In light of the negativity and misinformation directed in recent weeks at our Superintendent Maria Libby, the board would like to take this opportunity to make clear our full support for Maria’s leadership.

The board works closely with Maria to oversee this community's school system and it doesn't take long to see that she is a uniquely innovative educator and a great leader. For evidence of this look no further than her leadership during the Covid 19 pandemic. 

In 2018, Maria started planning for remote school options and in doing so left us uniquely positioned as one of the only school district’s in the country prepared to immediately transition to remote learning back in March. And because of the planning and preparation led by Maria, our schools were one of the few in the state and the nation to offer the option for full-time in-person schooling for every child this school year.

Those that chose to learn remotely are receiving real-time remote instruction, led by teachers in our district, not some distant online learning corporation.

Maria also advocated for additional time and supports educators need to prepare and teach in this new and challenging learning environment. 

There are countless other examples of her integrity and her leadership and we are grateful for her service to our schools and our community.  

What’s been most troubling to us as a board and what has prompted this public comment is that some in our community appear to be using the current tax assessment issue as a way to disparage Maria’s integrity and even accuse her of being dishonest. As a board we cannot accept this when we know that the opposite is true.  

Regarding the tax assessment issue, which for the benefit of the reader, is a decades-old mistake in the way the school district bills the towns of Camden and Rockport, the board recognizes it is a serious issue and we are at the community's service to pursue a resolution.

However, as it pertains to Maria, the issue began many years before her tenure and is simply not her fault. She did however help discover the mistake this summer, took ownership of it, and brought it to the board and the towns immediately. Since then she has been completely transparent and open to a resolution. Statements to the contrary are simply not true.

As a board we are concerned that these unsubstantiated accusations would misrepresent Maria to the public. So we wanted to speak out to the community who elected us to work with the school’s Superintendent and affirm that we know Maria to be a very honest and capable leader. 

Maria was a student in our schools, a mother, a teacher, a principal, and is now leading the school system that she grew up in. Her roots run deep and that is exactly the kind of story we want to celebrate here in our community. The board firmly supports her and stands proudly beside her and we ask that you support her as well as she takes our schools to even greater heights.

In closing we would like to say that the success of our schools doesn’t rest on a single person. Our schools are the responsibility of the entire community. So if you have the desire to learn more about our schools and the decisions being made to keep it running, all of our board meetings and our discussions regarding these issues are open to the public. We welcome and encourage community involvement to hear your ideas and feedback.

Patrick McCafferty is chairman and Brieanna Gutierrez is vice chairwoman of the School Administrative District 28 (Camden-Rockport K-8) Board of Directors