The Maine School Administrative District 75 board appointed Robert Lucy as the district’s interim superintendent Thursday, effective July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022.

The board hired Lucy in February to temporarily replace Superintendent Shawn Chabot, who left the district in February after he was called to duty with the Maine Army National Guard. Chabot announced his official resignation, effective June 30, last month.

“I am delighted to be the interim superintendent of schools and look forward to working collaboratively with our school board and the MSAD 75 community to continue to provide a top-quality educational experience for all of our students,” Lucy wrote in an email to The Times Record Friday. “In the months ahead, I am enthusiastic about the opportunity to partner with our MSAD 75 community as we plan for the upcoming school year.”

Board Chair Rachelle Tome said the board plans to begin the search for a permanent superintendent in January “with the intent of having someone at the ready for July 1, 2022.”

There was no discussion by the board before the unanimous vote.

“Over the past few months, Mr. Lucy has demonstrated that he is well-suited to address the needs of the district and will provide the community with the continuity and stability we need as we work to plan for the fall,” Tome said following the vote.

Tome said the district extended Lucy’s temporary contract, setting a daily rate of $600.

MSAD 75 serves Topsham, Harpswell, Bowdoin and Bowdoinham.

Two people spoke against Lucy being appointed interim superintendent and asked the board to immediately begin the search for a more permanent superintendent to replace Chabot.

“I feel strongly that what this district needs at this time is not an interim superintendent, but a permanent superintendent that will be a strong leader to our district.” said Mary Kay Dyer, an MSAD 75 employee of 34 years. “Please start a search for a permanent superintendent, one that will have an investment in helping our district return to normal again and to build up the confidence in our faculty and staff, which they feel they’ve lost.”

“As a parent of children who will be a part of MSAD 75 for the next 10 years, I am strongly invested in having a superintendent who will inspire our educators, staff and students to do their best,” said Mary Kate Appicelli, a parent of three MSAD 75 students. “Thinking we can’t find a good candidate right now because of timing seems flawed. We don’t know who’s out there until we look. The sooner we have a superintendent ready to embrace the next steps to lead us confidently through the next chapter, the sooner we can move on and focus on the most important task at hand: educating our children.”

Tome said the board is delaying the search because most superintendents already have a plan for the coming school year due to the schedule of the job. If the board waits, she believes it will have a wider variety of candidates to choose from and “a robust hiring process for the community that isn’t pressured.”

Lucy previously served as MSAD 75’s interim superintendent before Chabot was hired in early 2019. Tome said his familiarity with the community will “provide some stability and consistency for our district” as they plan what the fall will look like for students and teachers.

Lucy previously worked as superintendent at Dover-Foxcroft-based RSU 68. Several years prior, in 2013, he resigned from a new position as assistant superintendent at the Bangor School District after news reports detailed a 2011 state investigation that found Lucy had violated standardized testing rules while he was principal at Orono Middle School.

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