SKOWHEGAN — Selectmen appointed Michelle Kelso on Tuesday to fill a vacancy on the Maine School Administrative District 54 school board.
Kelso was selected in a 3-2 vote. Her term expires June 30, 2024.
The Skowhegan resident ran for a seat on the MSAD 54 board earlier this month in the annual town election, when she and seven others competed for four open seats to represent Skowhegan on the board. Kelso received 270 votes, but lost to the four incumbent candidates, who were reelected with 358, 357, 343 and 301 votes.
A fifth seat on the 23-person board opened in May when Alicia Boulette tendered her resignation. Kelso filed to run for the position, along with Timothy Amadon and Gina Davis. Amadon withdrew from consideration earlier this week.
Town Manager Christine Almand said Tuesday state rules dictate how a vacant school board position is to be filled. Instead of holding an election immediately, a select board or council is to appoint somebody to fill the remainder of a term until the next annual election.
Selectmen asked questions of Kelso and Davis, such as why they were seeking the position and what they think the function of a school board should be.
Both women said they are engaged and informed members of the community. Kelso said she frequently attends school board meetings and has done so for years as a resident. Davis said she was an educator at MSAD 54 schools for 17 years.
“I may have some new ideas,” Kelso told selectmen. “We need a change.”
Davis said her institutional knowledge of area schools is a strength.
“Accountability comes from knowing the right questions to ask,” Davis said, “and I do believe you want board members who have institutional knowledge of how schools work as systems.”
Some selectmen said having educators on the board might defeat its broader, representative purpose.
“I feel the school board should be full of that diversified group of parents, single parents, nonparents, blue-collar, white-collar,” selectmen Chairman Todd Smith said.
Selectman Steve Govoni agreed, adding that the school board deals with more than curricular matters.
Govoni, Smith and Harold Bigelow voted to appoint Kelso, while Selectmen Paul York and Charles Robbins voted for Davis.
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