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James Morse Sr.

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James Morse greets Jessie Pereira, 9, a student at East End Community School, after he was voted to be the next superintendent of the Portland School District on Wednesday.

Read the resume of James Morse Sr.

Read a comparison of salaries and benefits earned by several Maine superintendents

Read a brief biography of James Morse Sr.

Read the job description, job advertisement and other documents from Portland's superintendent search

BENEFITS PACKAGE

• $10,000 retirement contribution

• $1,000 dental insurance

• 25 vacation days

• 18 sick days (229-day rollover limit, 45-day maximum payout upon resignation)

• $3,500 in-district transportation stipend with out-of-district mileage reimbursment.

PORTLAND — The Portland School Committee voted unanimously Wednesday night to hire James Morse Sr., superintendent of the Messalonskee School District in Oakland, to lead Maine's largest school district into a new era of improvement.

With the new job, Morse will have the highest annual salary of any public school superintendent in Maine, but he'll effectively take a pay cut with a reduction in retirement, vacation and transportation benefits, according to school documents.

Committee members said they expect Morse to move Portland schools beyond the fallout of a 2007 budget crisis that led its former superintendent and former business manager to quit.

They described Morse as an experienced, honest, articulate, creative and forward-thinking educator and administrator. They lauded his efforts to save students on the cusp of failure.

"He said we should be the pre-eminent school district in Maine. We agree," said Sarah Thompson, the committee member who led the superintendent search.

Morse, 54, is a Portland native who nearly dropped out of high school. He went on to earn a doctorate in education and helped to start the nationally recognized Maine School of Science and Mathematics in Limestone. He has been superintendent of School Administrative District 47 since 1996 and received Maine's Superintendent Leadership Award in 2008.

Morse thanked committee members for their support and said he is counting on them and the community to help achieve the greatness they desire. He said "I" cannot do alone what "we" must do together.

"I look forward to all of that we-ness," he said during the special committee meeting in the City Council Chamber at Portland City Hall. A reception followed in the State of Maine Room.

The committee reached consensus on Morse's appointment and negotiated the terms of his employment in recent closed-door sessions. A 20-member interview panel, including several community members, helped in a 10-month national search that drew 10 applicants, five from Maine and five from other states.

Morse will start in Portland on July 1. His annual salary will be $131,500, which is $16,180 more than the position's current salary of $115,320, according to school officials.

Peter Eglinton, committee chairman, said Morse's salary is well-deserved given his long experience as a superintendent and the size and complexity of the Portland school district. He also noted that even though it is the largest school district, Portland has long paid its superintendents less than several other districts.

Morse's benefits package in Portland will be: $10,000 retirement contribution; $1,000 dental insurance; 25 vacation days; 18 sick days (229-day rollover limit, 45-day maximum payout upon resignation); and $3,500 in-district transportation stipend with out-of-district mileage reimbursment.

The job's current benefits package is: $13,100 health and dental insurance; 25 vacation days; 18 sick days (229-day rollover limit, 45-day maximum payout upon resignation); and a leased vehicle plus gasoline (estimated $5,000 value).

At Messalonskee, Morse's annual compensation is: $124,500 salary; $15,000 retirement; $1,000 dental insurance; 40 vacation days (with pay for unused days, estimated $4,800 value); 15 sick days without rollover limit; and $5,850 in-district transportation stipend with out-of-district mileage reimbursement.

The annual cash value of Morse's compensation in Oakland ($151,150) is slightly greater than the compensation in Portland ($146,000).

"It's a wash, really," Morse said during an interview Tuesday.

Morse will have a three-year contract, with a salary to be renegotiated each year. His job performance will be judged on a new, more detailed job description, and may be linked to salary incentives in the future, Eglinton said.

Morse will replace interim Superintendent Jeanne Whynot-Vickers, a former assistant...