FREEPORT – An important qualification for a new superintendent in Regional School Unit 5 would be the ability to unify, say one of the co-superintendents and a school board member.

At their next meeting on Dec. 10, the RSU 5 Board of Directors will confer with consultant Ron Barker on the attributes a new superintendent might need. The meeting at Freeport High School begins at 6 p.m., with a social gathering among administrators, board members and the public. The business meeting starts at 6:30.

Last December, Freeport residents voted to explore withdrawal from RSU 5, setting in motion nearly a year of at-times contentious negotiations between the town’s Withdrawal Committee and RSU 5. On Nov. 4, by just 76 votes, Freeport voters spoke again, this time deciding not to withdraw. Many people in Freeport, as well as residents of Durham and Pownal, are saying that now is the time for the RSU 5 communities to come together and work as one.

One of the issues on the school board’s front burner is the hiring of a new superintendent to replace William Michaud and Mike Lafortune. Michaud and Lafortune agreed early this year to be co-superintendents following the resignation of Shannon Welsh.

A new superintendent needs to be a fence mender, Michaud said Monday.

“The attributes that the board is looking for in a permanent superintendent might be unique to this particular job – what I would call bridge-building,” Michaud said. “Statesmanship might be needed.”

Beth Parker of Freeport, who won re-election to the board, said she is hearing that call for community.

“We need someone who can reunite this RSU, for sure,” Parker said.

Experience is also important, Parker said.

“There’s a lot of stuff that needs to be done,” she said.

Barker, who has negotiated dozens of superintendent’s contracts in his former position with Maine School Management Association, is working as a paid consultant for the superintendent search. Michaud said that Barker is earning $75 an hour, up to $10,000.

Michaud said that six people had applied for the superintendent’s position as of Monday.

“I was encouraged,” he said.

The deadline for applications is Dec. 30. Michaud said that the first round of interviews is tentatively set for the week of Jan. 20. The second round of interviews would be conducted during the week of Feb. 4, and site visits for finalists would follow.

The school board also will name a 21-member Building Committee on Dec. 10, to begin planning a $14.6 million renovation of Freeport High School.

Before they begin discussions, board members will choose a new chairman to replace Nelson Larkins, who finished third in a four-person race for two available seats on the board, on Nov. 4. Kate Brown of Pownal, the board vice chairwoman, presided at the last meeting, held on Nov. 26.

Michaud said Monday that the value of the $14,638,009 bond, passed by RSU 5 voters in November 2013, will be less now, due to inflation. RSU 5 had to put the construction on hold for a year while the school unit negotiated with the Freeport Withdrawal Committee. When Freeport residents decided against leaving RSU 5, it put the bond back in motion.

“‘Value engineering’ is part of the project because of inflation,” Michaud said. “With inflation, you’re going to have to take some things out.”

RSU 5 has hired Lyndon Keck of PDT Architects to design the renovation, which will include a new two-story space where the school’s industrial arts building now stands. The new building will include classrooms, a cafeteria, kitchen and music room.

The building committee has its first meeting Jan. 7 at Freeport High, beginning at 8 a.m.

“After the building committee picks a chair,” Michaud said, “Keck will help direct them forward.”

Michaud said that construction at the school should begin late next autumn, with completion late in 2015 or early in 2016.