LIVERMORE FALLS – SAD 36 directors met with interim Superintendent David Wallace and interim Assistant Superintendent David Bois at a meet-and-greet session Tuesday.

Wallace and Bois is the team hired to see the district through June 30, after former Superintendent Terry Despres resigned Jan. 13 citing personal and medical issues.

The two men will be paid $400 a day total as a team or $2,000 a week total, to be split as they see fit.

Both men are retired and have worked together as a superintendent team in Saco. Their association goes back about 25 years to when Wallace was the principal of Westbrook High School and Bois was curriculum director there, Bois said.

“We’re getting to meet people and talk about programs,” Wallace said at the informal gathering.

Wallace plans to meet with high school and middle school staffs separately Wednesday.

The two have also looked at the budget to see where the district stands.

“It looks like you’re in pretty good shape financially,” Wallace said.

From an organizational point, Wallace is the superintendent because he will be attending the school board meetings, he said.

They have not made decisions on fiscal 2010 budget and won’t until after Tuesday, Jan. 27, to see how the referendum on proposed consolidation goes between district towns of Livermore and Livermore Falls and Jay, Wallace said.

He prefers to work through the chairman, Wallace said, but if there is something directors need to know or may be asked questions about, he’ll make sure they’re informed.

They’re still in the process of gathering information and meeting with staff in charge of cost centers, he said,

“Thus far, the staff has been very easy to deal with,” he said.

Wallace said he found the Livermore Elementary School well-maintained and it had a good atmosphere.

The teachers are positive about what they are doing, he said.

Both plan to meet with staff as much as possible, he said.

Wallace and Bois both said they like meeting personally with people rather than doing too much by e-mail.

There are a lot of good things happening here, Wallace said, and they plan to help them grow.

It may be different going from one superintendent to two, and then possibly to one superintendent overseeing a combined system or having a new superintendent as of July 1, Bois said.

Energy wise, having two people works for them, Wallace said.

Either way, you’re in a period of transition, if consolidation goes through or if it doesn’t, Bois said.

“One of our goals is to make transition as seamless as possible,” Bois said.

Wallace plans to work three days a week, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, and Bois two days a week, Thursday and Friday.

The only exception will be on board meeting nights and then Wallace will work Thursday and Bois will work Wednesday.

There may be times, if needed, when both will be working on the same day, Wallace said, but it won’t cost the district more money.

“We’ll keep the budget in line with what has been established,” he said.