HALLOWELL — Cheri Towle, the superintendent in Regional School Unit 2, will leave the position later this month due to medical reasons, according to school board Chairperson Jonathan Hamann.
“As many of you know, Cheri has been out on medical leave since last December,” Hamann wrote Saturday in an email. “She and the Board agreed that it would be best for the district and our students for her to resign at this time in order to allow the (school board) to initiate a search for a new superintendent. Please join me in thanking Cheri for her service to our school district and wishing her a swift recovery.”
Towle’s resignation will take effect April 30, when acting Superintendent Mary Paine will assume the post. Paine said she was “very interested in exploring the possibility” of applying for the position.
“Prior to the (coronavirus) pandemic, I had not had a lot of opportunity to build relationships with the RSU 2 communities, and we were all sort of tossed into the turbulent sea near strangers,” Paine said. “Though this has been the toughest experience of my career, it has prepared me like nothing else could.”
Hamann said the RSU 2 board had yet to discuss the next steps in the superintendent search, but is expected to do so in the coming weeks.
He said Towle’s last day at work was in early December 2019.
Towle took the job in July 2019, telling the Kennebec Journal it was her dream job. Before that, she was the superintendent of schools in Brewer and a principal at Wiscasset Middle and High schools.
Paine said she was “disappointed and sad” that Towle is leaving the superintendency in RSU 2.
“For a few months before things got difficult for her, Cheri and I worked well as a team and got along well,” Paine said. “I hope she finds peace and happiness.”
Towle did not respond to an email Tuesday seeking comment.
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