Old Town hires high school principal

OLD TOWN – The Old Town school board unanimously hired a new high school principal Thursday during a special board meeting.

“The school board approved my nomination of Joe Gallant as the new Old Town High School principal,” said Superintendent Matthew Oliver. “Joe is currently the K-12 director of instruction for the Brewer School Department.”

The exact date Gallant will start is still being negotiated, but Oliver said he hopes to have the new principal on the job as soon as possible. Gallant was given a salary of $75,522 plus benefits.

“We’re all very pleased to have Joe on board and we look forward to working with him as he leads a very talented and dedicated staff at the high school to a very bright future,” the superintendent said.

Gallant has been working in education for 24 years. He started as a social studies teacher in Lincoln in 1979. He then moved to Hampden Academy in 1986 where he taught social studies until 1990. At both locations he coached track. For three years he was the assistant principal at Dexter Primary-Middle School and for four years was the principal of Eastland Elementary-Middle School.

Gallant went to Brewer in 1997 to serve as principal of the Capri Elementary School and was the kindergarten through 12th-grade curriculum coordinator for the district until 2001when he was given the job as director of instruction.

At the meeting, the board also approved the new support staff contract.