HAMPDEN — The SAD 22 board of directors heard grievance arguments Wednesday from a Hampden Academy teacher requesting compensation for work he had done in the school’s unfilled lead special education teacher position.

The grievance was held in executive session as requested by MTA Uniserve Director Buddy Pinkham. In attendance were board members, two district officials, Pinkham and special education teacher Norman Prouty. After a half an hour, Pinkham and Prouty left the session while board members deliberated for another half an hour.

Pinkham said the issue was that while Prouty had not volunteered for the newly created leader position, he and two other teachers at the Academy had done the work of that position. Prouty, he said, was therefore asking for part of the compensation allocated to that position.

The board will have 10 days in which to respond in writing to Wednesday’s grievance proceedings. Superintendent Carlton Dubois said following the meeting that during deliberations the board came upon a consensus opinion which he will be putting to paper.

At least one of the remaining two high school teachers, Pinkham said, was in the process of filing a grievance. In addition, he said teachers at the Newburgh Elementary School and the George B. Weatherbee School had also filed grievances.

Created during contract negotiations last winter, the position was established to help the fulltime special education teacher with all the required paperwork they had formally done themselves.

However the future of the position is being questioned. During the public session of the meeting, the board voted to send the question about discontinuing the position to a special studies committee. The committee will consist of board members and special education staff members.

Dubois said that in view of all the concerns, the position was brought before the board for them to review. But Pinkham said teachers and representatives had not known the position was on the agenda for discussion. “It was a shock to us,” he said.

Pinkham had requested that more teachers and be allowed into the executive session, but at its discretion, the board voted to limit attendance to the grievant and his representative.

Pinkham told the board he wanted teachers Bill Graham, Joe Gallant, and two other grievants to attend the meeting. Graham is the chairman of the grievance committee, the Professional Rights and Responsibilities and Gallant is the president of the Tri-22 Teachers Association.

Also during the meeting the board approved moving Bill Connors from a part-time athletic director at Hampden Academy to a full time athletic director.