CAPE ELIZABETH – There are four candidates for Cape Elizabeth’s two open school board seats. The two challengers are Charity Hews and Arienne Hurder and the incumbents are Cynthia Voltz and Jennifer McVeigh.

Hews,46, is running for one of the open seats on the school board. Hews is married with three children, one child is a recent graduate of Cape Elizabeth’s high school, and one child is a middle school student. She has been a dental hygienist for 20 years and currently works at Ravin Family Dental in Scarborough. She has not run for or held public office, but said she has an extensive volunteer history and a sense of duty to give back to the community.

As a school board member, she plans to focus on “fiscal responsibility and academic excellence, advocacy, and promoting the trades.” Hews said that one issue that needs to be addressed is “the sustainability of significant annual budget increases, which drive significant property tax increases.” Hews said that in Cape Elizabeth, 92 percent of tax revenue is paid by residential homeowners and the schools account for about 75 percent of expenditures. “Many in our community are struggling to get by, making it more important than ever to be fiscally responsible while maintaining our commitment to academic excellence,” Hews said. Her final issue she will focus on is “increased awareness around the pathways into industry by partnering with area businesses.”

Hurder is running for election for the school board. She and her family have lived in Cape Elizabeth for 10 years, with two children in the Cape schools. She has 17 years of experience as a nurse. She has never held political office and she said she hopes to “bring a fresh voice to the board.”

“One opportunity I see is the need to bridge the gap between Cape’s school board and our broader Cape community. When it comes to our schools, everyone in the community has skin in the game,” said Hurder. She says she will take the messages we’ve heard from the community over the last few years to heart. “I strongly believe we can, and must, be fiscally responsible while maintaining academic excellence,” Hurder said. She said that it is vital that there is better communication between the parents and the schools. “Education is never one size fits all. Beyond four-year college, options such as trade schools and military service have great value that all students should be aware of,” Hurder said.

McVeigh is a current school board member running for election. She is a school psychologist and mother of two. She said the three primary barriers facing Cape Elizabeth schools are its aging facilities, community polarization, and multiple pathways to success.

“The facilities department works tirelessly to address the needs of our schools. The district spends a significant amount of money to heat and maintain antiquated systems and burden its employees with unexpected maintenance and problems such as bursting pipes and failed equipment,” McVeigh said. She said residents did not support the 2022 new schools proposal, and as a result, the School Building Advisory Committee was formed. McVeigh says it is a joint committee with the town council and residents of Cape Elizabeth. The goal of committee is to develop a school building project and funding that meets the Maine Department of Education’s guidelines. “As a current board member, I support this initiative to create a proposal that meets the needs of our students and is fiscally responsible to our taxpayers,” McVeigh said.

“Community polarization is a problem in our town; there are many divisive voices creating discord. This mentality does not model how to promote civil disagreement and resolve problems effectively,” said McVeigh. She said there is a need for board members who will put the academic, functional, and social-emotional needs of our students first. She is a current board member and finance chair. She has worked collaboratively with administration to create a fiscally responsible budget. “As a negotiations committee member, I worked with school staff to create contracts that promote educator retention,” McVeigh said.

McVeigh pointed out that traditional schooling and the notion that students should attend college following high school is not the only successful post-secondary path. “We need to promote alternative pathways and reduce the stigma associated with PATHS and other high-quality opportunities. One of the school board’s strategic goals is to value, promote, and celebrate multiple pathways and definitions of success,” said McVeigh. She said she supported this by approving extended learning opportunity positions. McVeigh says her goal is to continue to work with administration to expand upon our idea of success.

Voltz is running for one of the open seats on the school board. She is married with two children and is currently employed as a technology risk manager. Voltz said she is optimistic about the future of the schools in Cape Elizabeth. She said there have been some significant changes since she joined the board three years ago.

“Our district leadership team is the strongest it has been in many years, and the faculty and staff are extremely talented and dedicated. In my time on the board, I served on the search committees for superintendent, high school principal and director of educational technology, and I’m proud of the role I played in building the team we have in place today,” Voltz said. She said as a board member, she will continue to support the work in progress to improve our schools and expand learning opportunities.

She is co-chair of the School Building Advisory Committee along with the town councilor Penny Jordan. Voltz said she is committed to bringing the community together to address the aging school buildings issue. She says the current school facilities facilities are inadequate for modern, future-focused learning, and the buildings are increasingly expensive to repair and maintain. “Cape Elizabeth has a long tradition of excellence in education, and I believe the majority of community members have the best interests of our schools at heart,” Voltz said. She said she is hopeful that the building committee will find a solution that is affordable to the taxpayers, and provide appropriate and sustainable learning facilities for the students and faculty.

The polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., at the Cape Elizabeth High School gymnasium.

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