The newest member of the Maine School Administrative District 75 board hopes stability is on the horizon after the latest in a series of leadership shakeups in the district.
Last week, the Topsham Select Board appointed Kimberly Pacelli to carry out the remaining nine months of Nancy Chandler’s term on the school board.
Chandler announced her resignation from the board — which serves Topsham, Harpswell, Bowdoin and Bowdoinham — in a letter three weeks ago. Her departure preempted Superintendent Steve Connolly’s resignation last week, the district’s fifth superintendent in four years.
Kimberly Pacelli. Photo contributed by Dennis Degnan
Pacelli said Connolly’s departure prompted her to get involved and put in her name for the school board seat.
“I knew that I would be getting involved in the community conversation about how to bring stability to our district,” Pacelli said. “All of this constant transition at the superintendent’s level does not serve our schools, our students and, perhaps most importantly, the wonderful teachers and staff who populate our district’s schools. Each transition comes at an inherent cost — even despite the great work of all the superintendents who have served in recent years — to always be gearing up for a transition or to be onboarding a new leader and waiting to see how things unfold.”
Pacelli has a bachelor’s degree from Bowdoin College, a master’s degree from Harvard and a law degree from the University of Maine. She works as a consultant for educational institutions for TNG.
The Topsham Select Board chose Pacelli over two other candidates, Jennifer Banis, a culinary adjunct professor, and Annalyse Sarvinas, a middle school teacher.
At a Feb. 16 Select Board meeting, three Topsham residents spoke in favor of Banis and Pacelli and one spoke in favor of Sarvinas.
Parents sent emails to The Times Record expressing concern over Sarvinas serving on the school board due to her “conservative agenda.”
Sarvinas has been active in the conservative nonprofit Parents’ Rights in Education — an organization that encourages the banning of books and fights for parents to design the curriculum and policies in their children’s schools.
“Generally speaking, I think it’s important to have clear policies in place regarding how curricular and instructional materials are selected, typically under the superintendent’s supervision, and to also spell out in policy how individuals can raise concerns about any specific materials they find objectionable,” Pacelli said.
Pacelli said it’s too soon to say if she will run for a full term in November but isn’t ruling it out.
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