Three candidates, Phil McDonough III, Tanya Sleeper and Miles Williams, are running for the three-year seat on the Eastern Aroostook RSU 39 School Board being vacated by Caribou’s Lynn McNeal at the end of the year. Recently, the candidates participated in a forum giving them the opportunity to explain their candidacy. The questions they were asked and their answers are as follows:
Phil McDonough III
• Tell us a little about yourself.
I’ve been in Caribou since 1982. I graduated from Caribou High School Class of 1993. I’ve been employed with S.W. Collins Company for the greater part of 16 years.
• Why are you running for the school board?
I felt the need to take a more active approach to participate in the community. Given the fact that my father is on the City Council, that limited what I could participate in, so I chose this endeavor.
• What would you like to most accomplish during your term on the school board?
I’d like to see the budget process with regards to the RSU get more in line and not become so dependent on the ever dwindling revenues that are being shared from the state — to try to do it within the means of the city without increasing the burden to the taxpayers as well.
• In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges currently facing the RSU 39 school board?
I think the biggest thing is the budget. The amount that they spend is based on their enrollment, and given their declining enrollment, the budget hasn’t seemed to decrease. I think we need to look at that and see if there’s ways to curtail things in order to keep things in line based on enrollment and not what we’ve always done before.
• How will your experiences help you serve on the school board?
I would like to think that being in the community for as long as I have and seeing the way things have changed and things have progressed, that by taking an outside-the-box approach to how things are done, may provide a little bit of insight into some changes that we could do in order to make things better.
• Do you have any initial thoughts on the year’s upcoming budget?
I think it’s probably going to be more difficult this year than in the past based on, again, the declining share from the state and its providing relief to the city.
• The RSU was formed in 2009. How do you feel this has affected Caribou and its students since?
I don’t know if there’s been a dramatic change, given the fact that Limestone still has their students being taken care of in Limestone and then all the other students basically have still gone to Caribou from the surrounding areas. So I don’t think that has changed. I think it’s probably a good idea to share some of those associated costs with the other communities. But I don’t know if there’s a large change that would have affected the student body and the way things operate on a day-to-day basis.
Tanya Sleeper
• Tell us about yourself.
I have been married to my wonderful husband, Joe Sleeper, for the last 10 years and we are the proud parents of two beautiful daughters, Chloe, age 9, and Isabella, age 6.
I was born and raised in Aroostook County, educated in the public school system, and was fortunate to attend the University of Maine at Fort Kent to obtain my nursing degree.
After completing college, I began my nursing career at Cary Medical Center. While working full-time as a registered nurse, I pursued graduate education, earning a master’s degree in business from Husson University followed by a master’s degree in nursing/geriatric nurse practitioner program from Saint Louis University.
My love of learning and passion for education has provided many professional opportunities in health care, education and leadership, which underscore the importance of education. I am currently wrapping up doctoral studies, completing a Ph.D. in public policy.
I have served in an administrative capacity for a local not-for-profit home health care agency for the last 14 years, am an assistant professor of nursing at the University of Maine at Fort Kent, and also serve as adjunct nursing faculty for Saint Joseph’s College of Maine where I was recently awarded the Graduate Nursing Faculty Member of the Year.
• Why are you running for school board?
First, as the mother of two children attending public school in Caribou, I have a vested interest in their education and in their future. I appreciate the value of the public school system and the opportunities it afforded me to attend a local college and pursue graduate education.
In my professional role as educator, health care administrator and geriatric nurse practitioner, I not only appreciate the value of a good education, but understand its critical role in the economic growth and development of Aroostook County to retain and attract businesses and promote job opportunities.
As the executive director of Aroostook Home Health Services and a member of the Pines Board of Directors, meeting the health care needs of our aging population requires a skilled workforce which cannot be done without a high quality public education system.
Serving as nursing faculty for both the University of Maine at Fort Kent and Saint Joseph’s College of Maine, I understand the role of public education in preparing students for college and the skills and knowledge necessary for them to succeed. Within these roles and responsibilities, I have both a personal and professional interest in the public education system and the delivery of quality education to foster student success and academic achievement, promote economic growth and development within our own community and bolster the workforce.
• What would you most like the RSU to accomplish during your term on the school board?
I want to continue to enhance the quality of public education in Caribou, explore opportunities to offer early college credit through partnerships with local universities and examine innovative ways to deliver cost effective public education. There is a much greater need for collaboration at the local, state and federal levels in order to improve education in Maine and nationally, and efforts to explore those further will certainly be some of my priorities.
• What are the biggest challenges facing RSU 39 right now?
The challenges of the public education system are similar to those experienced in the health care industry — a demand for higher quality at a lower cost. The need to work within these fiscal constraints requires individuals who understand these challenges and can assist in bringing forth solutions that address quality and cost. As the student population changes, it is important that RSU 39 remain robust in its academic and extracurricular programs that foster the development of a well-rounded student to prepare them for post-secondary education and beyond.
• What experiences will you bring to the school board?
Both my professional experiences and educational background have prepared me well to serve on the school board. I serve on a number of boards and committees in both health care and education and am currently involved in the Strategic Planning Process within the University of Maine at Fort Kent. I am also actively involved in the New England Association of Schools and Colleges re-accreditation activities at the university level serving as a member of the Steering Committee and chair of the Standard on Financial Resources.
Managing a not-for-profit home health care agency for the last 14 years, I have been successful in providing quality cost effective services. I understand the fiscal and regulatory environments in which we live and how to work collaboratively to find solutions to these complex issues.
