A School Administrative District 15 committee will present a recommendation to move fifth-graders from the Dunn Elementary School to Gray-New Gloucester Middle School at a public meeting Feb. 10 at 6 p.m. at the middle school.

The committee, assigned to find a solution to an unexpected population increase in the district’s lower grade levels, planned to present the recommendation to the full school board on Wednesday, but that meeting was canceled due to inclement weather. The presentation will now be made at a planned public hearing Feb. 10.

The committee will take questions from the public at the Feb. 10 meeting and forward those questions and concerns to the school board at the board’s regularly scheduled meeting Feb. 25.

The recommendation is a result of population increases in kindergarten through second-grade classes over the last three years, SAD 15 Superintendent Victoria Burns said. The increases have exceeded projections and will lead to limited classroom space once those classes reach Dunn School, even with the renovations approved by voters in 2005, she said.

Up until recently, the kindergarten classes numbered at around 150 students, and as low as 130, Burns said. The last few classes, however, have had around 170 students.

Fifth graders in School Administrative District 15 may move next year from Dunn Elementary School in New Gloucester to Gray-New Gloucester Middle School. The SAD 15 school board will hold a public hearing on the proposal on Tuesday, Feb. 10.