CAPE ELIZABETH – The Cape Elizabeth School Board has hired Dr. Ken Murphy as interim superintendent while they search for a permanent replacement for retiring Superintendent Alan Hawkins, according to the town’s website.

Murphy, a resident of the Cousins Island section of Yarmouth, served as the superintendent of the Yarmouth School System for 18 years from 1991 until last year. He will start in Cape Elizabeth Jan. 1.

Rebecca Millett, chairwoman of the school board, said in a press release that the district is fortunate to have someone with Murphy’s experience and skills as it transitions between superintendents.

“Dr. Murphy brings invaluable experience as Yarmouth’s former district leader,” she said. “He brings with him an acute understanding of state and local issues that affect the teachers and students here in Southern Maine. His breadth of knowledge in those areas will allow the district to move forward, even as we take the time to search for a permanent superintendent.”

To help with the transition, Hawkins, a 40-year education veteran who held the position of superintendent for five years and is retiring Dec. 31, agreed to stay on as a consultant through April 15, 2011.

The Cape Elizabeth School District is similar in size to the Yarmouth School District and both have been cited as top-performing school districts by Newsweek and Business Week magazines.

While at the helm in Yarmouth, Murphy helped the district move into the future by supporting new district-wide curriculum design process and assessment system, advancing a new teacher evaluation process that included input from administrators, parents, students and fellow teachers, and working to expand the student and teacher school day and school year, the release said.

The board plans to hold a gathering in January to officially welcome Murphy to the Cape Elizabeth community.

Hawkins, who worked in the nearby South Portland School District for 30 years, officially announced his resignation at a Cape Elizabeth School Board meeting on Aug. 24.