Superintendent Howard Tuttle of Sheepscot Valley Regional School Unit 12 speaks Wednesday at the Augusta Civic Center after being honored by the Maine School Superintendents Association as the 2025 Maine State Superintendent of the Year. Tuttle has led Somerville-area RSU 12 for 12 years. He worked previously as the curriculum director for Gardiner-based Maine School Administrative District 11, and as a teacher and principal at elementary schools in Topsham and Gardiner. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

AUGUSTA — Superintendent Howard Tuttle of Sheepscot Valley Regional School Unit 12 accepted the 2025 Maine State Superintendent of the Year award Wednesday in front of a standing ovation from about 70 of his peers.

Tuttle was honored at the beginning of the annual gathering of the Maine School Superintendents Association, or MSSA, which provides support services for the state’s superintendents. Tuttle is a longtime member of the organization’s Funding Committee.

Tuttle has led Somerville-area RSU 12 for 12 years. He worked previously as the curriculum director for Gardiner-based Maine School Administrative District 11, and as a teacher and principal at elementary schools in Topsham and Gardiner.

Before presenting him with the award at the Augusta Civic Center, MSSA President Maria Libby read aloud a list of Tuttle’s professional accomplishments, including his having established a day care program for teachers’ children, begun a universal prekindergarten program, facilitated a COVID-19 pandemic-era school lunch program and created Maine’s first anti-bullying committee.

Above all else, Tuttle said he is most proud of balancing the needs of the students in his district’s five schools, while maintaining cost-saving initiatives for the district and not asking property owners to pay more in taxes.

Among the cost-saving measures: Development of a Behavior, Autism and Life Skills program that has saved taxpayers $500,000 per year, according to the district’s 2023-24 budget estimates.

“Through innovation and collaboration, (Tuttle) has repeatedly found ways to balance the financial needs of taxpayers while expanding educational opportunities for every student in RSU 12,” Eileen King, the executive director of the Maine School Superintendents Association, said in an announcement to the news media. “He exemplifies the best qualities of Maine’s educational leaders: dedicated, caring, and focused on student success.”

Superintendent Howard Tuttle, right, of Sheepscot Valley Regional School Unit 12 speaks Wednesday at the Augusta Civic Center after being honored by the Maine School Superintendents Association as the 2025 Maine State Superintendent of the Year. Tuttle has led Somerville-area RSU 12 for 12 years. He worked previously as the curriculum director for Gardiner-based Maine School Administrative District 11, and as a teacher and principal at elementary schools in Topsham and Gardiner. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

Tuttle said the work of a superintendent is challenging. Long hours and intense demands can take their toll. But he said he approaches leading RSU 12 by assuming every parent, member of the district’s board of directors and staff member is working with a positive intent. He also said being transparent about what is happening at the schools fosters trust.

In his acceptance speech, Tuttle said he was told by the RSU 12 board in June that he had been nominated for the award, a recognition he did not expect.

“I had never seen anything like it. They had some secret code words to keep me from finding out,” he said. “They wrote references for me for the nomination. They went to the select boards of every town and got references, references from my administrative team. I’m extremely lucky the school board in RSU 12 is a force.”

Tuttle said the district’s 17-member board of directors was helpful in navigating the COVID-19 pandemic and challenging budget situations, and in keeping the district intact following enactment of a 2009 state law that allows communities to use referendums to leave regional public school districts.

Public schools have been an easy target for critics in recent years, he said, but they serve as the backbone of American democracy. It takes collaboration from board members, district administrators and others for public schools to succeed, he said.

“You can’t get an award like this unless you’re standing on other people’s shoulders,” Tuttle said.