The local school board has chosen its chair and vice chair for the 2024-25 school year after an unsuccessful bid by some board members to change the selection process.
At a meeting on Thursday, April 25, the Maine School Administrative District 75 Board of Directors endorsed current Vice Chair Amy Spelke, of Topsham, for next year’s chair position, and Brandy Robertson, of Bowdoin, for vice chair.
MSAD 75 covers Harpswell, Topsham, Bowdoin and Bowdoinham. Spelke and Robertson were each nominated by their respective town’s board members. The school board unanimously approved both nominees without discussion.
The board followed its long-standing policy of rotating the chair and vice chair positions by town each year. Topsham was next in line to nominate a chair, and Bowdoin a vice chair, who also serves as head of the board’s Finance Committee. Spelke and Robertson will begin serving in their new roles July 1.
A group of Topsham board members, joined by one from Harpswell, had introduced a proposed policy change that would have ended the town rotation for chair, but they later reversed course after receiving criticism from former board members and other residents. Some sitting board members said they may revisit the proposal in the future.
At the board’s March 28 meeting, several board members had voiced support for the policy change, saying it would discourage parochialism among board leadership and give members more flexibility and choice.
But several former longtime board members subsequently argued that the rotation method was mutually agreed upon by all four towns and helps develop more board members into experienced leaders. One former member even accused policy change proponents of trying to silence dissenting voices.
Have a comment or news tip? Email J. Craig Anderson at craig@harpswellanchor.org.
