BY COLIN POWELL
Delayed by weather, the Union 93 Board voted unanimously to hire Mark Hurvitt as superintendent. Hurvitt served Union 93 for three years between 2003 and 2006, leaving to take a teaching position at George Stevens Academy. Most recently, the 13-year principal on Deer Isle has been working as the superintendent on Vinalhaven. “It’s been great working on the island,” Hurvitt said during a break in the meeting. “But living over there four days a week is getting old.”
The executive session during which the board deliberated before approving Hurvitt lasted for nearly half an hour. After leaving the session, board chairman Joe Spinazola explained that Hurvitt is still negotiating with his current employer and may be able to start before his contract officially ends on June 30. In the meantime, Hurvitt plans to be involved in a number of big changes taking place in the central office, including the hiring of a new executive secretary/business manager and the purchase of new accounting software.
Hurvitt’s contract, as approved by the board, will be in effect from July 1, 2010, to June 30, 2012, with a salary of $100,000 for the first year and 25 days vacation. Hurvitt survived an intensive search process, in which a joint committee interviewed applicants with representatives from all five town school boards (including Surry, who purchases central office services from Union 93), community members, the central office staff, and all five principals. After meeting, each group selected their top three to five candidates, with the final decision being made by the Union 93 board chairman, Spinazola, and the secretary, Ben Wootten.
As mentioned above, the board also received a letter of resignation from long-time central office executive secretary Pat Henry. Henry, who walked in to the central office at 17, shortly after graduating from George Stevens Academy, has worked in Union 93 for over 35 years. For more on Henry’s retirement, see the companion story on page 5. She will be leaving her position on February 26.
Largely in response to Henry’s departure, but also tied to recent efforts to look into the efficiency of the central office, the board came to an agreement, though took no action, to seriously consider upgrading the accounting software used in the office. Wootten, who proposed adding the item to the agenda, noted that whoever is hired to fill Henry’s job will “have to be trained to use an antiquated system.” With experience in finance, Wootten said he has been working with the union technology coordinator, Matt Jurick, and found that there are two real possibilities: ADS or Harris (formerly Trio). While each has pros and cons, ADS is more popular and many potential applicants will likely have experience with it. It is, however, more expensive than the Harris solution.
While budgets in three of the Union’s four contracted towns are nearly complete, the board expressed unanimous support for seeking to add approximately $18,000 to the central office budget for an upgrade. The cost to each town ranges from $3,500 to $4,000. The decision of which package to get will be made in consultation with whoever is hired to replace Henry sometime in February.
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