Regional School Unit 21 teachers, school board members, education association members, and Superintendent Dr. Terri Cooper joined together in celebration last week.

The new RSU 21 teacher contract includes a specific article that provides planning time for teachers as well as a salary scale that keeps RSU 21 competitive with neighboring school districts, Communications Director Matthew Shinberg said.

Both highlighted points have been major topics of conversation since summer, when teachers began speaking out about the lack of support they have felt from the district.

The RSU 21 School Board of Directors and Kennebunk, Arundel, Kennebunkport Educators’ Association officially ratified the new three-year contract last week, putting an end to many months of mediation.

Jen Swan, the educators’ association president and Pre-K teacher at Kennebunk Elementary School, confirmed that the new contract was ratified by a large majority vote of the association’s membership.

Swan said that association, which represents over 200 teachers, specialists, and nurses across the district’s six schools, is relieved to bring the mediation process to a close.

“With this milestone behind us, we’re eager to get back to the work of teaching and focusing on our students without this distraction,” Swan said. “We recognize there are other challenges within the district that still need resolution, and we look forward to addressing them collaboratively between our association, school administration, and the school board.”

The school board vote to ratify the contract was not unanimous, with Gayle Spofford voting against the contract.

Despite not providing a reason for her dissenting vote, Spofford said she could not “in good conscience” support the ratification.

Matt Stratford, who took over as lead negotiator for the school board in October, said the new contract reflects the board’s deep commitment to supporting and retaining the “exceptional” teachers who make RSU 21 an outstanding place to learn and grow.

“We are thrilled to reach this agreement with our extraordinary educators,” Stratford said. “Their dedication and expertise are vital to our students’ success and our community’s future.”

The ratification last week was met with cheers from the audience, which School Board Chair Lesley Stoeffler echoed.

“We are so excited to be able to get everything back to where it should be,” Stoeffler said.

The new contract goes into effect immediately and expires on Aug. 31, 2027.

Ad Hoc Committee

Also at last week’s meeting, the board heard an update on the newly formed Ad Hoc Committee.

Made up of teachers and two board members, Claudia Sayre and Abigail Spadone, the committee was tasked with discussing ways to improve the work/life culture in the district.

The first meeting was attended by both teachers and board members, but Spadone said it became evident “very quickly” that in order to have open communication with teachers, the board members would have to be removed from the conversation.

“Wherever board members go, the public goes,” Spadone said. “It wasn’t an environment that was conducive to staff being open.”

At the second and third meetings, district staff and board members met separately with a facilitator to discuss concerns, and at the fourth and final meeting, the group rejoined to discuss what everyone had come up with.

Spadone said the committee got through a lot of the challenges discussed, but did not have time to discuss many solutions.

“At the end of the meeting, it was clear that people wanted to continue the group,” Spadone said.

Moving forward, the committee could meet quarterly to keep communication open between staff and board members. Details have not yet been discussed.