Three run for RSU 4 board in Sabattus

SABATTUS — With incumbent Rebecca Shedd not running, three people are vying for her spot on the RSU 4 school board.

It’s for a three-year term.

Linwood A. (Woody) Bailey III, 45, 32F Sanborn Road

A little about yourself: “I grew up in Maine, studied engineering at the University of Maine, now employed for the past 25 years at Wright-Pierce Engineers in Topsham. I am married to Karen Bailey, with four school-aged children.”

Past, relevant experience: “While I have not run for or held any public office before, I have served in leadership positions on several professional committees. I also had the rewarding experience of watching my father, Linwood A. Bailey Jr., serve 15 years on the school board and several more as selectman for the town of Alna where he earned the Spirit of America Award.”

Top 3 issues, if elected: 1. “Listen and learn to better serve the people of Sabattus, trying to avoid the need to revisit the same fight year after year by finding a better balance to providing a well-rounded, high-quality education within available budget.” 2. “Fight against the one-size-fits-all sense of education. We must double-down on our ability to prepare more for the increasing number of jobs in skilled labor trades while still insuring that the programs providing the higher level of learning for our gifted and talented students are preserved.” 3. “Become a strong voice of support for maximizing local control over our schools. I will embrace what has worked well within the district, while looking beyond to find and apply here the successes elsewhere.”

Why residents should vote for me: “I promise to remain fair and honest while I listen and engage in all debate, doing all I can do to improve the opportunities for all our children. I will apply my unique perspective of seeing our schools through the eyes of four children; a senior, a sophomore, a sixth-grader and first-grader.”

Bradlee O. Lemay, 40, 102 No Name Pond Road

A little about yourself: “A husband of 17 years, a father of a 14-year-old daughter and a member of the local Freemasons lodge. I grew up in the community and believe in giving back to and helping others in my community.”

Past, relevant experience: “I have been on the Sabattus Board of Appeals for many years and chaired the board for two years. I have been a business owner, have managed at other work places and have learned the importance of and the ability to manage people, time and money.”

Top 3 issues, if elected: “I will push for better results from our students, teachers and the administration without throwing more and more money at the problem. I will never vote to eliminate sports nor will I support an administration that uses sports as a bargaining chip. I will push for more stringent controls over the technology devices we are handing out to our children. These devices need to be used for educational purposes only and should be set up so the students cannot install any other programs or software.”

Why residents should vote for me: “Most importantly, I will do everything in my power to hold the administration and the teachers responsible for the sub-par education our children are receiving. They should be embarrassed that 66 percent of our high school students do not meet the (state) requirements in mathematics, 65 percent do not meet the requirements in reading, 68 percent do not meet the requirement in science and 67 percent do not meet the requirements in writing. It angers me that we the taxpayers and our children are getting results like this for a mere $17 million a year. If this disgusts you as much as it does me, then I am the one you want to vote for. I appreciate your support and I assure you the taxpayers’ voice will be heard.”

Nancy Provost, 44, 435 Middle Rd

A little about yourself: “Married, mother of four, project manager at L.L. Bean.”

Past, relevant experience: “Served three years on the Budget Committee for the town of Sabattus, president of the Oak Hill Boosters for seven years, previously served the Sabattus Rec Club by spearheading soccer, travel basketball and assisted in restarting lacrosse.”

Top 3 issues, if elected: “Accountability at all levels (students, teachers, parents and administrators); quality education for all students; budget constraints.”

Why residents should vote for me: “I’ve had the benefit of being actively involved in the school system for the past 18 years. My youngest has graduated from high school this past year, freeing up time I was spending with school activities that I could now focus on the school board. I believe we should be treating our schools more like a business. RSU 4 is producing a product, that product is education. I want to see our return on investment increased. I believe we have significant opportunities to improve the education without increasing the cost.”