Michael Nelson will be the next superintendent of schools for the Old Rochester Regional School District after the Joint School Committee voted May 18 to approve his $172,000  contract. 

The district made an offer to Nelson on March 5 after interviewing him, Dr. Gary Reese, superintendent of schools in Westport, and Michelle Roy the assistant superintendent in Dartmouth.  Nelson will succeed Dr. Douglas White, who has been superintendent since February 2010, when White retires. 

“We are very thankful for the great progress our schools have made under the direction and leadership of Dr. White. We wish Dr. White our very best as he heads into retirement and thank him for his service to our school district,” wrote Cary Humphrey, chairperson of the ORR School Committee and Shannon Finning, the chairperson of the Massachusetts Superintendency Union #55 in a letter. 

Nelson has worked at Old Rochester Regional School District since July 2014, when he was hired as the director of student services. In October 2019, he was promoted to assistant
superintendent of teaching, learning and student services. He will begin as superintendent on July 1.