Two individuals are vying for one open Washington RSU 40 School Board seat in the March 28 municipal election: Robert "Bob" Jones and Rachael Morris. Penobscot Bay Pilot has posed questions to each candidate, providing the opportunity for the public to better understand their position on issues important to the town and region. RSU 40 educates K-12 students from Friendship, Union, Waldoboro, Warren and Washington.

Here are the responses of Rachael Morris:

Please provide a short biography of yourself, and explain why you are running for office.

I grew up as a military brat. My father spent his entire career serving in the Coast Guard, and as a result we moved around every three to four years.

I went to college at the University of Central Florida, with the intent of becoming an art teacher after graduation. I ended up working for many years in alternate forms of education instead, as an environmental educator first, and later directing programming for camps and youth sports.

Throughout this time my mother worked as support staff in the front office of the local elementary school, and my sister began her long career as a teacher in early and gifted education.  

In my early 30s I made the choice to go to graduate school and attended Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado, where I met my husband Sam. Upon graduating with a master's of science in food science and food safety, we were expecting our first (and only) child and decided to move closer to family in his hometown of Thomaston.

Sam's father just retired after over 30 years as the priest of the local Episcopal Church, his brother and his wife are both high school teachers in RSU 13, and his mom's family have been living and summering in Friendship for almost a century. We were excited to put roots down and be a part of his family's long history here.

We moved to the Washington village in 2018 and have been here ever since.

Our daughter Frankie is seven and is a first grader at Prescott.  I work with several local businesses and farms and have the chance to work with native plants and gardens, and a few days a week in art restoration.

Sam works at a mushroom farm in Gardiner. When we're not at work, we are active in the PTG and local committees, and running for the School Board feels like a natural fit for our family's continued involvement in our community.

What is your current relationship to RSU 40?

Our daughter is in first grade at Prescott Memorial Elementary School in Washington. Go Pandas! 

What is RSU 40’s  No. 1 strength or asset? 

RSU40 has a group of incredibly dedicated and talented group of teachers, administrators, and support staff serving its students. They go beyond just ensuring that the students get an excellent education and are the foundation of our district's success.

Our teachers spend their own money to stock their classrooms to create safe, inspiring learning environments. Teachers and administrators stay after hours to run seasonal festivals, dances, academic nights, sporting events and concerts at our schools so our children have enriching experiences outside of the classroom.

I witness school board meetings filled with administrative and support staff that go until 9 p.m. on weeknights. Our district staff are regularly putting in many hours outside of "school hours" to ensure that our students are supported and getting the best possible educational experience. RSU40 is lucky to have such a dedicated group of people serving our schools! 

What is the No. 1 challenge facing RSU 40? How should the district handle this issue? 

One of the biggest challenges for RSU 40 is balancing the needs of our district with the abilities of our communities to be able to meet them.

We have aging infrastructure, increasing costs of materials, and a continuing need for improved curriculum and staff training to stay consistent and relevant.

In addition, there is uncertainty in federal funding for grants and programming, and we are still unclear as to how that is going to impact not only the student experience, but how our district will close the gaps in funding.

I think it's important for taxpayers to understand these challenges, and for the district to continue to push for improvements in order for our schools to stay competitive with other districts, which in turn attracts new families to our areas. One of the top items on many wish lists for people who are relocating is a "good" school district.

We want folks to continue to look at the communities within our district as a great place to buy a home or start or expand a small business, which secures more funding for our needs at the local level.

Do you feel the current budget is appropriate, too low or too high? 

Our current budget is an appropriate reflection of what our communities are capable of supporting. Outside of state and federal funding, we still have a large portion of funds that have to be raised by taxpayers in the district, and I think our current board does a great job at keeping them at the forefront of the conversation.

There will always be a need for more funding, and desired programming that maybe has to get pushed off just one more budget season. Our district is not unique in that sense, and many districts in Maine and nationwide struggle with the same conversations.

What areas of the budget would you change and how?

There are still many unanswered questions on federal funding for schools, and discussions could look much different in the future then they do now. Once elected, I will be joining the school board just as they begin to wrap up the budget discussions for the year. This means I will be provided with the opportunity to get to know the district more over the coming year and will be able to contribute thoughtfully to the budget committee next year.    

Which committees would you seek to join and why? 

I am hoping to be able to join the Policy and Learning committees but am open to the opportunity to serve others. As a parent of a young student in the district, these feel like highly impactful areas that will influence her and her peers' schooling as they move throughout their education.

We have policies that protect all students in the district regardless of socio-economic status, race, religious affiliation, or gender, and I will act to ensure they stay in place. I also hope to use my seat to vote for learning opportunities that showcase the rich history of the land and people of Maine and the United States, and also look forward to the future and how we can best prepare our students for an increasingly technological world.  

Would you like to add anything else for Washington voters as they consider their vote for school board representative?

As the parent of a young student, I am looking forward to the opportunity to provide continuity to our town seat. I want Washington voters to know that I will always do my best to work hard, put in the extra time, and show up for our students and schools. The school board is in place to ensure a successful learning experience for all students within the district, and I am deeply invested in that on a personal level.