A search panel’s unanimous pick for superintendent of Wiscasset schools has accepted the terms School Committee Chairman Steve Smith negotiated for a three-year contract, Smith announced at Tuesday night’s selectmen’s meeting.

Smith did not name the woman he said has agreed preliminarily to the deal, and would like to stay on beyond the three years. 

“It’s been something Wiscasset’s been missing for a long time,” he said.

She would prefer not to be named publicly until the school committee names her to the position at its Feb. 26 meeting, Smith told selectmen.

“I think everyone’s going to be very optimistic when they meet this person,” Smith said. “She’s very exciting.”

In a brief interview after the meeting, Smith said the contract is with the lawyers.

Also Tuesday, Smith said someone has, through a Damariscotta real estate agent, expressed an interest in buying the Wiscasset Primary School building; he later described the communication as an inquiry and said he could not recall who the real estate agent was other than the town they were based in.

Smith told selectmen he is pulling together information that real estate agents would need on the property. He reiterated past statements that the school department will be moved out of the building by Sept. 1. The department may donate unneeded items, he said.

Earlier in the meeting, resident Steve Mehrl encouraged selectmen to do all they can to prepare to sell the building, including an environmental assessment and possible zoning changes.

In other developments as the school department looks toward year two, Smith said the group Partners in Education will be helping with fundraising for a new playground for the middle school.

“They’re great at raising money. They’re willing to get behind this so we can build an amazing playground,” he said.

Smith invited the public to help come up with new names for the high and middle schools; each will be serving a different set of grades starting next school year, with the primary school’s classes joining fifth and sixth graders at Wiscasset Middle School, and grades seven and eight moving to Wiscasset High School. The committee will start talking about renaming the schools on Feb. 26, Smith said.

A new Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) program for the high school continues to be eyed for next year’s budget, Smith said. And the department may get a head start program that would be open to all families, regardless of their incomes.

“(Primary school staff members) are super-excited about it,” he said.

These are optimistic times for the school department, Smith said. Selectmen thanked the committee for its work.