I, along with my fellow Augusta educators Janet Frake, Lynn Hart and Brittany O’Brien, would like to thank Rep. Matt Pouliot, R-Augusta, for his work on the Education Committee over the past two years. As public school professionals, we often feel as though policymakers change and implement laws without regard for the opinion or expertise of those of us in the classroom.

Pouliot is different. He is truly interested in improving education in Maine. Working across the aisle, he helped craft a compromise teacher evaluation bill that gave teachers a say in how the new evaluations are calculated. Pouliot also voted in favor of restoring funding to public schools and worked with his colleagues to increase fairness for retired teachers who return to work.

Teachers and educators can feel good about voting for Pouliot this November because he will continue to listen to us and fight for our profession.

Anita Hopkins

First-grade teacher

Augusta