The RSU 21 School Board appointed a new chair and vice chair Monday night, amid backlash from voters and a wave of recent departures.

The board elected Lesley Stoeffler to serve as board chair for the 2024-25 school year, and Claudia Sayre as vice chair.

“We have to have a culture of openness and we have to put our children, our students, first,” Stoeffler said Monday.

The appointments come at a time of unrest in the district, with parents and teachers alike concerned about the amount of departures from the district, as well as the ongoing teacher contract negotiation.

Departures

At the meeting Monday night, many community members expressed concern over the number of teachers leaving the district.

Currently, RSU 21 has 37 job listings posted, many of those being teacher and ed tech positions. The neighboring school district of Wells and Ogunquit only has eight, none of which are teacher positions, and only one of which is an ed tech position.

In an interview with the Post in June, RSU 21 Superintendent Dr. Terri Cooper said the number of resignations in the district is decreasing.

“We are below the national average when it comes to resignations and retirements,” Cooper said last month. Attempts to reach Cooper for additional comment were unsuccessful.

But many residents do not agree, nor do they believe the national average number of resignations is reflective of the number in RSU 21.

Greg Cavanaugh resigned from his teaching post at Mildred L. Day School last year. While his reasons for leaving were not all directly tied to unrest in the district, he is calling for change amid district leadership.

“The district flippantly dismisses the departure of employees as being a national problem, not a Kennebunk problem,” Cavanaugh said Monday. “It should be inherently important to find out the why.”

Cavanaugh also addressed the lack of prep time for teachers, who he said are asked to prep for their classes at home, after their teaching hours have ended.

According to staff members, teachers in other districts receive prep time, but teachers in RSU 21 do not.

“You’re all in these positions of leadership to support our educators,” Cavanaugh said. “They’re starving. They’re desperate for support.”

Teacher prep time is a sticking point in teacher contract negotiations, which have been ongoing this year.

In a statement made last month, board member Kirstin Shapiro, who is the lead negotiator for the board, said the teacher contract process has entered mediation, a process in which a trained neutral comes in to meet with the parties, understand their concerns, and offer a fresh perspective.

“We have had meaningful dialogue with our teachers and have genuinely listened to their concerns,” Shapiro said. “There are a few outstanding issues that both sides care very deeply about.”

Budget 

The district’s budget has also come under fire since its proposal early this year. Last month, the budget passed by 434 votes, with some residents claiming that spending was too high on administration, and too low on salaries.

According to Maine.gov, RSU 21 teachers make approximately $11,000 less than neighboring towns, but RSU 21 administrators make $20,000 more.

Erica Sullivan, a teacher at Sea Road School, told the school board Monday that they didn’t listen to voters who “clearly begged” the board to cut spending from administration and not from teachers and students.

In May, voters asked the board to reduce the $2.12 million earmarked in the budget for system administration by $400,000. This was voted through by the nearly 100 people in attendance.

Rachel McCarthy, a teacher at Sea Road School, told the board Monday that many voters feel administrative spending has exploded in the past few years, including with the creation of jobs that she said have not been in the district in the past.

According to the RSU 21 website, two jobs with the title of Special Services Building Coordinator have been posted, each with a salary range of $70,000 to $90,000.

“These positions were not outlined in the budget,” McCarthy said.

With the amount of unrest present in the district, voters are calling on the newly elected board members to listen to teachers and voters, and to support educators and parents.

“You can have a powerful impact and imprint your legacy in this position,” resident Heather Graham said. “Teachers need a champion.”

Stoeffler, the newly-elected board chair,  seemed to agree, noting that the board will implement listening sessions once a month going forward.

“We do hear you, and we are concerned, and we carry your concerns with us,” Stoeffler said.

The next RSU 21 board meeting is scheduled for Aug. 19.