LEWISTON- Two parents are hoping to replace the School Committee’s outgoing Ward 1, representative John Butler.

Kay Theberge, the mother of two teenage boys, wants to bring a fresh voice and a different point of view to the committee seat.

“I think that Lewiston politics needs new blood to get new perspectives and regular people,” she said.

David A. Vincent, the father of a little girl, wants to help the school system make some changes.

“I’d like to help to work the schools through a couple of transitions that are going on right now, particularly with regard to overcrowding and renovation of school buildings,” he said.

He believes that the No Child Left Behind Act, a controversial federal education reform law, is one of the most pressing issues facing Lewiston schools. He calls the law well-intentioned but a “cookie cutter” approach to problems.

“In reality every state has different systems and different strengths and weaknesses,” he said. “It defines failure in terms of statistics. It just seems to me arbitrary.”

Theberge admits that she doesn’t know a lot about the No Child Left Behind Act. She believes that low state test scores are one of the most pressing issues facing Lewiston and commended school officials for working on the situation.

“This is not something that can be a quick fix,” she said. “They recognize the issues and are doing everything they can to make sure our students do score higher.”

Both candidates say they don’t know a lot about Maine Learning Results. Both believe that the school system has handled the influx of Somali students well. Both say they would look at other options before immediately cutting programs or asking for a tax increase when faced with budget problems.

For Theberge, those “other options” include a larger check from the state.

“I think before they cut programs or raise taxes they need to get the funding from the state that they should be getting,” she said.

Vincent believes a greater use of parent coaches and parent volunteers could help save schools money.

If elected, Theberge believes she could help improve education by proposing a greater standardization of lessons and curriculum, by cutting unnecessary programs and by advocating for vouchers.

“Right now we have a monopoly and a monopoly is never best for the consumers,” she said. “If you’re going to earn your money you need to earn your money.”

Vincent said he has no immediate plan to improve or change education in Lewiston.

“I don’t come to the school board with a giant agenda of change,” he said. ” I come to help it do its job.”

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