In Standish’s June 14 municipal elections, Corey MacDonald is challenging incumbent Michael Delcourt for the position of SAD 6 Director.

Delcourt, 60, a Republican who has served as a director for 15 years, is running because he feels that “violence and drugs in the high school need to be brought under control.” He also believes that the school budget must reflect the reduction in taxes.

When citing the top issues facing the town of Standish and the school board, Delcourt is quick to point to high taxes and the school budget, particularly as they affect the town’s senior citizens. He says seniors don’t have the resources to support a tax increase.

“I can only voice my opinion and hope they elect same-minded people to the board,” he said.

Low MEA scores are also troubling to Delcourt. He says that, while students’ scores are high in the elementary grades, they decline at the high school level.

Fair wages is another issue important to Delcourt.

“I’d like to see fairness come out in the wages of what we pay our people – bus drivers, custodians, teachers, and administrators,” he said.

According to Delcourt, a couple of key areas qualify him for the director’s position. First are the many years he has already served on the school board.

“I’ve been on the salaries and personnel committee negotiating contracts for 15 years,” he said.

Another is his experience as a father of children in the schools, a responsibility that he feels affords him a relevant perspective on the challenges students face.

Corey MacDonald, 46, also a Republican, is running for MSAD 6 director because he “loves kids and would work hard for them.” He also wants to help guide the future of the MSAD 6 school district. Although he acknowledges that “it is easy to point fingers when you are not on the board” he recognizes that things might look different as a member of that board. He believes he “can offer some solutions.”

MacDonald says the SAD 6 school budget is the single biggest issue faced by the town of Standish and the school board.

“I think money is an issue for everybody right now,” he says. “You don’t want to overspend but you don’t want to cheat your children.”

MacDonald supports the budget in its current form saying, “I know the board has wrestled pretty hard.” But he’d like to see some better solutions for next year’s budget.

Considering other issues faced by the town and the board, MacDonald feels most all of them stem from the problems of funding and money.

As part of his job, MacDonald, a civil engineer, manages a large budget. Because of the hard decisions this responsibility requires, MacDonald feels he could be of help on the school board by coming up with solutions and ideas people haven’t thought of.

“Because of the way the current economy is,” he says, “I’ve had to do that a lot, and I’ve been able to pull it off.”

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