SCARBOROUGH — The Board of Education has appointed RSU 14 Superintendent Sandy Prince to lead Scarborough schools for one year following his retirement from the Windham-Raymond school district in June.
RSU 14 Superintendent Sandy Prince, photographed in 2014, will serve as Scarborough’s interim superintendent in the next school year. Press Herald photo by Gordon Chibroski
The board voted unanimously Thursday to appoint Prince to the interim position pending a negotiated contract.
Prince would replace Superintendent Julie Kukenberger, who has been named interim superintendent of Hamilton-Wenham public schools in Massachusetts, according to wickedlocal.com.
Prince’s appointment is the latest step in the board’s effort to address controversy that boiled over last year related to policy and administrative disputes involving Kukenberger and former Scarborough High School principal David Creech, who resigned and now heads Winthrop High School.
“We feel we have found a candidate who is the right fit to lead Scarborough for the next year,” board Chairwoman Leanne Kazilionis said in appointing Prince.
Prince has been an educator for 39 years, filling various teaching and administrative positions in Gorham, Portland and Windham schools. He has been superintendent of RSU 14 since 2003. His last day with Windham-Raymond schools is June 30.
The Scarborough board decided in April to end its search for a permanent replacement for Kukenburger and seek an interim superintendent instead. The board posted the job opening on the Maine School Management Association’s website and received many applications and letters of interest in response, Kazilionis said.
In a written statement issued April 26, the board said it hoped to hire an experienced interim superintendent “so we can continue to focus on the progress we are making collaboratively as a board and district.”
“Hiring a superintendent is one of the most important decisions a school board can make,” the statement said. “Although we had many outstanding candidates, we strongly believe we are making the best choice for the district by taking our time to find the person who embodies the qualities most important to the board, the staff and community members.”
Kukenberger announced last November that she would not seek a new contract or extension to her initial three-year contract, which ends June 30. She said she made the announcement because the board faced many challenges and its members “need to focus 100 percent of their time on doing what is right for our children.”
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