Along with the question of withdrawal from Regional School Unit 5 on Nov. 4, Freeport voters will decide on two openings on the RSU 5 Board of Directors. Incumbents Nelson Larkins, the chairman, and Beth Parker – who both have spoken publicly against withdrawal – are on the ballot. Their challengers, Charly Haversat Matheson and Lindsay Sterling, have taken stands in favor of withdrawal.
Nelson Larkins
Age: 53
Address: Shore Drive
Political experience. Five years on the RSU 5 Board of Directors; last three as chairman
Occupation: Attorney
Q: Why are you running?
A: Our schools are the center of our community. I come from a family of educators and understand how important good schools are to families and towns. A strong community always has strong schools. I have had at least one child in Freeport schools for the past 21 years, and this school system has been wonderful to us. I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to improve our school district while on the board. We have expanded academic programming, sports, advanced placement courses, and other extra-curricular activities while keeping tax increases in Freeport down. We have added teachers and staff, created a strategic plan, passed a school renovation bond, and expanded gifted and talented and special services. I want to continue the work started and make this the strongest school possible.
Q: What is your position on withdrawal?
A: RSU 5 has been a positive contribution to the three communities of Freeport, Durham and Pownal, but the consolidation has been, at times, a difficult growing process. By increasing the school enrollment and tapping into more state money from Durham and Pownal, we have been able to dramatically increase our staffing levels, educational programs, and extra-curricular activities during a time when schools around us have slashed staff and services. We have passed every budget and the high school bond issue. If Freeport withdraws from the RSU, our kids will be fine, but we need to understand Freeport will be a smaller school district with potentially higher costs and less opportunities for our students.
Q: How big a priority is the renovation of Freeport High School?
A: Renovating our high school has been, and will continue to be, a huge priority. The core of Freeport High School is from 1962. It is old and out of date. We worked for two years to pass the much-needed renovation bond, and if Freeport votes not to withdraw, it is expected the RSU board will immediately take steps to begin the actual renovation process. The money is there. The board will simply need to decide the scope of the renovation and begin building. If Freeport withdraws, the bond that passed will no longer be valid, and Freeport will need to decide whether to pass its own stand-alone bond to complete renovation work at some date in the future.
Charly Haversat Matheson
Age: 52
Address: Harvest Ridge Road
Political experience: None
Occupation: Strategic consultant for global financial services company
Q: Why are you running?
A: Education has always been a big priority for our family. As a parent, a taxpayer and a business person, it’s really important to me that every kid in school leaves with the education he or she needs to compete in a global economy. No school district can only focus on competing in Maine or the U.S. We have to prepare our students to compete globally no matter what profession they choose. With this as the road ahead for our school district, this is a great opportunity for me to marry educational passion with my business background. If you combine highly qualified teachers and staff, which we already have, and give them the framework to use their expertise to implement quality educational programs in a financially responsible way, Freeport can work magic.
Q: What is your position on withdrawal?
A: I am pro-withdrawal, which is a switch from how I voted five years ago. The RSU concept is not working in the state of Maine, and it has not improved our education or reduced costs. Some 32 towns either have left their RSU or are in the process of withdrawing, which shows that many communities are frustrated by this state-mandated legislation. Given that all three towns in RSU 5, and the Maine Department of Education, unanimously approved Freeport’s withdrawal plan, I’m confident a move back to local control is the best solution for Freeport, Durham and Pownal. We can go back to the great working partnership we had with our neighbors just five short years ago. The withdrawal agreement ensures RSU 5 continued access to the high school, and gives Freeport back its governance structure.
Q: How big a priority is the renovation of Freeport High School?
A: It’s critically important that all our students and staff have a safe place to work and learn. For me, it’s imperative to keep this focus for all of our schools, not just the high school. RSU 5 is currently on the hook for a nearly $15 million high school expansion, while Brunswick High School is seven miles away, and has nearly 400 empty seats. We can save the taxpayers of all three towns millions of dollars by doing a high-quality, cost-effective renovation instead of expansion, and still providing access to RSU 5 students. The architect originally proposed renovation options as low as $4 million. Keep in mind, Freeport approved the bond the first time by a 64 percent margin. A more cost-effective renovation would likely pass by a higher margin, and save us millions of dollars of hard-earned taxes.
Beth Parker
Age: 52
Address: 62 Spar Cove Road
Political experience: Nine years on the RSU 5 Board of Directors
Occupation: Retail
Q: Why are you running?
