The incumbent in Westbrook’s Ward 2 School Committee race is focused on improved communication to the public and addressing potential school building repairs sooner rather than later.

Her challenger believes communication issues should be addressed in-house without an additional hire, wants the School Committee to be more proactive and would work to get more families involved in extracurricular activities and school programs.

Jessica Moninski was appointed to the seat in March 2020, replacing Nica Bates as the representative for Ward 2, which includes the southern portion of the city bordered by Portland, South Portland and Scarborough, and stretches from the area around the city landfill to the Armory building on Stroudwater Street.

The school department’s plan to hire a communications specialist is a good move, Moninski said, but it is only one piece of the pie. She would like to see topics, not just decisions, shared with families. In the wake of the July fire at the high school, she said, parents should have been warned that the high school might not open to students this fall, rather than being informed of the decision two weeks before classes were scheduled to start.

“So even in the infancy of planning when things are up for consideration, even if we haven’t decided, that’d be good to say rather than just push information and decisions out,” Moninski said.

Moninski’s challenger, Jessica Foley, who is married to Westbrook Mayor Mike Foley, is opposed to the school department bringing a communications specialist on board. Existing staff and committee members can improve communication to the public on their own, she said.

“If a $60,000 salary is being proposed, I would rather see that being reallocated to the students and teachers. There is a way to work together to just utilize existing resources,” Foley said.

Foley is one of four School Committee candidates campaigning to bring “a new voice,” on the committee. Although the group of friends doesn’t share the same platform, they say they all believe new input on the committee is needed, especially from parents of children in the district.

Moninski wants to improve internal record-keeping and procedures so the schools can be proactive in addressing building needs. The committee needs to schedule construction projects and work to bring facilities up to code in light of safety violations found after the high school fire.

“One thing I was surprised by was that our records are very dislocated,” she said.

The School Committee’s new facilities committee, established over the summer, should be responsible for the record-keeping, Moninski said. That way the information could be easily found and officials would have advance notice of needed school repairs. The policy committee needs “to look at policies related to maintenance and make sure we do have some expectation on the district” to keep things up to date, she said.

Foley agrees with the need for more record-keeping and said she would prioritize taking stock of the condition of each building.

“We need to take a solid inventory and look at the needs of the facility,” she said. Once the School Committee determines “what we think is going to come down the pike,” it can plan for the necessary work.  

“Anytime you can be proactive and looking ahead at the future at the needs of the facility, it helps.  We need to be proactive, not reactive,” Foley said.

Foley would also take a proactive approach to boosting parental involvement in the schools. She’d like more parents to  participate in extracurricular activities and would work to spread the word about the events.

“It creates unity. I want Westbrook to be a community that’s proud, so promoting extracurricular activities will definitely be a priority,” Foley said.

Residents have raised concerns at School Committee meetings about a potential conflict of interest because Foley is married to the mayor. According to City Administrator Jerre Bryant, the city legal team has found no conflict issues.

“My husband would not have supported me in this if there was a conflict of interest,” Foley said.

She and her husband “don’t agree on everything,” she said, adding jokingly, “The real conflicts will likely be in the home.”

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