The budget process for South Portland’s school department this year has been unusually contentious.

Reaction to the school board’s decision to close James O. Kaler Elementary School and reconfigure the others has been emotionally charged, with many parents and community members lining up at board meetings to comment.

In the latest incident, South Portland Vice Chair Adrian Dowling stepped down from the position, days after recall papers were taken out against him and board Chair Rosemarie De Angelis.

Dowling said he made his decision because of conduct during executive sessions, not because of the recall effort. He did not elaborate on the reason, citing confidentiality rules.

“In my view, that conduct created an untenable, unprofessional environment that prevented me from serving effectively for our students and the community,” he wrote in an email statement on Wednesday. “I hope the board addresses these concerns so all members can work in a positive, inclusive atmosphere.”

Dowling, whose term was due to expire in 2027, said that he voted in compliance with state law and school department policy.

“Recalling an elected official based solely on a difference of opinion is almost certainly not what South Portland’s founders had in mind when they wrote the city charter,” Dowling said. “If that precedent is set, no elected official in this community will be able to serve for more than a month or two, because there have always been disagreements and there always will be.”

Dowling, who previously represented the city’s western neighborhoods and the Maine Mall, resigned from that position in 2018, ten months into his three-year term. His decision came days after a contentious public discussion of the city attorney’s performance, particularly regarding short-term rentals. 

This school budget season has been particularly painful and divisive. The process has been especially stressful for Dowling, according to De Angelis.

The school district had to cut about $8.4 million from its proposed budget to hold the tax increase to 6%, the higher end of what school board members and city councilors have recommended, Assistant Superintendent Johanna Prince said. 

About 50 department employees were notified last month that their positions would be eliminated.

De Angelis, who has served on the city council for six years, was mayor for one year and on the school board for nearly three years, said this year been the most challenging and stressful budget year she’s experienced.

She said public comment and constituent reactions have been more pointed than in years past. 

“The comments from the public are painful,” she said. “I often wish I wasn’t as tired or worn down as I sometimes am.” De Angelis was moved to tears following two hours of public comment at a meeting on Thursday, including some comments that turned personal.

“Being publicly shamed for trying to do the best I can is hurtful,” she said as she choked up. “I can accept that not everyone agrees with my style or my votes. That’s OK. But to say unkind things about me in a public forum is a hateful act.”

She said she has had many sleepless nights since the recall papers were taken out against her.

“I don’t know why I’ve been singled out,” she said. “I can’t say I understand this.” 

Board Member Daniel Feller said that Dowling’s deep knowledge of South Portland’s history and geography has been an asset to the board.

“Adrian taught me about my role and responsibilities as well as the real pressures that come with making hard decisions that affect students and staff,” Feller said. 

Ali AL Dhamen, the registered voter in South Portland who filed affidavits to recall De Angelis and Dowling last Thursday, said he deliberately focused on the board’s leadership. 

“I wasn’t going to try and kick the entire board off,” he said.

AL Dhamen said that the board members’ support for grade-level reconfiguration “overrides unanimous opposition expressed by parents and community members at public workshops.”

AL Dhamen, the parent of a kindergartener and second grader at Helena H. Dyer, said he first considered taking out recall papers against the board and vice chair following the budget workshop on March 23. 

“They’re not providing transparency, and we still don’t know why they’re insisting on this reconfiguration when there’s already so much other chaos that’s happening,” he said.

He’s recruited eight other people, including parents from all the elementary schools, to help him gather signatures. 

“We were not being listened to,” he said. 

Leadership in the school district has been in flux within the past year, with the superintendent and school board chair resigning last summer.

Superintendent Tim Matheney announced his resignation in early June, after clashing with board members while working to cut $5 million from the budget. Board Chair Molly Schen resigned weeks later, saying that she was not aligned with fellow board members on the role of the position.