Regional School Unit 21 community members are angered by what some consider the district’s attempt to sneak a superintendent’s award nomination under the radar.

Early this month, a FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) request made by former Mildred L. Day School Principal Kyle Keenan was uploaded to a Facebook community group, highlighting attempts made by the school board and other district officials to nominate Superintendent Dr. Terri Cooper for the AASA National Superintendent of the Year Award.

In emails received in the FOIA, board members discussed drafting nomination letters highlighting Dr. Cooper’s successes as superintendent.

“We have to close the curtain on those who only want to criticize others and open the window to the sunshine of reality and the accomplishments that Dr. Cooper has pioneered for our district,” School Board Chair Lesley Stoeffler wrote.

Some of Cooper’s accomplishments highlighted in letters written by the board and others in the district include her implementation of an HR department, the modernization of technology in schools, and her collaborative leadership.

But some community members do not believe Cooper’s time as superintendent has been successful.

“We have been broken in so many places by this superintendent,” Kennebunk resident Heather Graham said. “It’s disgusting to think they are working on this instead of trying to repair relationships as well as getting the contract finished.”

During a highly attended meeting in May, teachers and residents told the board that the district lacks leadership and that its teachers feel disrespected and ignored by the administration.

“The fact that there is still no contract is shameful,” resident Melanie Smith said. “I worry how many of these amazing educators will still be here as my kids continue to progress through the school system.”

Residents are also speaking out against what many say is a lack of transparency.

In an email included in the FOIA request, Communications Director Matthew Shinberg said the district would not be “actively publicizing” their efforts to nominate Cooper for the award.

“Some people might spin it into negative PR,” Shinberg wrote. “We won’t be sending anything to the papers.”

“Just the fact that they knew that the public might not back the nomination is a huge red flag,” resident Bonnie Sheppard Goodson said. “Our district administration is so out of touch and does not care.”

Stoeffler said the nomination effort was “not a secret,” despite the district keeping the effort out of the media.

In an email response to community member Melissa McCue-McGrath, Stoeffler said the nomination was a holdover on a “to do” list from the previous board, and was standard procedure.

“I have no idea what the upheaval is about,” Stoeffler said. “This is old news and is rather inconsequential.”

Shinberg also told the Post that the nomination was not released to media because it was simply not “newsworthy.”

“This was not some effort to ‘hide’ anything from the public,” Shinberg said. “The real story here continues to be the amazing work our teachers and staff are doing every day and the effort our students put forth to rise up to the high expectations placed on them.”

The Maine State Superintendent of the Year Award was presented to Howard Tuttle of RSU 12.