• Do you have any initial thoughts on the upcoming year’s budget?
The budgetary process is not an easy task for public education as a result of ongoing cuts to state level funding, which are expected to continue. The current budget reflects efforts to reduce overall spending to address loss of funding. While this year’s budget remained flat from the previous year, the potential for further funding cuts and increased expenses requires a pro-active approach to find ways to maximize funding, recruit and retain more tuition students and establish a financial plan that reduces costs. Additionally, we must be cautious that cost savings plans do not affect the quality of education but provide adequate resources to exceed academic standards.
• RSU 39 was formed in 2009. How do you feel this has affected Caribou and its students since?
The collaborative effort between the Caribou area and the surrounding communities through RSU 39 provides opportunities to share valuable resources and maximize efficiencies. Ongoing fund cuts and rising costs are likely to continue. The need to continue to realize cost savings through shared administrative responsibilities and further consolidation needs to be explored. For the preservation of RSU 39 and the Caribou school system, we need to ensure adequacy of funding for programs and support services aimed at student success and high academic achievement. It is important to continue to ensure that the allocation of resources is fair and equitable across the school system.
Miles Williams
• Tell us about yourself.
I have lived in Caribou my entire life. I attended the Woodland Consolidated School and then, as a transfer student, attended high school in Caribou. I’m a retired officer in the Army National Guard. I have three children, who all attended Caribou schools, and four darling little granddaughters that have Papa’s full attention. I live on the Woodland Road with my wife of nearly 38 years, Sharon Dow Williams.
I work for Efficiency Maine. I install direct-install lighting and conduct energy audits for commercial businesses in buildings such as municipal buildings, schools, along that line. I have been on the Caribou Ag Ed Advisory Board at the high school level for roughly 10 years. I enjoy that very much.
I am a member of the Loring Development Association Board. I am also a member of the State Ag Advisors Board of Directors. So I am fairly busy in a lot of volunteer activities.
I am a past member of the Caribou City Council. I served nearly eight years on the council.
• Why are you running for the school board?
I think that teachers and students are our greatest asset. I want to see that our programs are successful. I think that we need to really concentrate on our students because they are our future leaders. We look at things around our community, around the state, around the nation, and these children coming up through, they are going to be our leaders in the coming years. The most we can do to prepare them, to educate them, give them a well-rounded education of what life is about as much as possible on the school level is very important.
And I want to see some transparency in what goes on in the school. Oftentimes we can sit back and criticize about boards, about functions, groups, but until you’re a member, you don’t really have the authority to do that, in my opinion. You need to understand what’s going on.
I always felt that before I joined the council, but after I joined the council, then I realized exactly how hard it is to effectively manage or control a large entity. And I would like to be a part of that in the school system.
• What would you most like to accomplish while on the school board?
I’d like to see more integration between the school systems. Limestone is a great school system, and Caribou, I feel, is a fantastic school system also. I think we need to be able to integrate the two school systems more, whether it be through activities or through programs. I realize it is integrated somewhat on the courses and the levels, but I think there’s other things like fine arts. Other than just the Tech Center, I think the students need to be integrated more in some of the core classes.
• In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges facing the RSU 39 school board?
I think the biggest challenge we have, naturally, is the budget. With all the revenue sharing that has been cut, all the state-mandated programs that the schools are told they have to do and yet they are not funded, that makes a real issue for the school boards. It’s very challenging. We can’t always make all the cuts on the backs of the students or the teachers. We’ve got to really evaluate a lot of things in the school system.
As I said before, I think the students and the teachers are a great asset and I don’t think they should bear the entire load of all the budget cuts.There again, like I said, if I am elected, until I’m a part of that board, I don’t have the authority or the intelligence to properly evaluate that. But if you don’t get involved, you’ll never know.
• How will your experiences help you serve on the school board?
I’ve been involved in the school system for a number of years with the Ag Advisory Board, so I’m aware of a lot of the programs. I’ve been involved with the city council for eight years. I think there’s a lot of ability there, a lot of learning processes that you go through that you can apply also to the school board.
When I was on the council, that was before the RSUs were formed, and we used to work quite closely with the school boards trying to develop their budgets and talked about it. And we had several meetings with the school board as they explained their budget to us. So I know a little bit about it already. But it has changed a lot over the last few years, especially with the formation of the RSU.
But I think some of my experiences there, some of my experiences that I’ve gained through the military and leadership, could also be an asset. I’m just really excited about the opportunity to try.
• Do you have any initial thoughts on the year’s upcoming budget?
No, I don’t want to make comment on that until I actually get a chance to see it. Because I can sit back and be the armchair quarterback, but I don’t think that’s proper until I can actually be a part of it and see what’s in there. When I was on the council, we were a part of it, and at that time I could have some thoughts. But until then, I don’t think it’s prudent for someone to be able to sit on the outside and not know what’s in the budget and try to make intelligent comments.
• The RSU was formed in 2009. How do you feel this has affected Caribou and its students since?
I think it has given some opportunities to the students. It has given some opportunities to the teachers also. Possibly being able to, on a limited basis, from what I understand, transfer from one school to another one if openings become available. I think there’s a lot farther we can go.
But like any time when you join two large factions together, there becomes more opportunities for the members of that group, whether it be in the school, whether it be in the city, whether it be in business, whatever it is. And I think there have been other opportunities that have come up. We’ve been able to share some services, and that’s a big win for everybody. The more we can do that, the better off both communities will be.
