JAY — The Regional School Unit 73 board of directors voted unanimously Thursday to accept the resignations of Spruce Mountain Elementary School Principal Patrick St. Clair and three district teachers.
Superintendent Scott Albert said after the meeting that St. Clair served as elementary school principal for seven years after teaching in the district for seven years.
Albert said St. Clair accepted a position teaching fifth grade at Jefferson Village School, which serves students in kindergarten through eighth grade in Jefferson and has about 191 students and 18 teachers.
St. Clair, who typically presented monthly updates to the board, did not attend Thursday’s meeting. Albert said St. Clair is expected to remain as principal through Aug. 7.
Jefferson belongs to Maine Alternative Organizational Structure 93, also known as the Central Lincoln County School System. AOS 93 operates five elementary schools across seven towns: Bremen, Bristol, Damariscotta, Jefferson, Newcastle, Nobleboro and South Bristol. The district allows the towns to send high school students to Lincoln Academy in Damariscotta, Erskine Academy in South China or other high schools.
Spruce Mountain Elementary School currently lacks an assistant principal. Albert said if RSU 73 does not appoint a principal before school starts Aug. 27, the dean of students will oversee students, while the superintendent’s office will supervise faculty and staff until filling the position.
Albert said the district posted the position and received one application as of Thursday.
Without comment, the board unanimously accepted the resignations of three other educators.
Averie Cloutier, a second grade teacher at Spruce Mountain Primary School, and Sunnyrose Juzukonis, a special education teacher at Spruce Mountain Middle School, both accepted positions in their home districts. Erik Taylor, a mathematics teacher at Spruce Mountain High School who holds an engineering degree, accepted a position with ND Paper, owner of the former Boise Cascade mill in Rumford.
Following an executive session, the board approved a three-year contract with food service workers featuring 4 percent annual pay raises. The contract takes effect retroactively to July 1.
Albert also updated directors on two facilities projects at Spruce Mountain Primary School, reporting both remain on schedule. Crews stripped old shingles from the peaked roofs and found no underlying rot or moisture, which Albert called “good news.” Workers installed new ice and water shields, reshingled the pitched roofs and replaced the roadside flat roof with a new rubber membrane.
Albert reported that contractors are expected to begin excavating for new underground propane tanks next week for the boiler replacement project, weather permitting. He said crews could install the new boilers within two weeks and noted that uncovering underground electrical wires at the original site will add $500 to $1,000 to the total cost.
