SKOWHEGAN — A former Cornville representative on the Skowhegan-area school district board of directors hinted to board members Thursday that national politics were being considered as he questioned why the man appointed to replace him was not given a seat on a coveted committee.
Political considerations aside, Julian Payne’s comments led district officials to realize the board was violating its own policy for committee appointments, which the superintendent said has been corrected.
Payne, who resigned from the board in December, said Cornville’s newly appointed board member, Wayne Wofford, should have been appointed to Payne’s former seat on the Educational Policy/Program Committee.
The committee is one of several to which directors are assigned; it reviews certain policies and instructional budgets, bylaws say.
Payne said Amy Rouse, of Skowhegan, the board vice chair who had previously been on the committee, instead took the seat.
“This increased Skowhegan’s (committee) representation from five to six members,” Payne said, reading a statement. “Cornville, zero. I cannot square the circle here. I do know Wayne publicly opposed many of your policies in the past. Recently, Michelle (Kelso), another Republican, was denied access to the committee.”
The 23 board members, representing Canaan, Cornville, Mercer, Norridgewock, Smithfield and Skowhegan, are elected in nonpartisan elections and have no party affiliations in their official capacity.
Payne, elected to the board of directors in June 2023, has said he was a Democrat until 2020, when he switched his party affiliation to Republican.
Wofford, appointed by the Cornville Select Board to represent the town earlier this month after Payne’s December resignation, has been a vocal opponent of school mask-wearing requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic and spoke about that at several school board meetings.
Skowhegan police issued Wofford a no trespassing notice at that time, which effectively prohibited him from attending meetings. Superintendent of Schools Jonathan Moody told Wofford via email the order was issued because Wofford had made threatening comments, interrupted meetings and refused to leave board meetings after refusing to wear a mask properly.
Wofford faced two separate criminal charges when he tried to attend board meetings in September 2022 and March 2023, according to court records and Skowhegan Police Department reports. Prosecutors eventually dismissed the misdemeanor-level charges, citing “interest of justice,” court records show.
After Payne addressed the board Thursday, nobody responded, and Payne left the cafeteria at Skowhegan Area Middle School.
But later in the meeting, Moody addressed the comments.
“Certainly, I don’t believe the committee has ever been political,” Moody said, “and, certainly, there was no political intent.”
Moody said Rouse had stepped off the committee to allow Kelso, of Skowhegan, to serve on it. When Payne resigned and his seat opened up, Moody said it made sense for Rouse to return to the committee. Committee membership is capped at 11 people because any more would be a quorum of the full board of directors, he added.
Wofford said his concerns about not having a seat on the committee were not about any political issue, as Payne had implied, but that board policies require that each of the district’s six towns must be represented on the committee.
Bylaws posted on the MSAD 54 website state “All towns shall be represented on the committee” for two committees: the Educational Policy/Program Committee and the Support Services Committee. Other committees described in that section do not have that requirement. The section was last reviewed in December 2002.
Moody told Wofford he would look into the issue.
In an email Friday, Moody said Wofford was correct about the requirements in the bylaws, and it was “quite frankly an oversight on my part.”
Michael Lambke, of Skowhegan, has offered to switch his committee assignment with Wofford’s to allow Wofford to serve on the Educational Policy/Program Committee, Moody wrote.
With the change, the policy committee now has members from all district towns, except for Canaan, according to a document Moody provided. The Support Services Committee already had representation from the six towns.
On Friday, Payne, who was not present for the exchange between Wofford and Moody Thursday, said he did not know about the bylaws regarding committees.
“My gut feeling was correct,” Payne said, adding if he had known about the language, he would not have needed to address his issues with the board.
Payne said twice he felt unfairly treated by the policy and program committee when he attended meetings as a board member, before he became a member of the committee in 2024. He said committee members did not want to hear his opinion about student members on the board of directors and the contentious hiring of a second school resource officer, and they gave him a two-minute time limit to speak. He claimed some committee members later complained to district administration that his actions were political.
“It was unkind, unnecessary, but opened my eyes to toleration of dissent,” Payne told the board Thursday.
He clarified Friday that committee participation was not the main reason he resigned from the board. Payne did not submit a resignation letter. Following his resignation he said in an interview that it was due to a difference of opinion with Moody and frustration with board procedures.
Payne’s comments during the public participation portion of the meeting came after Lynda Quinn, the chair, opened the meeting by making a vague statement about conversations she has heard in recent weeks.
Quinn, who has held various elected positions in Skowhegan, said she has heard three words frequently: constituent, Democrat and Republican. She reminded the board members that national political affiliations are not supposed to play a role among them.
“Our job is solely to take care of the children that come to SAD 54,” Quinn said.
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