Mexico tech school board approves raise for outdoor skills instructor
Jeff Rainey, instructor of the Outdoor Skills and Leadership program and a registered Maine Master Guide, speaks Wednesday night to directors of Region 9 School of Applied Technology at the school in Mexico. Directors unanimously voted to give Rainey a $3,400 raise this year. Rainey, who has been the instructor for five years, qualified under the board’s Mastery Level pay scale. Marianne Hutchinson/Rumford Falls Times
MEXICO — Directors of the Region 9 School of Applied Technology on Wednesday unanimously approved a $3,400 raise for Jeff Rainey, instructor of the Outdoor Skills and Leadership program and a registered Maine Guide with master certification.
Rainey, of Andover, has been an instructor at the career and technical education school for five years.
“It’s a lot we know,” school administrator Brenda Gammon told directors, “but also it’s hanging on to your instructors that you have.”
In an email Thursday she wrote, “We have been looking at ways here to recognize the training our staff take to reach the mastery level in their field — such as a master electrician etc. We are also looking to revamp the headings across our salary scale to still recognize those who earn a master’s degree the “traditional” educational level but to also recognize the more ‘out of the box’ way of obtaining Mastery Level status in one’s field.”
Some parameters of the Mastery Level pay scale, she said, are that the instructor is certified by the state to teach in their career and technical education field, they’ve taught at the school for five years and that “it has been determined that the individual has reached the Mastery Level in the field by the Director and then approved by the Board.”
All nine directors approved of the raise, however, before the vote Director Judy Boucher of Byron said she felt “that a master’s degree in guiding is nowhere near a master’s degree in education.”
Rainey disagreed, saying he doesn’t “believe that somebody with an existing master’s degree in education could come into a program like I just taught and take over. I don’t believe it, not for a second.
“You can have a master’s degree in education and have zero knowledge of the outdoors,” Rainey said.
Outdoor Skills and Leadership is designed for students who are considering a career in one of many outdoor related fields, including Maine Guide, game warden, camp counselor, park ranger, environmentalist and biologist, according to region9school.org.
Master certification for a registered Maine Guide means the person has acquired experience in a specialized classification that exceeds the minimum requirements necessary to be licensed as a guide in that classification, according to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife website.
Director Karen Thurston of Andover noted she has her master’s degree in education, curriculum and instruction, and felt Rainey’s training and certification deserved the same recognition as hers.
Director Greg Buccina of Rumford told the board he’d feel a lot better if the school had a policy on the matter.
Chairperson Norm Clanton of Bethel agreed, saying the board should “codify (the pay scale) so that we’ve got consistency” and fairness.
In other business, the board chose Clanton as chairperson for the 2024-25 school year and Bruce Ross of Dixfield as vice chairperson. Gammon was named treasurer and Business Manager Dawn Leahy as board secretary.
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