RANGELEY — The School Board voted Tuesday to hire Susan Pratt as superintendent of RSU 78.

Pratt, a resident of Strong, will take office July 1, succeeding Brian Foster, who has been superintendent for four years.

Pratt is currently superintendent at RSU 40 in Union. She was superintendent of SAD 36 in Livermore Falls and was assistant superintendent at RSU 9 in Farmington for five years. Pratt has been principal at Kingfield and Phillips schools, and began her career as a middle school teacher.

The board decided to hire Pratt as a full-time superintendant and high school principal, and will look to hire a principal for grades kindergarten to eight.

Foster has been a part-time superintendent.

“I now plan to do as much sailing as possible,” said Foster, who has also been special education director at Mt. Blue High School in Farmington while officiating in Rangeley. He keeps a 30-foot sloop in Castine which he takes out solo-handed in Penobscot Bay.

In discussion of the 2013-14 budget, the board considered transportation, regular instruction, and the co-curricular budget. The board also discussed looking for funds to equip the school buses with Bay Station Radio. The school has received the ED279 form which shows that the school is getting less money from the state, and will have to raise a certain amount to cover teacher retirement. The board’s final budget discussion is scheduled for Tuesday, April 16.

The public budget hearing is scheduled for June 4, and the validation vote for the individual communities will be held on June 11.