Gray-New Gloucester High School will not have an American Sign Language program next school year after the district passed a budget last night that eliminated funding for the program.
MSAD 15 Superintendent Chanda Turner said the current teacher is retiring and district officials have tried in vain to find a replacement.
"Over and over again, we were told that it was not an appealing position. The job prospects outside of the teacher contract were higher paying and allowed better flexibility, and then moreover, the Maine Department of Education certification requirements were daunting and unappealing," said Turner.
Residents in both towns voted in favor of the $35.4 million budget that includes staffing cuts despite being almost 6% higher than last year's budget.
The budget eliminates the ASL teaching position, a part-time employee in the music department and five unfilled ed tech positions.
Turner said students have the option to access ASL instruction through early college programs and there is a possibility to add a club if there's enough interest.
"It's not a perfect solution, but we are in a situation where the perfect solution is not realistic," said Turner.
If a future world language department position opens up, Turner said the district will likely post the position in multiple languages.