A: In short, I am running because of my longevity on the board. I have a lot of history to share both as a single school district and through the whole forming and then implementing the RSU 5. Over this time I have seen a lot and formed a lot of knowledge about the whole system. I have seen what works and what doesn’t. I have been on multiple hiring committees and subcommittees.
Q: What is your position on withdrawal?
A: I think I have made my feelings on withdrawal very clear. The fact that I am the only candidate running who has been on the board both ways (prior to and following consolidaton), I know what it was like. I understand the frustration that the Withdrawal Committee feels exist but it is nothing compared to what it was like before, when Freeport was a stand-alone school district. Firstly, the struggles of trying to support and move a district forward that consisted of four schools and one central office, with a majority of the buildings being aged, was a struggle on the budget. Not only the cost for the brick-and-mortar, but the staffing as well. Then after all the time and work we put into forming the budget we would bring it to Town Council, who would always make cuts. At least with the formation of the RSU we were able to share many of our resources, which resulted in us adding two (gifted-and-talented) teachers. Freeport only had one, who spent most of her time in Freeport Middle School and language arts and consulted sparingly at the high school. Also, we finally got a curriculum coordinator, which Freeport was trying to obtain for years.We were also able to add multiple different special education and response to intervention programs, allowing us to be able to provide the proper education within our schools, enabling us to restrict our out-of-district placements. As a unit, we are able to make our in service days more productive. Not to mention being able to offer more classes in the high school and middle school because of the increase in students. Also, the school budget as decided by the board is able to go to the town for a vote. If we were to follow the withdrawal plan as it stands, there would be less money coming in from Pownal and Durham. thus causing Freeport to have to pay more.
Q: How big a priority is the renovation of Freeport High School?
A: The renovation of the high school is very important. As it stands right now, RSU 5 has an approved renovation plan. So if the vote on Nov. 4 is to not withdraw, then the plans for renovation can proceed right away. If the vote is to withdraw, then the renovation needs to start all over again, which could take years. The high school as it stands right now has its good parts and its bad parts. Those bad parts in the 1961 section are in major need of updating, as well as the bathrooms and (Americans with Disabilities Act) accessibility. Depending on the population, there may also need to be an addition.
Lindsay Sterling
Age: 40
Address: 28 Cove Road
Political experience: Founder and president of Friends of Freeport High School, which worked to pass the bond to renovate Freeport High School; RSU 5 School Board Renovation Advisory Committee’s liaison to the public
Occupation: Writer
Q: Why are you running?
A: I’m running because morale in our district is low, and I believe that new leadership on our school board will improve the quality of our schools and boost morale. My daughters go to Mast Landing and Freeport Middle School. I have worked with the RSU 5 school board extensively, spoken publically at meetings, volunteered in and outside the classrooms, and united citizens in support of a high school renovation. My supporters believe I have the experience, energy and drive for excellence that will give our school district new wings.
Q: What is your position on withdrawal?
A: We’ll need leaders with great vision no matter which route Freeport takes – withdrawal or staying. I’d like to be Freeport’s representative on its school board either way the vote goes. If Freeport votes for withdrawal, I will run for Freeport School Board, as well. I’d like to see Freeport have local control of its schools. Voter records show that the towns fundamentally want different things. The cuts of compromise over the last five years have run too deep in my view. Our schools are hurting. Teachers and students are leaving because we’ve not been able to offer the high quality education they want. I believe in Freeport’s fundamental desire to offer high- quality education, and in our creativity and wherewithal to go about building it in a cost-effective way.
Also, the Maine education statutes dictate that if Freeport withdrew, the Freeport school budget would be approved not simply by the Freeport Town Council (as it was before consolidation), but also by Freeport voters in a referendum. To me that means that withdrawal clearly offers Freeport the best ability to provide schools that directly reflect its voters’ wishes.
Q: How big a priority is the renovation of Freeport High School?
A: It’s a top priority. We need to do it quickly and cost-effectively. If Freeport votes to stay in the RSU, then I expect the RSU 5 board will issue the bond that tri-town voters authorized and get going. If Freeport votes to withdraw, that adds about six months in my estimation to the timeline of the renovation, but it would save tri-town taxpayers about $7 million because we wouldn’t have to include an expensive two-story addition in the renovation project. It doesn’t seem cost-effective to me to build a bigger school here when Brunswick has hundreds of empty seats they are actively trying to fill next door. I’m confident that if people vote for withdrawal, a Freeport school board would move swiftly to ask Freeport voters to approve a substantially cheaper renovation bond, and that Freeport voters would approve it. It’s clear the Freeport community wants students to be in a refreshing learning environment right away.
Nelson Larkins
Charly Haversat Matheson
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