ELLSWORTH, Maine — At its first official meeting Tuesday night, the newly formed RSU 24 school board hired a familiar face to serve as its superintendent.
The 14 board members voted unanimously to hire Bill Webster, the superintendent of School Union 96, for the post. Union 96 is one of the partners in the new RSU.
Webster, who was one of four candidates screened by the Maine School Management Association, which handled the search process, said he did not expect the board to make a decision that night.
“I was humbled and gratified by the motion, and that it was approved unanimously,” he said.
RSU 24 will include Ellsworth, the Union 92 communities of Lamoine, Hancock, Mariaville, Eastbrook and Waltham, and the Union 96 towns of Franklin, Gouldsboro, Sorrento, Steuben, Sullivan and Winter Harbor.
Webster noted that his hiring is contingent upon his and the board’s agreement on the terms of a contract.
“I fully expect that will happen,” he said.
Earlier in Tuesday’s meeting, Webster had outlined the main areas where the board will need to focus its attentions, ranging from athletics to bank accounts and from transportation to technology.
“One of the first things I hope to do is determine with the board how to handle the central office organization and who will fill those positions,” he said. “I anticipate we will fill all those positions in-house.”
He noted that the staffs in all three offices are doing two jobs, and that there have been some concerns among staff about their futures. Getting the central office organized early will relieve some of the stress that exists today, he said.
Although the RSU plan calls for the closure of all but one central office, Webster told the board members none of the three existing offices would accommodate the new RSU 24 central office staff. Board member Jeff Alley of Winter Harbor suggested starting a search early to find new office space.
“Wouldn’t it be prudent to begin looking for space now?” he said. “We could lose some of the economies of consolidation if we’re spread around the district.”
Webster agreed and said that would be more appropriate after a superintendent had been hired.
One of the big challenges the RSU faces, he said, is adapting to a new way of doing things.
“RSU 24 is made up of a number of towns who are used to having their own school districts and who have different cultures and different ways of doing things,” he said. “If we can be respective of those differences, I think we will slowly develop a new way and a new culture of how to do things. In time, people will not consider a student being from a particular town, but as a student from the RSU.”
Webster will take over for Omar Norton, the interim superintendent at Union 92, who also was serving as the interim RSU superintendent. He will continue to serve as the Union 96 superintendent as well. He has been superintendent at Union 96 since 2006.
Webster previously served as the school administrator at the Merriconeag Waldorf School in Freeport, and also taught middle school math and science. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Bowdoin College, a master’s in business from Wharton and a master’s in education from Antioch New England. He is enrolled in a doctoral program in educational leadership at the University of Maine.
Before entering the field of education, Webster was the owner and CEO of Haven’s Candies in Portland and Westbrook, and the vice president and CFO of Ocean Products Inc., a salmon farming company with operations in Portland and Eastport.
Earlier in the meeting, the board elected Michael Pinkham of Sullivan as chairman of the board. In the first test of the board’s weighted voting system, which is based on the population of the member towns, Pinkham received 9,902 votes to Richard Gray’s 9,413 votes. Gray declined the nomination to serve as vice chairman. Ju-lie Curtis of Eastbrook was elected to that post.
The board also adopted a tentative schedule for meetings, beginning with the next session on March 10, at Sumner High School. Regular meetings will be held on the third Tuesday of the month beginning at 6:30 p.m. During the transition period, the meeting location will change to include all of the school buildings in the RSU.