Lubec, Union 102 may share school chief

MACHIAS – The hiring of SAD 19 Superintendent Scott Porter by School Union 102 may open the door for the two school districts to share a superintendent.

Union 102 includes Jonesboro, Machias, Marshfield, Northfield, Roque Bluffs, Wesley and Whitneyville. SAD 19 in Lubec is a single-town school district. Union 102 has 600 students compared to 225 in Lubec.

The possibility of Union 102 and Lubec sharing Porter will be discussed during a joint meeting of the two boards tentatively scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 16, at Machias Memorial High School, according to Bruce Sawyer, the current Union 102 superintendent, on Friday.

Sawyer and Halbert McFadden, vice-chairman of the SAD 19 board of directors, said informal talks about sharing Porter’s time have taken place since he accepted the Union 102 position earlier this month.

“Our hope is that we can hold on to him in some fashion,” McFadden said “To me, and as I told the Machias group, he has no weaknesses.”

McFadden said Porter’s decision to take the position in Machias is a step up the career ladder and he predicted that Porter soon will be in demand by even larger school systems.

Lubec, like other small school systems, is looking for ways to cut costs as the state presses school systems to combine services, McFadden said.

Before Porter’s March 11 announcement that he was taking the position with Union 102, the SAD 19 board was discussing the possibility of combining with SAD 77 to share a superintendent, McFadden said.

Those discussions have been put on hold, given the talks with Machias, he said.

SAD 77 includes the towns of Cutler, East Machias, Machiasport and Whiting. Superintendent Joseph McBrine said he understands SAD 19 must consider all of its options.

“These are challenging times for all of us in education,” he said. “We wish them the very best.”

Sawyer said Porter was chosen from a field of 10 applicants. He has been hired at a salary of $73,500 plus benefits and has a one-year contract that begins July 11.

Porter is a 1984 graduate of the University of Maine at Orono and taught math at Lubec High School before moving on to Washington Academy in 1986 as a math and science teacher. He served as assistant headmaster and athletic director at the academy for three years before becoming superintendent of SAD 19.

Porter said Friday that he is excited about his new position and has begun meeting with administrators and key personnel so that he “can hit the ground running.”

All school systems are looking for ways to cut costs, Porter said, and are being encouraged to do so by Gov. John Baldacci’s inclusion of $5 million in incentives in the state’s 2004-2005 education budget for schools that work together.

Washington County towns, like other municipalities in Maine, are struggling with increases in state valuations and declining school enrollments, which translates to less money in state aid to education, Porter noted.

“There are going to be a lot of changes in the next five to 10 years, and it is going to be very difficult for small schools,” he said.