JAY — The Regional School Unit 73 board of directors has unanimously approved new contracts for bus drivers, custodians and office employees.
All 13 board members voted in favor of both contracts.
The driver/custodian contract, previously reported by Monitor Local, calls for 7 percent pay increases for about 20 drivers and custodians when they are driving and 3.25 percent increases for their other work.
The three‑year agreement is retroactive to July 1, 2026, and the raise percentages remain the same each year.
By the final year of the contract, the 2028-29 school year, base pay for drivers will reach $29.54 an hour. Their hourly rate increased to $25.80 on July 1, up from $24.11.
Don Crockett, business agent for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 340, which represents the drivers and custodians, told the board before the vote that the contract “has the potential to draw people back in (to jobs in RSU 73).”
A driver/custodian told Monitor Local that the different pay raises for driving and custodial work are new to the contract.
At the board meeting Thursday, Norma Jackman, the RSU 73 director of transportation, said all driver positions are filled except for one vacancy caused by a medical leave and another open slot.
She said that when regular drivers sign up for sports or field trips, she must find substitutes to cover their daily runs.
“We will continue working to coordinate these trips while maintaining our regular daily transportation services,” she told the board.
Jackman told the board that the district’s new propane bus is “working well.” The bus runs Route 37, which picks up students in North Jay. It leaves the garage at 6:35 a.m. and travels Walker Hill, East Dixfield, Keep, Morse Hill, Davenport Hill, Canton Mountain and Interval (Route 140), along with Main Street (Routes 4 and 17).
In addition to converting buses to propane, the district has switched the heating system at Spruce Mountain Primary School from oil to propane.
Superintendent Scott Albert has told the board the district has a favorable price contract for propane.
Route 37 is one of 19 bus routes, Jackman said. Spruce Mountain also operates seven van routes for smaller numbers of riders and five prekindergarten routes that run every school day except Wednesday.
Through the first 11 days of school, from Aug. 27 to Sept. 10, Jackman said RSU 73 is carrying 1,054 pupils on its daily routes. The vans carry 15 pupils, and the district is also transporting 17 out‑of‑district students.
Jackman also told the board that the district is putting up new bus‑stop signs in all three towns — Jay, Livermore Falls and Livermore.
“The start of a school year is always busy,” she said. “Many moving parts have to come together to make sure our students get to and from school safely and on time.”
In other matters, the board approved an overnight trip for the Outdoor Club to the Flagstaff Lake Hut of Maine Huts & Trails.
Club advisor Chris Duca said six students have signed up for the Oct. 17–18 trip, and he expects more to join. Last year, 16 students participated. Each student pays $20 for food. The group will hike in about a mile and a half and will take turns preparing and cleaning up after meals.
Duca said three or four chaperones will accompany the students and noted that he is certified as a wilderness first responder.
Albert reported that the roofing and boiler replacement projects at the primary school “are pretty well done.”
Chris Hollingsworth, curriculum and technology director, told the board that RSU 73 has ended its office machine contract with Xerox Corp. He said the district had “issue after issue” with Xerox and that checking machines and getting them “up to speed” has been slow.
Jenna Cote, who heads the Section 504 program, said enrollment “has really exploded.”
Section 504 is federal legislation that ensures students with disabilities receive the same services as other students and prohibits discrimination.
Cote said the program serves 96 students this year: 44 at the high school, 21 at the middle school, 23 at the elementary school and eight at the primary school. She said 21 families have contacted her about entering the program.
The board also heard from Robyn Raymond, director of Adult and Community Education at Spruce Mountain Adult Education in RSU 73.
She announced that the department’s Commercial Driver’s License program is set to launch Sept. 29 with an observance at the Adult Education Center, 9 Cedar St., Livermore Falls.
Outside the meeting, she said the program will open with 12 students seeking Class A driver’s licenses, and that 50 potential students had signed up.
A Class A license allows operation of tractor‑trailers and other heavy combinations, and all tractor‑trailers in Maine require Class A.
Raymond said Ryder Truck Rental in Lewiston is working with the district to provide vehicles for training.
