The competition among school districts for superintendents next spring will be strong, the interim co-superintendent of Regional School Unit 5 says.

Bill Michaud said it’s imperative that RSU 5 begin its search for a permanent superintendent immediately following the Nov. 4 elections, regardless of how Freeport votes in the RSU 5 withdrawal question. Michaud and Mike Lafortune agreed to share the RSU 5 superintendent position for one year, after Shannon Welsh announced her resignation last winter.

“The competition for good candidates will be fierce,” Michaud said last Thursday, the day after an expert in superintendent searches, Ron Barker, made a presentation during a meeting of the RSU 5 board. “If the RSU maintains its current makeup of Freeport, Durham and Pownal, we will recommend at the Nov. 5 board meeting that RSU 5 advertise immediately for a permanent superintendent, and that a search committee be appointed as soon as possible.”

Michaud added that, should Freeport withdraw, a Freeport School Committee would need to be elected and would be responsible for hiring its own superintendent.

“Freeport should be prepared to move forward as quickly as they can as they conduct their search,” Michaud said. “We will be happy to advise and assist in any way Freeport wishes.”

Barker, a longtime educator who has led nearly 200 superintendent searches for Maine School Management Association, spoke to the school board Oct. 8 during its meeting at Pownal Elementary School. Barker said he is not interested in working as a consultant and is ready to retire, but made the appearance as a favor to Michaud.

Barker emphasized the importance of the decision.

“It’s the only direct hire that you have, so it needs to be taken very seriously,” he said. “I will tell you up front that the pools have been very small.”

Barker said that Maine School Management Association is available for hire, as are New England and national search firms.

“One of the questions that you’re going to need to face is when to begin the process,” Barker said. “If you do it right, it’s going to take about four months.”

That would mean a hiring in mid-March, should RSU 5 begin advertising for the position in mid-November. Barker passed out a timeline, calling for the board to finalize qualifications and a job description by Dec. 23. A Search Committee would begin work in early January, and select candidates to interview by Jan. 12. The first round of interviews would begin on Jan. 20-21. The committee would select a final candidate on March 5, and the full board would vote on that candidate March 18.

The new RSU 5 superintendent must be on the job by July 1.

Barker cautioned the school board that, while the process is public, the candidates’ names are confidential.

“Many good people have withdrawn because their names have gotten out there,” he said “That’s why you can’t have 75 people on the Search Committee. Names are going to get out.”

Ron Barker, a former educator who conducted nearly 200 superintendent searches for Maine School Management Association, speaks to the Regional School Unit 5 Board of Directors Oct. 8 at Pownal Elementary School.