The Windham school department has hired a new director for its transportation department, but some residents are crying foul that the department is top-heavy with administrators.

In a letter to school department staff, Windham Superintendent of Schools Sandy Prince said Michael Kelly will take over the reigns from outgoing Transportation Director Margo Fournier at the end of this month. Fournier will become the assistant transportation director at the same time.

Kelly, who did not respond to requests for an interview, worked his way up through the ranks of the Lewiston Police Department to become the chief of police. In 1998 he was made the commissioner of public safety for the state of Maine by Governor Angus King.

Kelly was replaced by Michael Cantara of Biddeford in 2003 when Cantara was appointed by incoming Gov. John Baldacci.

Kelly then left law enforcement and became the school transportation director in SAD 45 in Bethel and then in SAD 75 in Topsham.

But John Call of Windham said Kelly and Fournier’s proposed salaries in the school budget for next year will be double what the department is paying now.

The proposed budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1 lists $105,000 for management in the transportation department, up from $48,000 last year.

Call said last year’s salary was around the state average for transportation directors, but the proposed budget will give $65,000 to Kelly and $40,000 to Fournier.

“The busses all ran on schedule,” Call said of last year. He said Fournier would be working 40 hours a week as the manager’s assistant, while the person who assisted her last year only worked 20 each week.

“Is it just me, or does this make no business sense at all?” said Call

The proposed school budget would increase the transportation department budget from $1.5 million to $1.7 million if passed.

Prince said the increase in salary was needed to a draw a qualified candidate to the position. He said the school had four applicants for the position in 2005 and five in 2006 when Fournier was appointed, but when they advertised a higher salary this winter the number of applications jumped to 36.

“I think it drew a very good pool of candidates,” said Prince. He said eight of them were highly qualified.

Prince also said that it’s true that there is a part-time assistant position currently, but he said that’s because the previous full-time transportation assistant quit and they’ve only found a part time replacement this year.

“We limped along with a part time dispatcher,” said Prince. He said the current year is a fluke and Fournier has been burdened with a lot of extra tasks, from dispatching the buses to filling in for absent drivers.