HOLDEN – The strain of the lawsuits brought by fired SAD 63 Superintendent Louise Regan are the reasons Chairwoman Linda Goodrich recently resigned, Goodrich said Thursday.

“This isn’t what I got on the board for,” she said. “I got on the board for the kids.”

Her registration letter states, “Because of these lawsuits, and the retaliation to me personally, from Louise Regan, my family has suffered, my relationship has suffered, my health is suffering and now my employment is being affected.”

The SAD 63 board accepted Goodrich’s registration letter at its Oct. 27 meeting, and later in the meeting appointed former Superintendent Ray Hart as interim superintendent.

Regan is suing SAD 63 and five of the eight board members who were on the panel a year ago, claiming defamation and violation of her rights related to actions taken at their Oct. 22, 2007, meeting, an investigation into her conduct and her firing.

Therese Anderson, Karen Clark, Goodrich, Robert Kiah and Dion Seymour are the named board members because they allowed Seymour to read a letter of concern at the October 2007 meeting about Regan’s conduct related to audiotapes of a previous meeting. Goodrich and Seymour are no longer on the board.

In addition to the federal lawsuits, Regan also has filed two Maine Human Rights Commission complaints against the school district claiming she was discriminated against and harassed for being a whistle-blower. In those, Regan says she is being targeted because she reported to police that the tapes had been removed improperly from the central office. The tapes in question later were returned.

“It’s ridiculous that all this time and money has been spent on this lawsuit,” Goodrich said. “It’s ridiculous that it’s been allowed to go this far.”

Regan’s attorney is in the process of taking depositions of those named in the lawsuits. Goodrich has done 21/2 hours of the seven hours of allowed questioning, and is scheduled to do the rest in the near future, she said.

Since Goodrich was the chairwoman of the school board, a new board leader is expected to be appointed at the Nov. 17 meeting, which is being held a week early because of Thanksgiving. That meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. and is being held at Eddington Elementary School.

Clifton selectmen are expected at their Nov. 19 meeting to appoint someone to fill Goodrich’s post until local elections are held in March. Those interested in serving should call or stop by the town office.

New interim superintendent Hart was hired as superintendent in 1996 by the tri-district board, which covered Dedham, Airline district schools and SAD 63 at that time, and served until Regan was hired to fill the post in July 2003.

Hart was hired by a 4-2-1 vote with Anderson, Clark, Kiah and Pamela Dorr endorsing him, Don Varnum and Sylvia Ellis voting against his appointment and new member Mario Teisl abstaining.

His experience running the district is just one reason Hart was hired, Clark said Thursday.

“Ray Hart realizes that there is some healing needed for the district in all aspects – the children, parents, employees and residents – and he is more than willing to start that healing process,” she said.