MADISON -- School Administrative District 59 officials knew they'd need to find a new elementary school principal this summer.

Now, they'll need a new school superintendent as well.

Michael Gallagher on Wednesday submitted notice of his resignation as superintendent of School Administrative District 59.

Gallagher, 55, sent board members his resignation notice, saying he'll leave "upon the district acquiring an interim superintendent."

"My primary reason for resigning is my personal dissatisfaction in performing the functions of my position to the high standards that I set for myself, and that you would have for me, while splitting my duties between two districts," Gallagher wrote.

SAD 59 includes Madison, Athens, Brighton Plantation and Starks. Gallagher is also superintendent of SAD 53, which serves Burnham, Detroit and Pittsfield, and he plans to continue in that position.

Following the departure of Sandra MacArthur, Gallagher was named interim superintendent of SAD 59 in February 2008. At the time, officials from SADs 59 and 53 were planning to merge and form a new regional school unit to comply with the state's school consolidation law.

The SAD 59 board named him superintendent until June 2009. Under the dual arrangement, Gallagher has spent three days in his Pittsfield office and two days in Madison.

About a year ago, voters in SAD 59 rejected the consolidation plan with SAD 53, though Gallagher continued serving as superintendent of both districts.

In his resignation letter, Gallagher says it became difficult for him to serve two "distinctly separate" districts at the same time, making him a "two-fifths superintendent" for SAD 59.

"I have been unable to attend to the multiple and separate details of educational leadership that is necessary to move both districts forward," Gallagher writes. "Although I have endeavored to make this arrangement work, I have come to the conclusion that I am unable to do so effectively."

SAD 59 Board Chairman Troy Emery said he was thankful for Gallagher's efforts at "trying to run two districts at once."

"From this," Emery said, "we should all realize that this type of consolidation does not work. Regardless of what the state mandates of districts, it is my opinion that a district needs a full time superintendent to run properly."

The last several months have been rough for Gallagher -- he made two critical errors as the school boards of SAD 59 and 53 assembled their budget proposals.

At the SAD 59 district budget meeting, Gallagher mistakenly identified the spending articles as "closed," meaning voters were told they couldn't increase spending on any proposals when, in fact, they could have. That meant spending was left out for a fourth-grade teacher. Gallagher shouldered blame for the mix-up.

For SAD 53's budget, Gallagher had initially proposed deep cuts at the schools, including either the closure of Burnham Village School or the SAD 53 central office building; but those options were shelved after an error in Gallagher's calculations was discovered, resulting in about $256,000 that didn't need to be cut to avoid a tax increase.

In an interview, Gallagher said those mistakes weren't the issue; it was "day-to-day" leadership that needs to be provided."

"I was constantly scrambling," Gallagher said.

Gallagher's resignation also came the day after an emotional SAD 59 board meeting about Alan Mikal, who has resigned as the elementary school principal. In a letter read aloud by a teacher at the meeting, Mikal cited as a reason an "irreparable" rift that had developed between himself, Gallagher, Emery and Assistant Superintendent Malcolm Watts.

Asked whether the situation with Mikal played a part in his resignation, Gallagher said "absolutely not."

Gallagher started his career as a teacher at Detroit School, which has since closed. He then taught grammar school in Pittsfield, at the Vickery School, served as assistant principal in SAD 46 in Dexter, served nine years as principal at the Albert S. Hall School in Waterville and then six years as principal at the Pittsfield elementary school.

Scott Monroe -- 861-9253

smonroe@centralmaine.com