SALEM TOWNSHIP — The SAD 58 Board of Directors faces formidable challenges in the near future, including the search for a new superintendent.

On Thursday night, Superintendent Quenten Clark told the board he is a candidate for a superintendent’s position in another school district. Clark’s contract with the SAD 58 ends in December, so the board may choose to hire a replacement. He also offered the possibility of continuing until February.

“I’ll be giving you 60-days notice and be gone. If not, I will be applying for other jobs in the spring. So next month, when you do your annual meeting with the superintendent, I will be resigning,” he said. “It will only be a matter of whether I will be resigning more or less immediately or resigning at the end of the year. At that point, you’re going to have to look very seriously at the superintendent replacement process.”

Clark’s resignation comes as the board discusses the creation of a state-approved Alternative Organizational Structure with SAD 74’s school board and Superintendent Kenneth Coville.

Voters did not approve a merger with SAD 9, so the district has been paying an annual penalty of about $130,000 until it consolidates with another district.

The district also faces mounting and urgent financial pressures. The Strong Elementary School needs a fire alarm system upgrade, which will cost between $10,000 and $12,000.

Also, Mt. Abram High School’s fire alarm system does not meet many minimal code requirements, according to the district’s insurance company’s report. The district should expect to pay from $285,000 to $314,000 to make the building meet required fire code standards. Plumbing, heating and ventilation upgrades will cost between $623,000 and $685,000.

Strong Board of Selectmen Chairman Milt Baston presented a budget calculation that would close the 40-year-old Mt. Abram and tuition students to Rangeley, Carrabassett Valley, Carrabec or Mt. Blue High Schools.

The board will meet on Nov. 18 at the Strong Elementary School, and Baston urged them to start the process of picking plans taxpayers would be willing to support.

“I took a few hours and took figures from the district’s budget book,” he said. “I wasn’t shocked, but I was surprised at the savings.”

Taxpayers in both Strong and Phillips would pay approximately $274,000 less.

Kingfield could see $370,000 in savings, and Eustis, $571,000. Avon, with lower taxes and fewer children than other towns, would save $128,000.