While a middle schooler in the 1970s, Robert “Bob” England Jr. came with his parents to Maine Yankee in Wiscasset to work on his science project on nuclear energy.

July 1, England started as interim superintendent of schools in the town he said was, in those Maine Yankee years, one of the diamonds of the coast for education. And there is a “new energy” here England can see and wants to support, that includes committed administrators and staff, he said. “We want to create a climate where, obviously kids come first, but all the stuff that supports kids coming first is functioning well.”

When he takes a job, he is “all in,” doing that job like it is forever, he said. “My job isn’t (about) what I want, it’s what this community wants.”

England has been studying the school system’s history and is still learning that, and the system’s needs; he said turnover is one issue. 

“I believe a healthy school system is a third (of staff) relatively new, a third kind of in the middle, and a third very experienced. We at the moment are not at that distribution ... It’s the poles. So the middle seems to be lacking in numbers.”

He said Maine’s prettiest village as Wiscasset is called has “a lot of great attributes” and needs to search locally and afar for staff. “There’s a lot of good reasons to come to Wiscasset, Maine and work. It’s a great place to live. Maine’s a great place to live. The coast of Maine’s a great place to live.”

He would also like to encourage people to volunteer in the schools or become a substitute. “We’re in dire need of someone with a (commercial driver’s license) CDL to transport students,” he added.

Asked about the appeal of short-term superintendent posts, which he has done about four times before, England explained: “I like the challenge of coming in and figuring out what needs to be done in a relatively short period of time and then trying to help that system get those things lined up, so that the person who (succeeds) me doesn’t have to go through all of that and they can focus more on what the kids need (and) educational outcomes.”

England is a master Maine guide and a longtime trainer and judge of pointing dog breeds. He said the work with dogs is a passion and a way he keeps balance in life, “because it allows me to just kind of put everything aside and just focus on that when I’m doing it.”

He just finished building a house in Warren. He had always wanted to build a home and did not want it to just be on his bucket list, he said. He did about everything himself. And in the drought he is doing a lot of watering of his vegetables and other plantings. The broccoli is all picked.  

Seeing the Wiscasset job open, he thought the commute would be easy – it is taking about 30 minutes, he said – and he knew of Wiscasset schools’ historically good reputation, he said.