ORONO – Union 87 school committee members unanimously selected a new superintendent.

Kelly Clenchy of Herbert, Saskatchewan, has accepted the committee’s offer and will assume duties at the Orono and Veazie schools on Oct. 1.

Two other candidates were considered for the position, but the board unanimously voted for Clenchy on Tuesday night.

“He seems to be in keeping with the educational culture and philosophy that we’re trying to promote in Union 87,” school committee Chairman Bob Swindlehurst said Wednesday.

Union 87 Superintendent Tom Perry will retire in August, after serving in the Orono school system for 33 years. This is his seventh year as superintendent.

Perry has agreed to serve as interim superintendent for a month after his retirement to ensure a smooth transition for the Orono and Veazie schools in Union 87.

Clenchy has been in education in Canada since 1977. He most recently has served as director of education, a position similar to that of superintendent, at the Herbert School Division, according to Swindlehurst.

Although Clenchy will have some learning to do as far as the curriculum and education standards in the United States and Maine, the school committee has complete confidence in Clenchy’s abilities, Swindlehurst said.

“He’s a very intelligent fellow,” the committee chairman said. “It seems that he can be well-versed in the standards very quickly.”

The committee wasn’t looking for a superintendent who knew the ins and outs of Maine’s standards, but rather wanted someone who could act as an effective leader and bring Union 87 to where it needs to be in the future, Swindlehurst said.