EAST MILLINOCKET – After 26 years of service, Robert Bouchard Jr. is resigning as superintendent of Union 113, effective June 30.

He will assume his new duties as superintendent of Union 74 beginning July 1.

Union 74 includes the towns of Damariscotta, New Castle, Bristol, South Bristol, Nobleboro and Bremen. It has a student population of 1,600, which includes about 500 high school students who attend Lincoln Academy, a private school. The union’s budget is about $13 million.

Like Union 113, Union 74 has been committed, Bouchard said, to providing a strong education to its young people.

Bouchard said he looks forward to the challenges his new job will bring, but is quick to admit his decision to leave Union 113 was a tough one.

“I have had the opportunity of a lifetime,” Bouchard said during a Wednesday interview.

“They have given me the chance to be superintendent in the school union where I grew up,” he said of the union school board members. “I just absolutely appreciate all of that.”

Bouchard said he will miss the many “tremendous” people with whom he has worked and the many people who helped him grow. Describing the move as a career opportunity, he said he and his wife had often discussed the possibility of moving to the midcoast region, an area they love. A long-term goal of his family was to move to the coastal region because they hoped eventually to retire there, he said.

Steven J. Federico, chairman of the union board, said Bouchard’s leaving was a big loss.

“We are saddened, but you can’t hold a person back from making a career move either, “Federico said Wednesday.

“We are losing a tremendous person,” said the chairman. “We certainly wish him well and thank him for the years he has given.”

Bouchard has a total of 26 years of service with the school union, having served 15 years as a teacher at the Medway Middle School, nine years as middle school principal and the past two years as superintendent of Union 113 (East Millinocket, Medway and Woodville).

Federico described Bouchard as very likable and intelligent.

“He reads situations very well, and he follows through,” said the school union chairman. “If you ask questions, you get answers back. He is going to be sorely missed.”

During a meeting tonight, the school union board will vote on Bouchard’s resignation and will discuss filling his position.

“We are going to move to fill the post as quickly as possible,” Federico said.