Johnson named full-time SAD 32 official

    ASHLAND, Maine – At last Wednesday night’s SAD 1 board meeting, directors voted unanimously to allow Superintendent Gehrig Johnson to take the helm of SAD 32, as well.
Johnson, who has been serving as SAD 32’s interim superintendent since Oct. 15, will officially drop the interim title July 1 and become the district’s full-time official.
    “Sheila Lyons, SAD 32’s chairman, addressed the SAD 1 board and requested to make the interim arrangement a permanent one,” said Johnson. “After Sheila stepped out of the room, the board discussed the issue and voted unanimously to have me take over July 1 for one year, so it won’t be interim anymore.
“Next December,” he said, “we’ll have the discussion again because superintendents only sign a one-year contract. The new contract will be effective from July 1, 2007 to June 30, 2008.”
Johnson said the two boards have entered into a master management services agreement that would allow services to be rendered to SAD 32.
“The primary service is the superintendent,” he said, “and the services that would be rendered would be determined by the superintendent. It’s pretty much continuing what we’re doing now, only we’re formalizing it.
“Other services could include special education services, special education director services, technology services, and business office help,” said Johnson.
As part of the agreement, SAD 32 will pay SAD 1 a management services fee of $30,000.
“It’s like a retainer fee,” said Johnson, who will receive $800 a week for his services. “It allows the contract to happen, and we’re going to use that money to help lower taxes.”
Johnson said the present arrangement has been working very well, and he’s happy the position is now full-time.
“It’s gone very well,” he said. “When we entered into the agreement last fall, we weren’t quite sure the amount of time it would take, but it’s not taking the time that I anticipated due to the fact that the whole community, board and faculty are all pulling in the same direction. When that happens, great things happen for kids.
“They’re excited about their new school, and the board understands its role very well,” said Johnson, “and when you have that kind of climate, things run well and we’re able to make great progress.”
Lyons said she’s extremely happy to have Johnson on board full-time.
“He’s done an excellent job for us,” said Lyons. “People have been very, very pleased with how things have gone since he’s taken over, and we’ve been able to share more than just his expertise. We’ve shared some of his people in other areas like special education and technology. That has worked out well for us.
“To look for a superintendent today – after what the governor’s trying to do – is a futile job. The candidates who are out there are few and far between, and we’ve had our share of problems with superintendents and we don’t want that anymore,” she said. “We’re perfectly happy with what’s going on and we’re very glad that SAD 1 decided to continue this. This will show the governor – I hope – that you can share administrators and administrative costs without having to lose your local control.”
Another reason Lyons was hopeful Johnson would continue to serve SAD 32 is his experience with building projects.
“Having gone through the renovations and building of the Presque Isle Middle School, he has expertise that we can rely on,” she said, “as we move forward with plans to build a new consolidated K-12 school.”
Lyons said SAD 32 “will still maintain our own school board and make our own decisions.”
“Dr. Johnson has been very good in that he attends our board meetings and works with our board and tries not to make us part of SAD 1,” she said. “We have our own thoughts and plans, and we want to keep it that way.”
Johnson said SAD 1 will continue to be his top priority.
“Technology is so advanced that a lot of what I do is done by e-mail, phone and text,” he said. “I try to have a presence in SAD 32 three times a week, but each week is different. My schedule is very tight and highly structured.
“My primary concern obviously is SAD 1,” said Johnson, “and keeping us on the front edge and making sure our students and faculty have everything they need. However, we’re also able to do this for SAD 32 and do it well for them.”