{"id":2578,"date":"2026-05-22T00:01:39","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T00:01:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/candidates\/kelly-crockett\/"},"modified":"2026-05-26T13:36:25","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T13:36:25","slug":"kelly-crockett","status":"publish","type":"candidate","link":"https:\/\/www.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/candidates\/kelly-crockett\/","title":{"rendered":"Kelly J. Crockett"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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About the Candidate<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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I have been a public school teacher for 30 years with experience in curriculum and student support. I bring insight into how school board decisions shape daily operations and student success.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Education<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Master of Science, Education<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Previous campaigns and elected office(s) held<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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I have been nominated to run for school board at our town meeting.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Top three priorities<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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My top three priorities are student-centered decision making, strong collaboration with families and the community, and fiscal responsibility. With clear goals and shared effort, we can support students while using taxpayer dollars wisely.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Why are you running?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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I\u2019m running for the Otisfield Representative for School Board because I care deeply about our students, our schools, and our community. I believe public education is a pathway to success for all students, and I want to help ensure our schools continue to provide that opportunity. I\u2019m committed to listening, working together, and keeping students at the center of every decision.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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What is the biggest challenge facing your area\u2019s schools? The biggest opportunity?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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The challenges we face include rising costs and growing pressure on local taxpayers, while also responding to the changing needs of our students. We must ensure we have enough qualified support staff, including substitutes and bus drivers. Addressing this will require careful budgeting, strong community partnerships, and a steady focus on students. Our biggest opportunity is to build on what\u2019s working by managing resources responsibly .<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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If you could change one thing about how your local schools function, what would it be and why?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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I would work to improve communication so families and community members better understand decisions and budgets. I\u2019d also focus on removing barriers to learning, including unmet basic needs, so students are ready to succeed academically. In addition, we need to build budget capacity to maintain and repair facilities so schools remain safe and supportive.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Do you think the state government is too involved in local schooling? Not involved enough? The right amount of involved? Explain your answer.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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The state plays an important role in setting standards, ensuring equity, and providing funding. However, unfunded mandates can strain local budgets and shift costs onto taxpayers. Local boards best understand their communities, so the right balance is strong state guidance paired with local flexibility and adequate funding support.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"voter_guide_candidate_first_name":"Kelly","voter_guide_candidate_middle_name":"J","voter_guide_candidate_last_name":"Crockett","voter_guide_candidate_suffix":"","voter_guide_candidate_race_id":2576,"voter_guide_candidate_age":58,"voter_guide_candidate_hometown":"","voter_guide_candidate_occupation":"Teacher","voter_guide_candidate_bio":"","voter_guide_candidate_education":"","voter_guide_candidate_years_in_state":0,"voter_guide_candidate_years_in_municipality":0,"voter_guide_candidate_time_in_area":"6 years","voter_guide_candidate_website":"","voter_guide_candidate_headshot_url":"","voter_guide_candidate_date_filed":"","voter_guide_candidate_incumbent_years":"","voter_guide_candidate_is_clean_elections":false,"footnotes":""},"vg_party":[1073],"vg_residence_municipality":[530],"class_list":["post-2578","candidate","type-candidate","status-publish","hentry","vg_party-democratic","vg_residence_municipality-otisfield"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/candidates\/2578","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/candidates"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/candidate"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/candidates\/2578\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3842,"href":"https:\/\/www.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/candidates\/2578\/revisions\/3842"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2578"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"vg_party","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vg_party?post=2578"},{"taxonomy":"vg_residence_municipality","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vg_residence_municipality?post=2578"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}