An incumbent and a political newcomer are running unopposed for two available three-year terms on the Gorham School Committee.

Roger L. Marchand, a veteran educator, wants to serve another three-year term, Kyle P. Currier, a mother with two daughters, is also on the ballot. Marchand and Jason Libby, who isn’t seeking re-election, were both elected in 2004.

Marchand, 70, is a member of the project committee for a new elementary school. After a lengthy search fell through recently for land in the White Rock-Little Falls area, the project committee is looking at the town-owned Chick property in Gorham Village. The new building will be a big issue, Marchand said, but “if we waited much longer, we probably would lose the funding,” he said.

Currier, 45, agreed with Marchand that the new school is a major issue. Currier, who has been a parent volunteer in schools since 2000, added that other issues would include new requirements imposed on Gorham by federal and/or state government.

Under changes in state law, Marchand said, Gorham’s annual school budget would need approval by the town’s voters. Although Gorham wasn’t required to consolidate with other districts, it does have to decrease costs in special education, transportation and administration, Marchand said.

An educator for nearly 50 years, he once served as an interim superintendent in Windham. Marchand is semi-retired and runs an educational consulting firm. “I tried to retire and it doesn’t work for me,” he said.

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Marchand and his wife, Peggy, of South Street, have lived in Gorham for 31 years. They have two adult children. He holds a master’s degree in education from the University of New Hampshire.

Currier and her husband, Gene, live on Aspen Lane and have been in Gorham 14 years. She is a self-employed certified public accountant in Gorham.

She earned a bachelor’s degree at Russell Sage College and a master’s in business administration at New Hampshire College.

“I have a solid understanding of the challenges facing the school board and I will use my education and business experience to make decisions that I feel are in the best interest of the children of Gorham,” said Currier, who is a member of the Gorham Business & Civic Exchange.

Cutline (Roger Marchand) Cutline (kyle currier)

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