SAD 29 starts over in search for new superintendent

By Joseph Cyr
Staff Writer
    HOULTON — It’s back to the drawing board for SAD 29 in its search for a new superintendent.
    At its Monday night meeting, Chairman Liz Anderson informed the school board that a suitable superintendent was not found from the initial pool of candidates.
    “We had some highly-qualified applicants to choose from,” Anderson said. “However, after much review with the search committee, we have decided to re-open the search. Hopefully, we will return a larger pool of applicants by stretching out our net a little bit more.”
    The search committee interviewed only three applicants. SAD 29 has been without a full-time leader following the June 22 resignation of Stephen Fitzpatrick. Peter Edgecomb, a retired teacher and superintendent, has been serving as the interim superintendent since Fitzpatrick’s departure.
    Edgecomb was originally slated to stay with the district until Jan. 1, or until a suitable candidate was found. However, since the first round of interviews failed to yield a suitable candidate, Edgecomb’s time with the district may also change.
    “My timeline has changed somewhat,” Edgecomb said. “Had the board recommended someone, my time would have been limited to how long it took to sign that person. The end could have been in sight, but this [re-advertising the position] delays it some.”
    Edgecomb stressed he has no date in mind for when he will cease working with the district. However, he does plan to focus more time on his re-election bid for the Maine State Legislature, representing District 4 in Caribou. The board was aware Edgecomb would be running for re-election when they hired him as interim-superintendent.
    On Tuesday, Edgecomb said he hopes to start working three days in Houlton, instead of his current four-day-a-week schedule.
    “Should we not get someone in this next round of applications, then the object will be to look for a new interim [superintendent] who could be here until July,” Edgecomb said. “I have a good administrative team here in place, and even on the days that I am not here, I am reachable by cell phone.”
    Edgecomb added ideally he would have preferred to be done with his interim duties in November to focus on his campaign. Because he does not have a contract with the school district, Edgecomb – or the school board – could decide to terminate his working agreement at any time.
    “The board could tell me tomorrow that I wasn’t needed,” he said. “At this point in time, I have no plans to stop serving, if I can get that extra day off to catch up on my campaigning.”
    At Monday night’s meeting, the group agreed the board should start searching for a new interim superintendent should Edgecomb need to leave the post before a new superintendent is found.
    In other action, the school board:
    • Approved the hiring of Jason Anderson as a grade 5-12 vocal music teacher.
    • Ratified contracts for Education Technicians, Secretaries and COTA (Certified Occupational Therapist Assist) for the school years 2010-11 and 2011-12.
    • Approved a plan by Maintenance Supervisor Paul Prosser to alter the parking layout at Houlton High School. The current system calls for students and staff members to have a specific parking spot based on a number. The new plan will create staff parking and student parking areas on a “first-come, first-served” basis. Additional public parking spaces will also be created in front of the high school.
    The next regular meeting of the SAD 29 board of directors is scheduled for Monday, Oct. 4, at 6 p.m. at Wellington School in Monticello.