Dear Editor: 

Since I began my first term as an individual on the school committee, I’ve been thinking a lot about what it means to serve in this role. 

School board service is not a symbolic position, nor is it a platform for personal agendas. Under Maine State law, school boards are charged with ensuring that every student has access to a thorough education. That responsibility is the foundation for every decision a school committee makes, from budgets to policy to long-term planning. 

Of course, the work is complex. Every decision means looking at an issue from many sides. It means balancing resources, listening to our community, focusing on student outcomes, and thinking about the long-term health of our schools. 

But, in my opinion, that complexity does not change the mission—it focuses it. In many ways, the success of our schools is inseparable from the success of the community they serve. The school system is a foundational element on this peninsula. Without it, the community we know would be fundamentally diminished—gutted out in favor of transient populations with fewer ties to or care for this place. 

As voters consider candidates in this year’s school board races up and down the peninsula, from the Harbor to Edgecomb, I encourage them to look closely at why each person is running. Look at the names on the ballot, familiarize yourself with the write-in candidates, learn about a person’s record if you can find it. Once you’re familiar with the options, ask yourself: are they grounded in the purpose of the role? Are they prepared to steward a system of public education in service of all students? Or are they focused on priorities that fall outside that charge? 

Because what I have found is that serving on the school board is, above all, an act of stewardship: for our students, our educators, and the future of our community.  

Our students—and our communities—deserve nothing less. 

Tory Paxson

Boothbay