WHITTEMORE — The Whittemore-Prescott Area School District has decided to continue substituting a paraprofessional position until the end of the school year.

The board of education came to a decision after a Feb. 22, work session. Superintendent Ted Matuszak said instead of eliminating the position, it will continue to be filled by a substitute until the end of the school year.

“At the end of the year we will look to hire for the position internally,” Matuszak said.

The position became available unexpectedly after one of the district’s paraprofessionals retired in January. Since then a substitute has been in place.

Matuszak said filling the position would cost the district around $4,000 to $5,000 through the end of the school year.

The vacated position came from within the elementary and middle school, and was vacated when the person who held the position retired. Matuszak said the elementary and middle school are Title I schools and 75-80 percent of funding for paraprofessionals for those schools comes from Title I funds. Therefore, if a paraprofessional position was eliminated, it would likely be eliminated from the high school, which does not receive Title I funding.

The high school currently has two paraprofessional positions that are funded through general fund dollars.