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The decision is expected to cut a total of $520,000 from the estimated $2.5 million budget deficit.

By KELLEY BOUCHARD, Staff Writer August 23, 2007

The Portland School Department will leave at least 12 positions vacant this year, making a $520,000 dent in last year's $2.5 million budget deficit.

The School Committee, without taking a vote, accepted a recommendation Wednesday night from senior administrators to leave the 12 positions open for the remainder of the school year.

The committee also hired 17 people and passed a measure requiring all future openings to be authorized by the committee before being advertised.

The 12 positions to be left open are: two educational technicians, who help teachers in the classroom ($50,000); a Portland High School guidance councilor ($55,000); an elementary school librarian ($60,000); two reading specialists, one at Lyman Moore Middle School and one at Portland High School ($100,000); two custodians ($60,000); a part-time secretary at King Middle School ($15,000); a central office finance position ($45,000); and 2.5 learning strategists, who oversee special education programs ($135,000).

"We won't be hiring for those jobs," Human Resources Director Joline Hart said outside the meeting.

The nine-member committee did approve hiring 17 people, with annual salaries totaling $665,107, for jobs ranging from a social worker at Deering High School to a Spanish teacher at King Middle School.

Several committee members said they felt obligated to hire the 17 people because they were offered the jobs and some have given notice to their past employer.

Lori Gramlich, who intially opposed hiring additional staff until the School Department better understands the financial hole it's in, said she decided to support the hirings because the district made a commitment to the students and the job candidates.

The city's finance staff is working with school accountants to figure out exactly how much the deficit is. A final number is expected Aug. 29.

A few committee members questioned whether some hirings could be avoided if classes were combined, but Assistant Superintendent Jeanne Whynot-Vickers recommended hiring several teachers to maintain lower class sizes. In some cases, class size would have increased from 18 to 24 students, from 19 to 25 students, from 20 to 27 students, and from 23 to 27 students.

"I'm concerned that the numbers aren't that different," said Sarah Thompson, the only committee member to oppose the hirings because she wanted to consider some of them individually.

In addition, the committee passed a measure requiring all future job openings to be authorized by the committee before being advertised.

Benjamin Meiklejohn, finance chairman, had proposed a hiring freeze, but some committee members worried that such action would reduce the number of quality applicants for job openings.

"We want our children to have the best," Thompson said.

Chairman John Coyne offered the lone vote against the requirement for prior authorization. He said he wanted it to apply only to non-mandated, non-classroom positions.

Coyne said the requirement for prior authorization doesn't apply to nine openings that have already been advertised, including music, physics and social studies teachers at Portland High School ($150,000) and 6.5 educational technicians throughout the district ($162,500).

However, it does apply to an athletic director's position at Deering High School ($50,000), which recently opened with the resignation of Gary Groves, who is leaving to study for the ministry.

The School Department typically fills about 70 vacancies each August because of retirements, leaves of absence and other reasons.

Three weeks ago, the committee approved candidates for 42 positions with annual salaries totaling more than $1.5 million. They included 35 teachers, a principal, an assistant principal, a social worker, a physical therapist, a guidance counselor and two speech therapists.

Part of the $2.5 million deficit in the $82 million budget that ended June...