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FARMINGTON Mt. Blue School District has found leadership in Christian Elkington as the district’s new superintendent. The RSU 9 Board of Directors voted unanimously during their Tuesday meeting to approve Elkington’s contract following an executive session.
Elkington is currently superintendent of Maine School Union 76 in Deer Isle. He will succeed interim Superintendent Monique Poulin, who will return to her position as principal of Mt. Blue High School when Elkington begins on July 1.
“This is the next right move for me,” Elkington said at the meeting. “I’ve watched from a distance RSU 9 for a number of years. I’ve always been impressed with the different programs and efforts that have been made in Mt. Blue, when it comes to music, when it comes to the arts, when it comes to trying to find the best way to educate kids.”
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Regional School Unit 9 Superintendent Tina Meserve submitted her resignation Tuesday, December 1, to the Board of Directors. It was approved 15-1.
Dee Menear/Franklin Journal file photo
Meserve was hired in July 2018 after serving as superintendent of RSU 16 in Mechanic Falls, Minot and Poland since 2013.
At RSU 9, Meserve has faced ongoing opposition from staff and community members, made public through a no-confidence vote on Oct. 30. She also received a community-led, no-confidence vote at RSU 16 in June 2017.
The RSU 9 board on Tuesday, tasked Chairperson Angela LeClair of Wilton to search for interim superintendent options to present to the board.
“She [Meserve] will resign her position as soon as the district is able to hire an interim superintendent of schools in the advance no later than Dec. 30, 2020,” LeClair said in a phone interview, Wednesday morning.
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July
Western Maine trails received $87,000 in grants with $30,000 granted to The Rangeley Lakes Heritage Trust to improve wayfaring in the trust’s 36 miles of trails. Trailhead signs and trail markers will be improved and an in-town trail between Rangeley’s Lakeside Park and the Rangeley Public Library will be constructed.
“Rangeley Lakes Heritage Trust has conserved more than 14,000 acres in the region for public access and the wayfinding system will be critical to keeping access safe and educational,” David Miller, executive director of The Rangeley Lakes Heritage Trust, said.
The Maine State Fire Marshal’s office released a report the first week of July that included several first-hand accounts of the Sept. 16, 2019, LEAP Inc. building explosion in Farmington. Accounts from firefighters confirmed that there was no smell of propane outside or inside of the building. While no propane was detected around the tank, the measurement readings in the basement w
The board also approved Mt. Blue Assistant Principal Joel Smith to serve as the high school’s interim principal to replace Poulin. Smith will receive a stipend to cover his enhanced responsibilities.
In regard to fast-tracking the administrative hires, Meserve said that the district’s policy includes exceptions to the hiring process for unique circumstances.
“There is a pretty lengthy process and anyone who has been part of hiring administrators knows there’s usually a two-month or even a three-month process at times,” Meserve said. “And this has happened pretty rapidly partly because we’re in an emergency situation with a transition midyear, we’re in the middle of a pandemic and it’s important to get them filled.”
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