Jeanne Whynot-Vickers will be Portland's interim superintendent through June, the School Committee decided unanimously Wednesday night.
Whynot-Vickers, who has been assistant superintendent of Portland's elementary and middle schools for nine years, replaces Mary Jo O'Connor, who resigned last month in the midst of a budget crisis.
Whynot-Vickers took the job with a smile and a promise to keep the district's focus on educating children while clearing up financial problems related to a $1.7 million to $2.5 million deficit in the $82 million budget that ended June 30.
"I happen to love finances, believe it or not, so I'm anxious to get my hands around that," Whynot-Vickers said outside the meeting.
She thanked the committee for having confidence in her and asked the school staff and the community for their support in "getting our financial house in order."
School Committee Chairman John Coyne said Whynot-Vickers was a natural choice, for her institutional knowledge and her leadership ability, to steer Maine's largest school district through the months ahead.
The committee met with Whynot-Vickers in executive session before adjourning to a regularly scheduled business meeting, where it voted 9-0 to appoint her interim superintendent.
School administrators and others who work regularly with Whynot-Vickers praised the committee's choice.
Human Resources Director Joline Hart and Student Support Services Director Barbara Dee described Whynot-Vickers as a knowledgeable, professional, honest educator and manager who would bring much-needed stability to the School Department.
"She's a person of real integrity," Hart said outside the meeting.
Kathleen Casasa, president of the Portland teachers' union, said Whynot-Vickers is respected by the school staff.
"Everyone is anxious for our district to settle down a little bit and develop a recovery plan," Casasa said.
Whynot-Vickers, who lives in Portland, has been a teacher and school administrator for 32 years, including 26 years in Portland schools, according to Hart.
She taught elementary school in London, England, for two years before teaching at the Hall, Riverton and Lyseth elementary schools in Portland for nine years.
She was assistant principal at the former Jack Elementary School for a year, then was principal at Sawyer Elementary School in South Portland for four years. She was principal at Riverton for seven years before she became assistant superintendent.
O'Connor's resignation is effective Dec. 28, but her severance agreement allowed the committee to replace her and assign her to other duties for the remainder of her employment.
The committee has yet to determine what O'Connor's new duties will be. The committee also has yet to establish a plan or time line for hiring a permanent superintendent.
When asked whether she would consider doing the job permanently, Whynot-Vickers said, "Ask me in January."
O'Connor, who lives in Gorham, attended the committee meeting at Portland Arts and Technology High School but left at the start of the executive session. She offered no comment as she departed and did not return for the regular business meeting.
The committee unanimously accepted O'Connor's resignation on Aug. 29. At the time, members said it was a necessary step toward fixing the district's financial troubles and rebuilding its credibility.
Mayor Nicholas Mavodones Jr., who attended Wednesday's committee meeting, said the decision to replace O'Connor with Whynot-Vickers was another step in that direction.
"I think it's good for the district and good for the city," Mavodones said outside the meeting.
O'Connor resigned after the committee hired Bryan Dench, a lawyer with Skelton Taintor & Abbott in Auburn, to investigate the deficit. He interviewed 18 people, including Hart, Dee and Whynot-Vickers.
According to Dench's report, delivered to the committee earlier...
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