CAPE ELIZABETH — The School Board has hired the Maine School Management Association to assist in its search for a new superintendent. 

The board on Jan. 26 approved hiring Cornelia Brown, executive director of the Augusta-based association, with the hope that a replacement for Superintendent of Schools Meredith Nadeau can be hired by May.

Nadeau announced her resignation earlier this month. After five years as Cape Elizabeth’s superintendent, she will become school chief July 1 in the Newmarket School District in Newmarket, New Hampshire. The School Board accepted her resignation at its Jan. 12 meeting.

The board quickly got to work on finding a new superintendent and, at its Jan. 19 meeting, established a three-member subcommittee to search for a consultant. The committee, which includes School Board Chairwoman Elizabeth Scifres and board members Barbara Powers and Michael Moore, reviewed several proposals.

“The School Board carefully considered whether or not it needed the support of a consultant in this search for a district leader,” Scifres said on the town website. “The board agreed that on behalf of our high-performing district of roughly 1,600 students, it wanted a professional partner.”

Scifres said the subcommittee interviewed two candidates, and Tuesday shared its findings with the full board. She said Maine School Management Association was the best choice for the district because of its strong record and strong recommendations from other districts, as well as its recruitment abilities.

Scifres said the board at its Jan. 29 annual retreat will discuss its strategy and the attributes it will want in a new superintendent. She said Nadeau won’t play a major role in the search because she is working on the school budget.

The community, though, will play a role in the search, Scifres said earlier this month.

“Community participation and input is a key component to finding the right fit for Cape Elizabeth schools,” she said.

Brown will meet with the board in the coming weeks to come up with a schedule for the search. Scifres said the preliminary plan is to begin advertising for a new superintendent in early February, and to appoint a screening committee by mid-March.

The hope, according to Scifres, would be to hire a new superintendent by late April and have that person start July 1.

Kate Gardner can be reached at 781-3661 ext. 125 or kgardner@theforecaster.net. Follow her on Twitter: @katevgardner.

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