AOS 94 superintendent search process underway
DEXTER — With longtime Superintendent Kevin Jordan retiring at the end of June, the search to find the next superintendent of AOS 94 has begun.
“We are in the process of finding a superintendent which is going to be a heavy, heavy load,” SAD 46 School Board Chair Michael Burton said during a Feb. 4 meeting at the Ridge View Community School.
In addition to the Dexter-based SAD 46, AOS 94 includes the Athens Community School and Harmony Elementary School.
In the first AOS 94 directors meeting on the superintendent search, this board met with a Maine Municipal Association representative. The organization will assist in the interview process, Burton said.
“No decisions obviously, but the ball has started to roll,” Burton said.
In other business, the board approved a pair of international high school field trips.
The first is the annual Dexter Regional High School French class trip to Quebec City. The French 3 and 4 classes will head north across the border in late April.
The Quebec City trip did not happen last year due to the state of U.S.-Canada relations at the time, world languages teacher Teresa Brzustowicz said. The 2026 event can also be canceled and refunded up until a few days prior to departure if need be, depending on what is happening between Washington, D.C. and Ottawa.
The second international field trip is a 9-day visit to Iceland in April for high school/Tri-County Technical Center students. Three local students will join a larger group of seven from Edward Little High School in Auburn to explore the island nation in the North Atlantic for an immerse, place-based learning experience among glaciers, volcanic landscapes, geothermal environments and more.
TCTC natural resources instructor Stephany Perkins traveled to Iceland last summer, and she will join the Dexter students on the expedition.
The first day would involve glacial science, Dexter junior Addy Gudroe said. Students will also learn about water systems, sediment science, the interaction of ice and volcanoes, geothermal features and more.
After their return from Iceland the students could potentially come back and share what they have learned with their peers, Dexter Regional High School science teacher Alyson Saunders said.
The cost is about $3,000 per student so they will begin fundraising soon, Perkins said.
In his report, Dexter Principal Stephen Bell said the school hosted the Penobscot Valley Conference wrestling championship on Jan. 24.
“It’s actually bigger than a state meet and bigger than a regional meet,” he said in terms of the number of schools and athletes taking part. Bell gave kudos to Assistant Principal/Athletic Director Adam Gudroe for his work on organizing and overseeing the competition.
The Tiger wrestling team finished in second place and Matthew Severance won the 132-pound title.
The next Saturday Dexter traveled to the Class B dual championship at Fryeburg Academy. The Tiger grapplers ended the day as the runner-up squad.
“They brought home some more hardware for our halls,” Bell said.
The Class B North and state championships are up next for the team.
Dexter’s cheer team came in fourth at the Class C North championship the previous weekend at Sanford High School and by doing so earned a berth in the state competition.
The Ridge View middle school wrestling season has started, Principal Jessica Dyer said. The cheer season wraps up that week and unified basketball will start later in the month.
Before the February vacation, the high school will host its annual Winter Carnival.
Student board representative sophomore Adam Brown said the 2026 theme is video games. The specific titles for grades 9-12 are, respectively, “Pac-Man”, “Super Mario Bros.”, “Fortnite” and”Minecraft”. Staff have “Donkey Kong”.