The task of getting an interim superintendent didn't get any easier when a dollar figure on pay went public, according to committee member Sharon Nichols.

“Unfortunately, that's out in the public and therefore anyone that's applying for the job knows how much money we have to spend for (the position). I think that's unfortunate, because we might have been able to do something different,” Nichols said at the committee's January 23 meeting.

Two nights earlier, Wiscasset selectmen approved spending up to $50,000 for the committee to get an interim superintendent. The money for the temp job is coming from the $2 million credit line the town has for costs to withdraw from Regional School Unit 12.

“So that ($50,000) should give you plenty of leeway once you get through your interviews,” Wiscasset Selectmen’s Chairman Ed Polewarczyk told the committee January 23.

In a January 20 letter to Town Manager Laurie Smith, attorney Geoffrey Hole states that the authority to tap the credit line lies with selectmen, not the school committee.

“On July (1), there will be a new Wiscasset School Department...” the letter states. “...The Department is not a legal entity, but rather a Department of the Town. The $2,000,000 is not related to any approved Wiscasset school budget, but rather is a separate fund of money for withdrawal costs.”

Committee Chairman Glen Craig handed out copies of the letter at the panel's January 23 meeting. On the same night, the committee held separate, closed-door interviews with two candidates for interim superintendent.

Two more, closed-door interviews were planned for 9 a.m to noon on January 25, at Wiscasset High School, Craig said. The committee had previously planned to meet with a total of three candidates, but a fourth has been added, Craig said January 24. Former Wiscasset superintendent Wayne Dorr has been named as one of the candidates. Craig declined to identify the other three.

Nichols commented about the $50,000 for the interim superintendent as she listed other items that will need funding. Those include an office, a computer and a secretary, as well as someone to install budget software, she said.

“These are needs that are...important...The superintendent needs...this to be in place, and I would suggest that we request money for these additional expenses.”

Craig said he didn't disagree, but that the committee has to talk more about personnel needs before asking for more money.