RSU 50 OKs trip, search continues for new leader

  DYER BROOK, Maine — A request by longtime Southern Aroostook baseball coach Murray Putnam to take his team on its annual spring field trip to Cape Cod met with the approval of the RSU 50 school board Monday night.
According to Interim Superintendent John Doe, the request for the preseason trip, which costs the district roughly $2,200, was approved by a vote of 10-1-1. The trip involves sending the baseball team to Cape Cod for spring training for a five- to six-day period. The team uses a district school bus for the trip, Doe said.
    The search for a new superintendent for RSU 50 is also ramping up. According to Doe, the deadline for applications was Friday. He did not have the exact number of applicants for the position, as the Maine Municipal Association is currently reviewing them.
“The board should be getting a packet from them soon and will then start the process of deciding which applicants to interview for the position,” Doe said.
The district has been using Doe as its interim superintendent since SAD 25 (Stacyville, Patten, Sherman and Mount Chase) and CSD 9 (Island Falls, Crystal, Dyer Brook, Merrill, Oakfield and Smyrna) merged into RSU 50 this past summer. Doe was previously the superintendent at SAD 25, but retired June 2010. He was brought back to the district for one additional year in order to help see the consolidation process through and agreed to stay on as the interim superintendent until a replacement was found. He is currently being paid $400 per day for his services. The new RSU has a combined student population of 824 students, according to the state Department of Education website.
In other agenda items, the board:
• Approved Kaylea Collier as a new fifth/sixth-grade teacher for the district. The position was created due to increased enrollment within the district, which prompted splitting one class into two.
• Tabled discussion on a new baseball scoreboard for Katahdin High School.
• Agreed to give up to $600 for Eastern Maine champion jackets for the Katahdin baseball team.
• Granted a request from Kaylan McNally for early graduation.
• Extended a student suspension from 10 days to 45 days.
The next regular meeting of RSU 50 will be Monday, Feb. 13 at 6:30 p.m. at Katahdin Elementary School.