AUGUSTA — Mike Tracy Jr. is the new superintendent of the Augusta Public Schools.

Mike Tracy Morning Sentinel file photo

The Augusta Board of Education voted 8-0 Wednesday to approve Tracy as the new superintendent, effective July 1.

Tracy served as Augusta’s assistant superintendent and will take the place of longtime Augusta superintendent, Jim Anastasio.

“Mr. Anastasio brought a level of stability that I plan to continue and I think that needs to be heard and balanced with innovation and fresh ideas,” Tracy said after the board approved his hire. “I look forward to the future and the smooth transition of me taking over in July.”

The Augusta Public Schools started its superintendent search on Aug. 31 and worked with Maine School Management Association to conduct the search.

The position was advertised nationwide starting in November and interviews with the candidates started in January.

Anastasio announced in July that the current school year would be his last after serving 18 years in the district and just over 50 years as an educator. He announced his resignation right before a scheduled performance evaluation by Augusta’s Board of Education. The outgoing superintendent has come under fire in recent years for not being transparent, making decisions without consulting the school board and, last year, botching the budget by $800,000.

He will finish the school year through June 30 with a salary of $140,440.

The board was excited to announce the hiring of Tracy and gave him a standing ovation when his hire was approved unanimously. His parents and family were in the audience and Tracy pointed out that his parents graduated from Cony High School, too.

“It’s very exciting to have someone who is here already and with the relationships, the commitment, with the work. I know you are a Cony High School graduate and you have shown us in your heart your willingness to learn and reflect and share your skills,” said board member Pia Holmes.

The Augusta Public Schools hired Tracy in 2022 as assistant superintendent, where he oversees the district’s curriculum and student success.

Tracy is a graduate of Cony High School and taught at the high school for eight years before he moved to southern California in 2013 to work as a headmaster at Temecula Preparatory School. He moved back to Maine in 2016 to be closer to family and accepted a job in 2017 as superintendent of Regional School Unit 74, which serves the Somerset County towns of Anson, Embden, New Portland and Solon.

Tracy graduated from the University of Maine at Farmington with a degree in education in 2000 and received a master’s degree from the University of Maine in Orono in 2008 for educational leadership and administration, then an educational specialist degree in 2020, also from UMaine.

The hiring committee, lead by board member Kati McCormick, consisted of Augusta City Council member Eric Lind; director of special education Shelby Thibodeau; Augusta teacher union representative Jan Murphy; Meg Swanson, a parent and community representative and the other eight members of the school board.

The board of education plans to hold a personnel committee meeting to discuss the assistant superintendent position and plan to post the job in March.

The Augusta Public Schools serve about 2,100 students.