UNITY - RSU 3 Superintendent Heather Perry will be heading to Gorham next year after five years with the 11-town Western Waldo County district.

Perry was officially hired by the Gorham School Board on Wednesday, but the unianimous vote was mostly a formality. Out of 17 applicants for the position, she was the lone finalist.

Asked about the move, Perry said she was looking for a change and jumped at the chance to work in a more populous area with more cultural offerings.

"I always wanted to be in the southern part of the state," she said. "It probably has to do with my rural upbringing in Washington County where the closest movie theater was two hours away."

Perry signed on as superintendent of RSU 3 in 2009. Before that, she was superintendent of Union 60 and MSAD 12, based in Greenville and Jackman, respectively.

Looking back at her time in Western Waldo County, Perry said RSU 3 has seen "a tremendous amount of growth" in the last five years.

"I think our best work was in the area of proficiency-based education," she said.

RSU 3 was among school districts that had already started using a standards-based program before it became the law three years ago.

During Perry’s tenure at RSU 3, the district established a virtual learning center, invested in foreign language instruction and partnered with secondary schools, including Thomas College, The University of Maine, Augusta, Unity College and Colby College, to offer dual enrollment courses for college credit.

Financially, Perry said the district is "in as good a place as any other school district in the state."

In other words, getting by. Perry listed finances and the related issue of whether the district can afford to keep all its current school facilities open as two of the biggest challenges that lie ahead in RSU 3.

The question, she said, is "How to move forward and provide excellent programming while the state probably continues to cut subsidies."

Contact Ethan Andrews at: news@penbaypilot.com