Two members of the school board for Topsham-based SAD 75, which includes four towns, have resigned.
Longtime members Joanne Rogers and David Johnson, both Harpswell residents, notified board chairwoman Kimberly Totten of Bowdoin of their decisions on Friday. Rogers was vice chairwoman of the board.
“We feel we no longer have the trust of the Board and therefore should not continue to serve,” Rogers and Johnson said in a statement released Friday by Totten.
Neither Rogers nor Johnson could be reached Saturday for comment.
Totten declined to discuss the reasons behind the resignations, citing confidentiality concerns.
She said she valued “their knowledge and guidance and appreciated their contributions to the district over the years.”
Totten said it would be up to the town of Harpswell to fill the two vacancies on the 14-member board. SAD 75 also includes the towns of Topsham, Bowdoin and Bowdoinham.
The district has been operating with an interim superintendent this school year following the retirement of Brad Smith at the end of the 2017-2018 school year. Totten said the board decided it needed more time to find a replacement and appointed Daniel Chuhta as interim superintendent until a permanent replacement could be hired. Chuhta announced his resignation from the interim job last month, effective on Feb. 15, in order to take the job as the state’s deputy commissioner of education.
Former Regional School Unit 68 Superintendent Robert Lucy has been hired to replace Chuhta as interim superintendent.
Harpswell has four representatives on the board, Topham six, and Bowdoin and Bowdoinham both have two.
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