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RSU 21 candidates are focused on DEI, budget

Two want to champion diversity, another says he’s against political correctness and “social engineering” in schools – and a fourth wants the district to be a lifeline for students facing adversity. Meet the seven candidates running in competitive RSU 21 races.

Eloise Goldsmith The Forecaster

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Three competitive races for seats on Regional School Unit 21 School Board of Directors will determine the new configuration of the district’s leadership on June 11.

School Board members, or “directors,” from the three towns that comprise RSU 21 (Kennebunk, Kennebunkport and Arundel) are elected on a staggered cycle, with only four seats come up for re-election at a time.

Three candidates from Kennebunk – Abigail Spadone, Matthew Stratford, and Rebecca Lewis – are running for two three-year seats. Both Kennebunk board members whose terms are up in 2024, Amanda Downing and Peter Sentner, have decided not to run for re-election.

There are two candidates from Arundel – Rodney Sparkowich and Kirstan Watson – running for a single three-year seat. One of them will replace current Board Member Britney Gerth, who is not running for re-election.

In Kennebunkport, there is a race to elect a replacement for the seat vacated by Jameson Davis, a former school board member who departed the body in summer 2023 after alleging that the district was too focused on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

Davis works for her family business, Spang Builders, which recently hosted an event put on by an anti-trans group that was protested by RSU 21 parents.

Current School Board Member Diane Franz was chosen by the Kennebunkport Select Board to replace Davis, but is running against non-incumbent Rachel Kennedy-Smith to serve out the final year of the term.

Another current School Board member, Megan Michaud of Kennebunkport, is running unopposed for her same three-year seat.

The candidates who prevail will join a School Board that recently wrapped a contentious budget season, moved the start of the coming school year to after Labor Day in response to community feedback, and has fended off conservative attacks on its policy towards transgender students.

The district has also dealt with a bus driver shortage that has led to bus route disruptions – though the School Board and the union representing bus drivers recently agreed to a new contract, which district leadership hopes will help. Under the new contract, entry-level bus driver pay will rise to $24.97 an hour, up from $20.81 an hour for fiscal year 2024.

A rundown of all the competitive races:

Rodney Sparkowich is running to represent Arundel in the RSU 21 School Board of Directors. Eloise Goldsmith / Post

Rodney Sparkowich of Arundel has one grandson in RSU 21, who attends Kennebunk High School. Sparkowich has lived in the area for the vast majority of his life , and also attended and graduated from Kennebunk High School.

Sparkowich said he’s concerned about “social engineering” in schools – which he defined as educators being involved in the development of a student beyond the teaching of core curriculum. He thinks a student’s social and emotional development should largely be the purview of parents .

He drew a connection between social engineering and the rise of fascism in Nazi Germany. “Education should be education, it should not be social engineering. I’m all too aware of the Brownshirts that happened in Germany … (the Nazis and Hitler) started with the youth,” he said.

When asked to provide an example of what social engineering has looked like at RSU 21, Sparkowich said he didn’t have one, noting that he is not very involved in the district and has never been to a School Board meeting .

Instead, he answered the question by highlighting his opposition to two state bills, L.D. 1619 and L.D. 227. The latter bill protects healthcare providers in Maine from laws in other states that ban or curtail access to abortion and gender affirming care, and the former expands post-viability abortion access. Both have been signed into law. He said he’s concerned that Maine would become a “destination state” for transgender care and abortion care .

Sparkowich also identified budgeting as a challenge for the district. He would like to see more fiscal constraint with the RSU 21 budget and its impact on taxpayers.

“I don’t think [current RSU 21 Superintendent] Dr. Cooper is doing anything wrong, but I think Maine schools overall have become an abysmal saturation of … political correctness. And that’s why I want to get involved,” he summarized.

Professionally, he has worked both as a dog trainer and in law enforcement. Starting in 1991 he spent over a decade working as a corrections officer for the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office.

Kirstan Watson was born in Arundel and has lived there her whole life, except for a short time when she lived in nearby

Kirstan Watson is running to represent Arundel in the RSU 21 School Board of Directors. Contributed photo / Kirstan Watson

Kennebunkport. She attended Mildred L. Day School, Sea Road School, Middle School of the Kennebunks and graduated from Kennebunk High School.

She has owned and operated a property management and cleaning company with her husband for over two decades. She started the company when she was only 20 years old as a way to pay her college tuition. She transitioned to working there full time in 2003 .

Watson said she is motivated to run for school board because the district represented a “lifeline” for her growing up. “I had a tough childhood and struggled to manage the adversity that came with it.” School was where she was nurtured and challenged, and she feels “a tremendous debt of gratitude both for the exceptional education (she) was afforded and especially to the adults in this community,” she wrote via email. On the school board, she hopes to cultivate that environment for current students.

She sees the school budget as the most pressing priorities for the board . “Every budget dollar must be invested judiciously,” she said. “I’ve experienced both the challenges of extreme poverty and the benefits endowed by an exceptional education and will use those experiences to guide the choices I make and the work I do,” she said.

