Montville — The administrators who have spent this school year as acting superintendent and acting assistant superintendent were named to those roles permanently at Tuesday night's Board of Education meeting, said board Chairman David Rowley.

Superintendent Brian Levesque, who was promoted from his position as assistant superintendent when Pamela Aubin took a leave of absence last fall and announced her intention to resign this July, said he was "really excited" that the board appointed him.

The past year has been "a challenging year, but I'd say it's been a great year at the same time," said Levesque, who has had to contend with excessive snow days and new legislation regarding Common Core and teacher evaluations during his tenure as acting superintendent.

"I'm excited to be the superintendent for many years to come," he said.

The board also made Laurie Pallin's position as assistant superintendent permanent. Before becoming acting assistant superintendent in August, Pallin was the district's director of curriculum and instruction as well as a chemistry teacher and the chairman of Montville High School's science department.

Levesque did not plan for a new director of curriculum and instruction in his 2014-15 budget proposal. The central office has been operating fine without anyone filling that position, he said.

Pallin said she "could not be happier" with the new position. She said she's enjoyed working with Levesque over the past year and that they complement each other well.

"I'm thrilled about the opportunity," she said.

Although Aubin’s resignation doesn’t officially take effect until June 30, Rowley said there was no reason to wait to appoint Levesque and Pallin.

He said the school board monitored their performance and felt they were “very capable” of the handling the responsibility. And if the board had waited to appoint Levesque, he may have become concerned and started searching for superintendent jobs elsewhere, said Rowley.

He said he expects Levesque and Pallin to do a “phenomenal” job in their new positions.

k.catalfamo@theday.com