READFIELD -- The School Union 42 Board of Directors Tuesday night handed a one-year contract extension to Maranacook-area schools Superintendent Rich Abramson.

The extension comes seven months before Maranacook expects to consolidate into a regional district with schools in Winthrop and Fayette $ a move that would throw Abramson's status as superintendent into question.

Maranacook schools serve students from Manchester, Mount Vernon, Readfield and Wayne.
The board's move sets June 2011 as the expiration date for Abramson's contract. He currently earns $100,000 a year as the district's top administrator.

The board was legally required to consider a contract extension this month $ the December of the academic year before the contract was due to expire, according to Abramson.

"It's not to tie any board's hands," Abramson said of the Union 42 board's Tuesday vote.