The Brunswick School Department reached across the Androscoggin River to Topsham to snag a replacement for retiring Coffin Elementary School Principal John Paige.

On Wednesday, the School Board approved hiring Steve Ciembroniewicz, principal of Williams-Cone Elementary School in Topsham, to succeed Paige.

Superintendent Paul Perzanoski said Thursday that he nominated Ciembroniewicz for the post because of his experience as a gifted-and-talented program coordinator, an elementary school teacher, a high school English teacher and a middle school teacher.

“We are really pleased to have him come on board and are looking forward to him starting,” Perzanoski said.

Perzanoski said that Ciembroniewicz will assume the Coffin helm sometime in July, with an exact date to be determined. He has been principal at Williams-Cone Elementary School since June 2009 and the gifted-and-talented coordinator for School Administrative District 75 from 2005 to 2009.

After 30 years in the Brunswick school system, including two stints as principal at Coffin, Paige announced his retirement in April, accepting a retirement incentive package offered to the district’s teachers and administrators in hopes of curbing any layoffs that might come from steep budget cuts the district saw this past year.

The Brunswick School Board voted unanimously Wednesday to hire Ciembroniewicz.

“I’m thrilled. I’m excited. I felt like it was a really good match,” Ciembroniewicz told The Times Record on Thursday.

“I was impressed,” he said. “I got a chance to meet with the interview team, with a parent group, with teachers on more than one occasion, with the superintendent, and even (Wednesday) night with the School Board. The more I went through the process, the more I felt like it was a strong match. … It feels really good.”

Ciembroniewicz’ contract with SAD 75 ends June 30, and he said he wants to “make sure it’s a good transition.” He planned to meet with Perzanoski later Thursday to further discuss details of his new job.

Williams-Cone School currently serves about 225 students, according to Ciembroniewicz. Coffin Elementary School’s enrollment is listed at 373 students in the recently completed Brunswick School Department Facilities Master Plan Study.

Ciembroniewicz, a former Bowdoinham selectman, started his SAD 75 tenure as a long-term substitute for George Jenkins, the principal of Bowdoin Central School. He then taught fifth grade at Woodside Elementary School in Topsham for two or three years, then directed the gifted and-talented program before taking on the role of principal at Williams-Cone.

“I love the parents and the kids in our community” at Williams-Cone, Ciembroniewicz said. “There’s a bitter sweetness to leaving such a great group of students and parents.”

SAD 75 Superintendent Brad Smith said Thursday that the district will engage in a comprehensive hiring process that will rely on input from staff and the community. He hopes to present a candidate to the school board by August.

“I’m sorry to see Steve leave,” Smith said. “He’s a good man. His dedication to students and staff is highly commendable. He’s a talented, intelligent individual, and our loss is going to be Brunswick’s gain.”

Ciembroniewicz said he hopes that SAD 75 and Brunswick will continue exploring opportunities to collaborate, as the two districts have in recent years.

“I’m feeling like this is a wonderful opportunity to reach across the river,” he said.

“I think my mantra is: Seek to understand. I’m going to listen, I’m going to listen and learn.”

Of Paige, Ciembroniewicz said, “He’s been around a long time and done wonderful things, and I just feel I’d like to learn and continue to do great things.”

He concluded, “I really am honored and excited to join a school filled with dedicated professionals,” whom he feels “exude such a positive childcentered and collaborative energy.”

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