VICTORIA LANGELIER

Occupation: Programs director, (Sgt.) Androscoggin County Jail

Victoria Langelier

Education: 2003 Edward Little High School graduate, graduate of Basic Corrections at the Maine Criminal Justice Academy (MCJA), certified instructor for MCJA, certified field training officer, and certified first aid and CPR instructor

Family: I live with my husband and two children.

Political experience: Absolutely none.

Q: Why are you running for school board? If elected, what will be your priorities?

A: I was approached by people in the community asking if I would run. My child told me if you don’t do this who will speak for those who don’t have a voice or aren’t as loud as you are. I would like to start with opening the lines of communication. Also to help the success of the children we need to care for basic needs, shelter, food, and safety. Seventy-eight children in our community self-identify as homeless. I also promise that no matter the conversation, I come into it unbiased, and I am not afraid to have the difficult conversations.

Q: What do you like and what don’t you like about the school budget that passed in the spring?

A: I believe we pay enough in taxes in this city to provide our children a solid education. I do believe that the money needs to be looked at, to make sure that our tax dollars are being spent appropriately. There are some lines that could be decreased to help raise other lines to help with things such as teacher retention and academic disparities. We need people to start thinking outside the box to solve issues we have.

Q: How would you rate Superintendent Katy Grondin’s job performance? Do you support renewing her contract? Why or why not?

A: I have witnessed firsthand how much Katy supports our children; I honestly believe she has done the best she can. With that being said, after witnessing the changes that are being done in Lewiston, I do support that we not renew her contract. At this point I think a culture has been formed that will only be removed by a fresh set of eyes. With the statistics we are currently facing, there is no choice. In 2017-2018 we had too many students not graduate, that 2,120 children were not reading proficient, 2,575 children are considered not math proficient, and 734 children are chronically absent.

DANIEL F. POISSON SR.

Occupation: Business owner

Daniel Poisson Submitted

Education: High school and tech school

Family: Married 32 years to Heidi Poisson; three grown children, Daniel Poisson Jr., Chris Poisson and Kasey Higgins; and five grandkids

Political experience: Twenty years on Auburn Rec Board; three terms on Ward 5 school committee

Why are you running for school board? If elected, what will be your priorities?

I am running for school committee to make a difference with students, teachers, administration and all of Auburn’s citizens. Work to get better test scores, more help in the classrooms for students, keeping up maintenance on all schools. We all need to work on communication skills between all parties.

What do you like and what don’t you like about the school budget that passed in the spring?

We came in at zero percent increase as per direction of the city council, but we are still underfunded. We understand that the city was trying to keep taxes under control, but we can only come in at zero percent for so long.

How would you rate Superintendent Katy Grondin’s job performance? Do you support renewing her contract? Why or why not?

As a current school board member I cannot comment on the contract due to confidential personnel information.