Portland has a new superintendent of schools, at least for the next year.

The Board of Education, after meeting privately in executive session for an hour, voted Tuesday evening to hire Jeanne Crocker as its interim superintendent.

Crocker, a former South Portland High School principal and longtime French and Spanish teacher who is now the Portland school district’s director of school management, will officially take over her duties Aug. 1.

Crocker will replace Superintendent Emmanuel Caulk, who will leave Maine at the end of the month to take a new job as superintendent of schools in Lexington, Kentucky.

She was hired to serve for one year. Her salary will be the same that Caulk has been earning – $138,875 a year.

The one-year appointment will give the school district the time it needs to conduct a comprehensive nationwide search to find Caulk’s permanent replacement.

Crocker, who graduated from Colby College in Waterville in 1976, has no intention of applying for the permanent position and plans to retire after her one year is up.

“I honestly can’t think of a better person right now for this position,” said board member Marnie Morrione. “She will be a wonderful person as we transition to a new superintendent. Some people view change as a scary time. I feel we can move along and not miss a beat.”

Crocker’s appointment was unanimously endorsed by the six board members who were present Tuesday evening. John Eder, Holly Seeliger and Stephanie Hatzenbuehler were unable to attend the special business meeting.

“We’re very happy to have such a qualified administrator able to step into this position,” Sarah Thompson, chairwoman of the board, said in a news release. “We expect the transition will be a smooth one because Jeanne has been working side by side with the current superintendent and will be able to guide the district along the solid trajectory of success that he has established.”

The 60-year-old Crocker, who lives in Scarborough, was hired by the Portland Public Schools in 2014 to serve as its first director of school management. Her primary job duty in that role has been to support and supervise the district’s school principals.

Crocker previously served as assistant executive director of the Maine Principals’ Association from 2011 to 2014 and was also an adjunct professor at the University of Southern Maine from 2012 to 2013.

Prior to that, Crocker spent 28 years at South Portland High School, where she served as principal for 13 years. She held that post from 1998 to 2011 and was named Maine’s High School Principal of the Year in 2003.

Crocker received a bachelor of arts degree in French and Spanish from Colby and a master’s degree in school administration in 1979 from USM.

During her career in education, Crocker taught French and Spanish at South Portland High School, Windham High School and Waterville High School.

Caulk, who got married in June, recently accepted a job as superintendent of the 40,000-student Fayette County Public Schools in Lexington, Kentucky. He was hired by the Portland Public Schools in 2012. He was under contract through 2019, but the board has accepted his resignation.

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