins of Exeter, and John Parola of Dexter join Harmony board members Peter Cooley and Tracy McKenney on the AOS May 19, the first order of business is to elect the board's first officers for the entity. The second order will be to hire a superintendent for the structure. The AOS may decide to put off hiring a superintendent until it advertises for the position or it may hire SAD 46 superintendent Kevin Jordan who has indicated he is interested in the position.

The AOS superintendent would be in charge of the shared central office budget, special education and transportation services, and K-8 education. Under the AOS, Harmony has the option of allowing its students to choose their high school.

The SAD 46 also heard reports from its various committees. The curriculum committee is recommending adding an additional day to the calendar to bring the number to 181. The calendar is comprised of 177 student days and four teacher workshops. The policy committee recommended a pay increase for substitute teachers from $60-65. The negotiation committee recommended a 3 percent pay increase for its non-represented people. This group is comprised of the superintendent, principals, vice-principal, and transportation department head.

The board also approved the probationary contracts of 10 second year teachers and continuing contracts for eight third year teachers. Due to a decrease in student enrollment, the board eliminated one fifth grade teaching position at Dexter Middle School and a half-time English position at Dexter High School."This content originally appeared as a copyrighted article in the SVWeekly.com and is used here with permission."