In continuing its trend of hiring from within, the Scarborough Board of Education unanimously approved hiring high school Principal Andrew Dolloff as the new assistant superintendent.

Dolloff is replacing David Doyle, who was recently selected as the new superintendent, replacing Bill Michaud who resigned in order to attend law school at the University of Southern Maine.

At this point, it is unknown who will replace Dolloff, and the district has begun advertising for the position in newspapers and on the Internet.

It is expected that a group consisting of school administration, teachers and parents would review the applications and refer the two best candidates to Doyle, who will meet with them and make a final recommendation to the board.

Dolloff has been the high school principal for six years and has been with the Scarborough School District for 10 years, first serving as the athletic director. He has been in the education field for 19 years and during that time also worked as a teacher in Lewiston and as an assistant principal in Wiscasset.

“I enjoy a new challenge. I need it to stay fresh,” Dolloff said about his reasons for taking the new position.

In nominating Dolloff for the position, Michaud noted Dolloff’s experience in education saying it was an “impressive record of educational service.”

“He’s very well respected in the district and throughout the state,” Michaud said. “He has a way about him that’s effective in handling all kinds of situations.”

Noting that the board has hired from within for superintendent and assistant superintendent, Board member Jackie Perry said, “I think it’s wonderful we have two such fine educators in our school system that we are able to elevate to the top two positions.”

Board Chairman Bob Mitchell said Dolloff has many of the skills the board was looking for in an assistant superintendent, including intimate knowledge of the district, its facilities needs, managerial experience and a good rapport with the both the school and at-large community.

“That’s clearly what we were looking for in both the superintendent and assistant superintendent, a person who is active and out in the community making sure we’re meeting all the needs of the students, parents and the community members,” Mitchell said.

In the educational world of Southern Maine many people look to the outside to find promotions and simply move from district to district, Dolloff said. However, to stay within the district and be rewarded for his previous work in Scarborough’s schools is an honor.

“It’s nice to show people you can move up from within,” he said.

During the past two years, Dolloff has been working with Michaud in an internship that is required for those working toward receiving the necessary certifications to become a superintendent.

When Dolloff started in education, he said he did not necessarily think about becoming a principal, but when the chance arose he took the position.

“As you go through your career, opportunities open up, and you think you’d like to try that,” he said.

He said there will be some aspects of his current job that he will miss such as the daily interactions with students and staff, but he is looking forward to making a larger impact within the district, especially at the younger grades.

While Dolloff’s exact duties have not been laid out, he said he would like to be involved with the supervision and staff evaluation, which he enjoyed doing at the high school.

Mitchell is hopeful the hiring of the new high school principal can be done by mid summer. However, if a suitable candidate can not be hired in time for the opening of school, he is confident that things will run smoothly with the current high school administration working until the new principal is brought on board.

“I enjoy a new challenge. I need it to stay fresh,” Andrew Dolloff said of his reasons for taking the new position.