By Theron Larkins
Special to the Aroostook Republican
CARIBOU, Maine — The agenda for RSU 39’s school board meeting last Wednesday was a relatively thin one. However, the Jan. 8 regular meeting did include important announcements on board reorganization, as well as the hiring process for the soon-to-be vacant superintendent position.
The annual board reorganization for RSU 39 was an extensive list of board member moves and committee appointments. Now serving as the board’s chairman is Cliff Rhome, while the panel’s vice chairman will be John Sjostedt. New committee appointments that were announced last week included Kent Forbes, Michelle Albert and Sjostedt, who were newly appointed to the Finance Committee. The Negotiations Committee is comprised of Rhome, Sjostedt and Forbes. The Facilities Committee now includes Forbes, Albert and Rhome. The Curriculum Committee appointed Dale Gordon, Mary White and Tanya Sleeper, and the Policy Committee will now be receiving direction from Sjostedt, White and Rhome. Lastly, the Caribou High School Scholarship Finance Committee will now include Gordon, while the District Wellness Committee will be gaining Sleeper.
RSU 39 Superintendent, Frank McElwain, informed the board that he had accepted the resignations of Jane Hunter, special education, and Cathy Bouchard, grade-six teacher, who will both be retiring at the end of the 2014-15 school year. He also announced that Andrew Kirby has been hired as the boys volleyball coach and Joshua Sparks has been approved as a volunteer assistant wrestling coach.
Once the meeting had adjourned school directors participated in a workshop with representatives from Maine School Management Association (MSMA) to further discussions regarding the superintendent hiring process. Current Superintendent of Schools for RSU 39, McElwain will be retiring at the end of the school year, which means much of the next few months will be spent in search for a new hire. Leading up to his departure there will be a number of steps he and the board must go through in order to fill the position for the future. The Jan. 8 workshop was just one step in the early stages of the process.
MSMA provides each Maine School Boards Association member board with a no-cost workshop on how to conduct a superintendent search. MSMA also offers a special fee service to assist local Maine school boards in the development of appropriate superintendent search processes, in advertising to recruit broad and representative candidate pools, in obtaining input from staff and communities, and in the receiving of applications and arranging of interviews.
According to Superintendent McElwain the RSU 39 board, along with help from MSMA, has decided to form a search committee that will include the full board, a student, teacher, administrator and two or three citizens/parents.
“Advertising for a new superintendent will begin immediately,” said McElwain. “The board hopes to have a new superintendent identified as soon as possible to ensure a smooth transition.”
MSMA believes that the local board should be fully responsible for all decisions regarding its search procedure. Moreover, all judgments about applicants, from choosing initial candidates to be interviewed to the ultimate selection of the new superintendent, should be made by the school board through a carefully designed and implemented process. Wednesday night’s workshop was one of the major steps in structuring and implementing this process.
“The board met with Dr. Robert Hasson and Elaine Tomaszewski from Maine School Management Association,” said Superintendent McElwain. “They reviewed the superintendent search process, including a proposed schedule and services they could provide.”
Dr. Hasson is the former superintendent for RSU 51, which contains five schools, including Greely High School. After 20 years of service Dr. Hasson left the superintendent post in November of 2013. He went on to pursue his current position as deputy executive director of the MSMA, which is headquartered in Augusta.
Tomaszewski was previously the superintendent of the Wells-Ogunquit Community School District from 2009-12. Before that she was superintendent of Freeport schools. As MSMA’s associate executive director, Tomaszewski serves as a liaison between the National School Board and Maine boards and analyzes legislation and how it will impact public schools.
When asked about his upcoming retirement and his overall experience during his tenure as superintendent for RSU 39, McElwain responded with the sincerity that could only come from a nearly four-decade career in education.
“I have enjoyed a rewarding career in education for 37 years, the last 12 of them as superintendent,” said McElwain. “I have been fortunate to always have been supported by outstanding school board members and to have worked with a staff that is always dedicated to providing the best education for children.”
There is no set-date in which the hiring process will be concluded, but MSMA will continue to provide assistance throughout the RSU 39 superintendent hiring process, and the board hopes to choose a candidate as soon as possible. Further discussion will take place at the next regular board meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 22.
