DIXFIELD — When students return to classes in one of the 10 schools of RSU 10 next week, they will find little different from when they left in June.

And the board and administration will continue their work on many of the same issues, including better utilizing district buildings, working on a model for personal learning plans for each student, finding an alternative space for the bus garage and improving the process for students who may need extra help.

This is the fourth year of the Western Maine Foothills Regional School Unit 10. The former Dirigo, Mountain Valley and Nezinscot (Buckfield area) school districts merged in 2009.

“We came together as an RSU because we knew we were heading into tough economic conditions,” Superintendent Tom Ward said. “The (budget) increases people are seeing are the additional money they have to raise to get state aid. We have no control over that.”

Teachers attend workshops on Aug. 27 and 28. Kindergarten-grade 9 students in the Dirigo and Mountain Valley and kindergarten through grade 7 and grade 9 in the Nezinscot regions attend their first classes on Aug. 29. All other students begin classes on Aug. 30.

Just five new teachers have joined the 550 total staff in the district, with a few positions not yet filled. New teacher orientation is set for Aug. 24.

Christopher Decker, the former Mountain Valley High School assistant principal, is the new principal of Rumford Elementary School.

Ward said the open positions of eighth-grade social studies teacher at Mountain Valley Middle School and literacy coach will be taught by substitutes until filled. An open position of a Mountain Valley region social worker will be covered temporarily by other social workers in the district, and two speech pathologist positions will remain open until filled.

The Wellness Center, which has a new attendant, will remain at the central office building and will be open to anyone in the region.

Just under 2,800 students are expected to enter at the beginning of the year, which is slightly fewer than last year.

Among RSU 10’s priorities is something passed down from the federal level known as customized learning.

“We want to take the student from where they are and see growth by the end of the school year,” Ward said.

He said a model for developing personal learning plans in conjunction with parents, teachers and guidance counselors will be developed during the school year.

“There’s much work to be done,” he said.

The district will also continue to develop and put into action the Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports program as well as its Response to Intervention program. Both measures aim to intercede when a student needs help. They also teach respect.

Ward said one of the top priorities is finding new housing for the district’s primary bus garage that is now in an unused section of Mountain Valley High School. The district is also continuing to work with the university system, which is considering a move to the bus garage area from its site in Mexico.

He is looking into costs for a metal building to house buses.

A study of district buildings and their uses is expected to be completed sometime later in the fall. After that, some short- and long-term decisions will likely be made.

“We’re looking forward to the new school year. There are more challenges, but we’ll work with people to make informed decisions,” Ward said.