The Wiscasset School Committee on Oct. 8 voted in Peg Armstrong of Bath as principal of Wiscasset Middle High School.

Asked why she wanted the Wiscasset job, she said, “It’s exciting that the (school) department is in the process of defining itself. This is a small community that is invested in the schools and wants to have a say in them.”

Armstrong comes to the job from her most recent one in special services at the Maine Department of Education. Her past work includes supervising principals when she served as an administrator in a public charter school in Washington, D.C.; she is also a former special education coordinator and social worker for the Bath-based Regional School Unit 1.

Her work for the state education department involved being a voice for special education during planning for the move to proficiency-based high school diplomas, a transition now under way in Wiscasset.

The School Committee’s vote ran 4-0 to hire Armstrong; member Glen Craig could not make the meeting but would have voted yes also, Chairman Steve Smith said.

“I’d call it 5-0,” Vice Chairman Eugene Stover said.

Superintendent of Schools Heather Wilmot said she would use an asterisk regarding the vote that would have been 5-0 had Craig been there. Smith welcomed Armstrong to the department; attendees of the brief meeting applauded her.

Wilmot praised Armstrong as having comprehensive experience and strong credentials. “I think she’ll do great things for our students and staff,” Wilmot said.

Armstrong will earn a total of $53,640 for the rest of this school year; her pay for 2016-2017 will be $82,298, Wilmot states in an Oct. 9 email response to the Wiscasset Newspaper.

In addition to Armstrong’s work in public education, she is a former yoga teacher. When not working,  she enjoys being outdoors, she said.

WMHS Principal Cheri Towle recently resigned to become Brewer’s superintendent of schools. Her last day with the Wiscasset School Department is Oct. 23.

She and Armstrong plan to meet a few times in the next two weeks, Towle states in an email response to the Wiscasset Newspaper. They would be going over a list of transitional items to help familiarize Armstrong with initiatives on teacher effectiveness, professional growth and proficiency-based education; the school’s accreditation; and daily management of the building.

“I congratulate Ms. Armstrong on her ... nomination and approval ... My goal is to help (her) gain a foundation of the educational practices, personnel, students and Wiscasset community.  I wish her well in her new position,” Towle writes.