Dan Chuhta takes over as the new assistant superintendent of schools for School Administrative District 75 effective July 1.

By a unanimous vote of the school board Thursday, Chuhta received a one-year contract.

The board also unanimously appointed Todd Sampson to the position of athletic director at Mt. Ararat High School, also effective July 1. Sampson will take the place of Colin Roy, who will retire after 16 years as the high school’s athletic director.

“We had a very strong pool of candidates for both positions,” Superintendent Brad Smith said. “We were very, very pleased with the quality of folks who applied for our positions.”

Chuhta “comes to us having been a teacher of science at Massabesic,” Smith said.

The new assistant superintendent earned a bachelor of science degree from the State University of New York at Oswego; a master’s in curriculum development and instructional technology from the State University of New York at Albany; and a certificate of advanced study in educational leadership from the University of Southern Maine.

In addition to teaching, Smith said, Chuhta oversaw data and assessment for School Administrative District 57 and most recently worked for Portland Public Schools as a curriculum coordinator focusing on the STEM program (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) — the integration of which Chuhta told the school board “is where we see a lot of students just come alive.”

Chuhta attended Thursday night’s school board meeting, which included recognition of several student achievements as well as recognition and a reception for all district employees retiring at the end of this school year.

“It is clear from the recognition this evening that there is a strong commitment to the success of students in the district and the reputation that your district has is very strong and reflects it,” Chuhta said. “So I look forward to working with the students and the staff and the community and continuing that hard work, which I’m honored to be able to do.”

Other business

At Thursday’s meeting, the school board approved increasing the elementary school lunch prices from $2.30 to $2.35, and the price of breakfast at all district schools from $1 to $1.50, effective at the start of the 2012-13 school year.

The board approved a contract with St. John’s Catholic School in Brunswick to continue providing lunches for the 2012-13 school year.

The board accepted David Cheng of Hong Kong as a tuition-paying student at Mt. Ararat High School. Smith told the board Cheng is currently in Hong Kong, but that Smith recently met his mother and older sister, who just graduated from Bowdoin College.

During the scheduled superintendent’s report, Smith said one of the district’s goals this year is to focus on increased partnerships with parents and community. Doing so spurred school officials to consider some form of background check for volunteers.

“As we look at diminished resources, we recognize that we are going to have to increase our efforts at recruiting and taking full advantage of community members who can provide such a wealth of resources to students,” Smith said. “We also recognize that the times are what they are and because we have children in a school setting, we need to be aware of who is coming in and who is working with our children, and making sure those folks don’t present any risk for our students, just as we do with all of our staff.”

Smith said he asked Dawn Prindall, who in part serves as a community liaison for the district, to look into establishing a process for registering volunteers throughout the district.

After studying volunteer registration processes at other school districts, Prindall compiled a packet containing simple guidelines for staff to read regarding dealing with volunteers. A volunteer handbook and application will be developed for implementation at the start of the 2012-13 academic year.

Volunteers who work with children frequently will be asked to undergo a free state background check that does not include fingerprinting, she said. Smith added the information would remain confidential.

The board also approved the resignations of Steve Ciembroniewicz, principal of Williams-Cone School; Erik Kramer, technology support leader; and Janet Anderson, literacy teacher leader at Williams-Cone School.