Faculty officers on Deer Isle are looking for two new principals in addition to candidates for a number of different essential positions at Faculty Union 76 earlier than the beginning of the brand new faculty 12 months.
The openings within the small district, which additionally embody a primary grade instructor, a center faculty English language arts instructor, 4 ed techs throughout the district, two highschool lecturers and several other different positions, are exacerbated by each competitors with bigger close by districts with greater coffers and a scarcity of inexpensive housing — one thing felt in different sectors, too.
Superintendent Daniel Ross joined the district a few month in the past and has been on the hunt for principals at Deer Isle-Stonington elementary and excessive faculties since then. He desires to fill the positions earlier than college students return on the finish of August.
This many open positions is loads for a small district like SU 76, which additionally has elementary faculties in Sedgwick and Brooklin, however Ross mentioned that many superintendents up and down the coast are going by way of the identical factor.
“Each faculty in Maine is scrambling to fill positions,” he mentioned.
Elementary faculty principal Tara McKechnie left on the finish of the varsity 12 months after 5 years with the district for a superintendent job at AOS 93 in Damariscotta. Laura Davis, who was employed for the highschool place in 2021, resigned in July to be nearer to household in Tennessee.
One factor that has made the seek for their replacements tough is the excessive housing costs within the small communities. In 2021, the distinction between Deer Isle’s median revenue and the revenue wanted to afford a median priced dwelling on the town was practically $26,000, in line with knowledge from the Maine Housing Authority. Stonington was even worse, with the hole rising to simply beneath $39,000.
The district is handing out $1,000 bonuses to try to entice lecturers, however that’s nonetheless not sufficient of a draw to compete with different areas which have extra inexpensive housing and bigger faculty budgets.
Most recruiting is finished off-island in areas equivalent to Bucksport and Bangor in hopes that these folks would commute down. However faculties in these areas are likely to pay extra.
“That’s a tricky prospect,” Ross mentioned. “We are able to’t compete with the salaries within the Bangor space.”
Ross himself struggled to discover a place to reside on the island and now endures a 40-plus minute commute to work.
“Once I dedicated to SU 76, I regarded round to purchase a house right here. The closest I may get was in Bucksport,” he mentioned. “It was both a cave or a fortress. I may both purchase a mansion or somebody’s fishing shack alongside the coast.”
The faculties do have some candidates for the principal jobs, however the search has been torpid and it’s been laborious to draw a strong set of prospects.
Ross, who began initially of July after working because the superintendent in Cherryfield, has been in a position to fill some positions and this week employed Dan Campbell, who had earlier stints in Jonesport and Sumner, to be the brand new athletic director.
Administration job hirings typically come right down to the wire, and Ross was assured they’d have folks in place earlier than college students returned.
“It’s just a bit unnerving for folks [being this close],” he mentioned.
