KENNEBUNK – Four candidates are running for two Kennebunk three-year terms on the RSU 21 School Board. Candidates are Joshua Barstow, Amanda Downing, Alison Riggieri and Peter Sentner. Incumbents Mike Mosher and Gayle Asmussen Spofford are not seeking re-election.

• Joshua Barstow said the last five quarters of hybrid learning were necessary but it’s time to return students to a “full-time, in-person, as close to pre-pandemic model of schooling as possible,” for the fall.

Married and the father of two teens at Kennebunk High school, Barstow is chief revenue officer at OpenVault LLC. He’s coached football, basketball and football and is a board member of the Kennebunk, Kennebunkport and Arundel Youth Football program.

He said his children have been “pretty happy” in the community from Sea Road School to Kennebunk High School, but said affordability or equity of access is a concern.

“Moving into this district is difficult,” said Barstow. “It’s not necessarily an issue the RSU can address, but it would seem if the RSU doesn’t get in lock step with affordability of the community, the long-term result would appear to be the opposite of what the RSU is currently discussing.”

He said he has some thoughts on creative access, and has experience in large projects, analysis and implementation management, and is at a point where he is able to give back – something he said folks should do if they can.

“I am running because I have two kids at the high school and have coached hundreds of kids around the town and at the middle school over the last 5 years, and being part of the team that ensures preparation for their best possible life experience and education heading into their post RSU life experience is what we should all be striving for,” said Barstow.

• Amanda Downing is a senior business s analyst at L.L. Bean, has been involved as a volunteer in the district and was a Girl Scout troop leader for seven years. Married, she has two children in RSU 21.

“The immediate issue is getting our children back into school four-five days a week,” said Downing. “The longer-term issue is the deep division this year has caused between stakeholder groups and the board, as well as a need to reposition our children as a top priority in our school district’s planning (core curriculum, providing essential services).”

Downing said global and national data, along with recent vaccination programs for all Maine teachers, indicates children can be in school more frequently.

“Our neighboring communities are achieving this by being creative and leveraging alternative classroom space and university students in the education major,” said Downing. “We have been too busy arguing about whether to reopen our schools rather than collaborating on how to reopen our schools.”

She said more stakeholder input through community workshops or listening sessions that allow those who feel unheard to speak effectively, and without the structure and restrictions of a board meeting, would be beneficial.

“I believe we need to republish and clearly state the board process/guardrails at the beginning of each board meeting to ground all of us in the process,” she said. “I also believe we need a board that prioritizes the needs of our children. Our purpose as a school system is, after all, to meet their needs.”

Downing said she’s running because of frustration she felt as a parent, and has noticed escalating division between stakeholder groups at school board and other community meetings: “I am concerned about family attrition from the RSU, about students who lost classroom time, about teachers who felt underprepared. We spent a lot of time feeling that our needs were at odds with each other, rather than part of the same problem or, better yet, part of the solution. I want to be a positive and proactive participant in the planning process.”

• Alison Riggieri is managing director of human resources and strategic workforce planning at a bank. Married, she has two children enrolled in RSU 21. She coaches soccer, has been a classroom volunteer, previously worked in a Washington, D.C. research and development center, and studied public policy at graduate school.

“We need to get our kids back to school full time as soon as possible,” said Riggieri. Longer term, she said the district needs to work with its biggest partners – parents and caregivers.

“Our children’s guardians have great ideas and we need to listen to them as we work throughout challenges and strive for better solutions,” said Riggieri. “I commend Dr. (Terri) Cooper for her thorough and thoughtful decisions and willingness to pivot during the pandemic. That being said, our parents are starving to understand the decision-making process so they can make sense of how the decisions are made, and have visibility to a larger context … such as changes in the CDC guidelines. Let’s bring them along this journey.”

She said the district needs stronger mental health supports – and noted pre-pandemic, schools provided children a sense of community as well as academics that she believes is currently lacking.

Riggieri said the district should re-focus on inclusion, that more communication would be welcome, and that she has been encouraged by the board’s recent discussions about mental health.

• Peter Sentner is a semi-retired social worker whose career involved administering mental health and substance abuse programs. More recently, he  was director of regulatory affairs at Spurwink. He is a member of South Congregational Church, volunteers at Habitat for Humanity York County, is on the RSU 21 diversity, equity and inclusion ad hoc committee and is a member of Kennebunk Region BIPOC History Project. Following a school racial incident a few years ago, Sentner volunteered to serve on the policy committee. Sentner is married, and his children attended district schools, as do his grandchildren.

Sentner said recovering from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic is an important issue ahead, as is safely reopening schools.

“The second task facing the school board is strategic planning,” said Sentner. He said a plan to do so starting this summer is an opportunity for the board and administration to engage the community in a planning process that will set the course for the future.

Noting the difficult year, he said stress is endemic and that many children are experiencing problems related to anxiety or depression and parents are frustrated. He said the school board must support the superintendent in planning and executing a smooth school reopening.

“When unforeseen problems occur, and they will, the school board and school administrators must acknowledge the problem, work to correct it, and keep everyone well informed,” said Sentner.

During a spring board meeting, Sentner volunteered to help develop and distribute a mental health resources guide for parents, which has begun, and he said he’s looking forward to developing a plan to address social and emotional needs of students and their parents or primary caregivers.

Good communication is essential to identify and address gaps in learning as schools reopen, he said. Sentner said he’d like to see initiatives like Coffee with the Superintendent continue and see school principals adopt the practice.

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