LEWISTON – Leah Poulin and Kay Theberge are the newest members of the Lewiston School Committee.

Poulin, a stay-at-home mother of two, narrowly defeated Paul St. Pierre, a 12-year member of the committee, for the at-large seat. With 5,559 votes for Poulin and 5,039 votes for St. Pierre, the two were separated by just 520 votes.

Poulin said she knew the race would be close and was surprised and happy to learn Tuesday night that she won.

Before the election, Poulin said she would like to improve education in Lewiston by standardizing programs and curriculum throughout the school system. She said she now plans to learn as much as she can about the needs of students, teachers and parents in the city.

“I do plan on accomplishing one major task,” she said. “I’m not sure yet what that is.”

In Ward 1, Theberge, a mother of two and vice chairwoman of the Lewiston Republican Committee, beat local attorney David Vincent. With 883 votes for Theberge and 503 votes for Vincent, she won with 63 percent of the vote.

Theberge was in Kentucky Tuesday to attend her son’s graduation from military boot camp. In a quick statement released through boyfriend Stavros Mendros, Theberge said her door is always open and she urged residents to come to her with any school issues.

Before the election, Theberge had said she didn’t know a lot about the Maine Learning Results or the No Child Left Behind Act, but she believed that low state test scores were one of the most pressing issues facing Lewiston. She believed she could help improve education in Lewiston by proposing a greater standardization of lessons and curriculum, by cutting unnecessary programs and by advocating for vouchers.

All other School Committee candidates were incumbents. All ran unopposed.

Poulin and Theberge will begin serving on the committee Jan. 1.

ltice@sunjournal.com

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