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Teachers, parents and students urge RSU 5 board to preserve math, ESOL, outreach and language programs
Summary
Multiple public commenters at the March 11 RSU 5 board meeting urged the district to reverse proposed cuts that would eliminate a high-school math teacher, reduce ESOL staffing, halve the community outreach coordinator role and remove middle-school French, arguing those changes would harm student support, compliance and long-term enrollment.
At a packed public-comment period on March 11 at Freeport High School, teachers, students and residents implored the RSU 5 Board of Directors to preserve several positions and programs the administration has proposed cutting.
Marcia Wood, a longtime Freeport High School math teacher, warned that cutting a high-school math position would undermine students’ academic and social supports and make it harder to improve standardized-test outcomes. “Reducing the number of quality math teachers would not support improving these outcomes,” Wood said, describing the affected teacher’s extracurricular and mentorship work.
Erin Abbott, a 20-year math teacher who lives in Yarmouth, said eliminating the position would increase class sizes and limit individualized support, and urged the board to “prioritize investments that directly support student learning and success.” Haley Goodspeed, a department chair and strategic-planning committee member, added that the cut could force the district to drop its computer-programming offering and would conflict with the district’s stated strategic-plan values around belonging and equitable access.
Teachers also defended non-instructional roles. Lisa Bleier, an English and alternative-education teacher, argued against halving the community outreach coordinator position, saying the role connects students to careers, mentors and internships and supports at-risk youth. Rick Wilson, Brunswick High School’s community outreach and extended-learning coordinator, told the board the role is a statewide model and that part-timing it would “reduce relationships, opportunities, and access for students.”
ESOL staff and advocates pressed the board to avoid cuts that would imperil legal obligations. Jill Hyland, an ESOL educator, reminded the board of the district’s Lau plan and cited the Supreme Court decision in Lau v. Nichols, saying reductions that leave two ESOL educators to cover five buildings would make services “reactive, inconsistent, and stretched beyond what is educationally sound or legally defensible.” Hyland and others said the multilingual-student population has not declined and that continuity of services matters for graduation and college readiness.
Student and middle-school voices also spoke. Taylor Dombrowski, a sixth-grader, asked the board to keep French in the middle school, calling language and culture instruction “an opportunity for kids to learn about foreign culture.” Sarah Davis, who teaches French at the middle school, urged the board to retain world-language courses and reconsider proposed cuts to EdTech positions that support middle-school learning.
Board members acknowledged the emotional testimony and said the administration’s proposals were intended to balance long-term sustainability and contractual salary increases. The superintendent reiterated that recommendations target positions, not people, and pledged to continue listening as deliberations proceed.
The board did not take an immediate vote on any personnel decisions at the March 11 meeting; budget deliberations are ongoing and scheduled to continue in subsequent meetings.