Abigail Spadone moved to Kennebunk from Portland in 2020. She has two children, one that is entering pre-K in RSU 21 this coming fall and one that isn’t yet school age.

Abigail Spadone is running to represent Kennebunk in the RSU 21 School Board of Directors. Contributed / Abigail Spadone

Spadone, who is a self-described proponent of public schools and diversity in schools, was encouraged by multiple community members to run. She told the Kennebunk Post that a neighbor, a current teacher , a current PTA member, a current board member, and former board member, all encouraged her to throw her hat in the ring.

“People approached me saying, we’re really looking for someone who’s level headed, who (is committed to) keeping humanity in the system, who will be a critical thinker, and will be a voice for teachers, students and parents,” she said, summarizing their comments.

When talking about how she’d approach the role, Spadone said that she wants to “hear everyone’s concerns” and approach them “with dignity and empathy.”

She also referenced wanting there to be less tumult within the district and on the school board. “Things have gotten so, so heated over the years,” she said. She clarified later that she was referencing an incident last year, when a former School Board member posted racist and offensive content online . She denounced his comments as derogatory and hateful.

“There is also a lot of growing tension around the rights of our LGBTQ students. While I believe everyone has the right to their opinion, voicing those opinions with integrity and humility is paramount. Words are powerful and we have to recognize that they can either cause real harm to people, or our words can help to build bridges and empathy for one another.”

Spadone is the clinical director of Shalom House, a nonprofit that houses and serves adults with severe and persistent mental illness.

Matt Stratford is originally from the Washington, D.C. area and moved to Kennebunk four years ago. He has two kids who attend

Matt Stratford is running to represent Kennebunk in the RSU 21 School Board of Directors. Contributed / Matt Stratford

For the last 16 years he has owned and managed a technology consulting company, which he launched in 2008. This leadership experience is a core part of his pitch to voters: “There’s a lot of different aspects that go into what the School Board does. There’s human resources, operations and contracts … and I have a great deal of experience through my career working in a lot of those different areas,” he said .

He’s committed to hearing out anyone who takes the time to communicate with the board in any way. “If you’re a community member, or stakeholder or a staff member or teacher, and you’re taking the time to attend a meeting, you deserve to be listened to,” he said.

When asked about the biggest challenges facing the district, he offered his perspective on the FY 2025 budget process. As he sees it, the district faces challenges from exogenous pressures on the budget – such as inflation – and he wants to see better communication around the rationale for certain budget choices.

Rebecca Lewis is running to represent Kennebunk in the RSU 21 School Board of Directors. Contributed / Rebecca Lewis

Rebecca Lewis has lived in Kennebunk for 11 years, but began visiting the area over two decades ago. She has one child who currently attends Kennebunk Elementary School . For the past ten years she has worked in outside sales for a food distributor.

When asked via email why voters should vote for her she said she’s a “working, goal oriented parent with a diverse background, interested in improving the quality of education for current and future students.” She is also keen to support “education respecting all views, cultures and values.”

She identified student to teacher ratios in classrooms and staff turnover as among the biggest challenges facing the district.

Kennebunkport

Rachel Kennedy-Smith has lived on and off in Maine for the past two decades, and has lived in Kennebunkport for the past year. Her children are ages 8 and 4, and they attend RSU 21 schools.

In her professional life, she’s a PhD immunologist and head of scientific communications at

Rachel Kennedy-Smith is running to represent Kennebunkport in the RSU 21 School Board of Directors. Contributed / Rachel Kennedy-Smith

Moderna. She is also a former public school teacher and university instructor. She believes her background in education would help her succeed as a School Board member.

“I’m also a fierce defender of diversity and inclusion, as this is not only equitable and just, but is simply essential for creating leaders and problem-solvers of today and tomorrow,” she wrote in an email.

If elected, she hopes to advance student achievement “holistically,” and to listen “evidence rather than the loudest voice,” when making a decision .

As she sees it, the school board is dealing with a number of complex challenges which have come up in recent board meetings, including but not limited to: the burden of mandated testing, bus driver shortages, and the need for climate control in classrooms. She said would like more members of the public to be involved in School Board matters so that they “not only understand but own their share of our collective success. ”

Diane Franz, who was chosen to fill a board seat vacated by Jameson Davis, has lived in Kennebunkport since 2014 . She does not have children in the district. She has spent her career working in school and economic development, including with a local Massachusetts affiliate of the nonprofit United Way.

Diane Franz is running to represent Kennebunkport in the RSU 21 School Board of Directors. Contributed / Diane Franz

Prior to joining the board, she was an active community participant in board meetings, which motivated her to take on a more substantial role . In response to emailed questions, she said that she represents an important voice for the community: taxpayers who help pay for RSU 21 schools (which Franz calls a “critical asset”), but do not have children in the schools.

In her short time on the board, she said she has worked with another colleague on the Communications Committee to propose mentoring and internship opportunities for students that would pair them with local businesses – a suggestion that has been received well by her board colleagues .

According to Franz, the “biggest challenge at RSU21 is balancing (resources that go toward) the state mandated social programs” – such as state disability in education requirements and compliance with the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act – “with quality academic education within the constraints of available resources.”