LIMESTONE, Maine — Limestone Community School Principal Susan White, who has 27 years of educational experience in Aroostook County, has announced she will resign at the end of June.
White said her resignation is due to Limestone’s pending withdrawal from RSU 39, which shares resources among Caribou, Limestone and Stockholm. Voters in those communities approved the withdrawal on Nov. 6, 2018, and it will become effective on July 1, or the end of the 2018/19 school year. At that point, employees who primarily work in Limestone will no longer be employed by RSU 39.
“Withdrawal is a legal process,” White said, “and within that process administrative staff are not covered by a collective bargaining agreement. They need to either choose to resign or receive a letter of non-renewal, and a non-renewal letter is not a good thing to have, so I chose to resign.”
White said she is “absolutely” planning on continuing to work in education after leaving Limestone Community School.
“I’m not super close to retirement,” she said, “but I am thinking about how I want to finish my career.”
White began her career in 1992, when she was hired to teach fourth grade in Caribou, before the RSU was formed. Since then, she has spent 10 years as a teacher and 17 years in administrative positions, including one year as RSU 39 superintendent.
“Simply put,” she said, “this is part of the withdrawal process. I can choose to resign, and I went that route.”
