Wiscasset’s next superintendent of schools will likely find it’s a nice job to have, partly because the School Committee is committed and has strong opinions, Interim Superintendent Lyford Beverage told committee members Dec. 10.

“That’s so important ... rather than having them sit like a bump on a log and you find out three months later that they weren’t happy.”

In addition, Beverage noted the schools’ students make eye contact and are otherwise pleasant. “They don’t look at me like I have three heads when I come through the door.”

Now the committee just needs to find the right person for the job that Beverage holds as a temp for this school year. So far, there have been no takers for the permanent gig. But Beverage suspects that prospective candidates will probably apply around the new year, after taking time over Christmas break to prepare. Applications are set to close January 15.

Beverage, who grew up on Call’s Hill Road in Dresden, was named to the interim job in June. Since then, he has drawn the committee’s praise for his guidance on school consolidation and other issues. But he has made it clear from the outset that he will not seek to be the permanent hire.

The committee on Dec. 10 discussed forming a panel to interview candidates. Plans call for it to include School Committee Chairman Steve Smith and Vice Chairman Glen Craig, along with two administrators, two teachers and two community members. Smith asked that anyone interested in volunteering for one of the community slots call him at 207-208-9712.

Beverage touched on the possible length of the superintendent’s first contract. The state allows superintendents’ contracts to run as long as five years, he said. The person will likely ask for at least a two-year deal; a one-year contract offers no job security in trade for the commitment the person would be making to the community, Beverage said.

Beverage also cited qualities that administrators in the Wiscasset School Department said they wanted the superintendent to have. Among those were honesty and being a good listener, which can mean paying attention to what someone isn’t saying, Beverage said. And the superintendent should be someone who will carry out the School Committee’s agenda, not their own, he said.

The two administrators on the interview team could be school administrators or ones from elsewhere in the department, Beverage said. When buildings and maintenance director John Merry’s name came up, Merry declined to be considered.

“I’m good. I’ve got enough to do,” he said from the audience.

In other developments on the job front at the five-month-old school department, Beverage said three applications were received in the search for an auditor. The School Committee will interview the candidates. The committee agreed to hire Sharon Stevens as a Title One teacher. Katie Loubier left that job to become a seventh grade language arts teacher at Wiscasset Middle School, Beverage said.

A biscuit or a roll

In a light moment during the committee’s Dec. 10 meeting in the Wiscasset High School library, Beverage mentioned he had recently tried unsuccessfully to order a baking powder biscuit. The business’ staff didn’t know what he was talking about. Fewer people nowadays also know the difference between a biscuit and a roll, he added.