Roger Ginn is a 62-year-old Democrat who lives at 43 Turtle Cove, Raymond.

With a PhD in psychology, Ginn has been in private practice in Portland since 1978. He has also worked in various school systems as a psychological consultant and as a psychologist at Sweetser Children’s Home.

Why are you running for the School Board?

Ginn: That is a good question. I have always thought about it and people would ask me, ‘When are you going to run for school board?’ The issue that sparked my interest was the amount of money they were spending on labor negotiations using outside negotiators. I didn’t think that was a wise use of money.

How do you think you can work with a board, whose opinions may vary at times, to effect change?

Ginn: I’ve attended a number of school board meetings and I don’t think I am going to differ much with anybody on the board so I don’t really see any major conflicts or clashes. I guess my line of work is collaboration as well as helping people problem solve and listening to what people have to say, and it’s kind of a natural segue into working on committees and boards and is part of what my background gives me.

What do you think has prepared you for this position?

Ginn: A lot of experience with education, working in schools. Having a background in special education. I have a lot of background in assessment and testing and that’s becoming a major issue now in education – being able to assess progress. There is going to be a lot more of that and I think I have some capabilities to help people to understand that and make sense of it and see if it’s worth doing and, if it’s not, being able to lobby for more appropriate ways to assess.

What do you think is the biggest single challenge that Raymond schools face in the next three years?

Ginn: Well, I think it is the same one in every school district in the country – it’s money; trying to keep the budget increases from getting out of sight. Trying to find a balance between what is needed for the education of the kids, particularly as the needs for education are more and more paramount with things like rising healthcare costs. At 10 percent a year, that takes a whack out of the budget. Trying to balance what is best for the kids and the taxpayers. It’s going to be a challenge forever, I guess. One of the challenges is special education – you know how much that costs. Another challenge is insurance.

How does having someone new on the School Board benefit the citizens of Raymond?

New ideas and new ways of doing things. Change is always good.

I think in any community change is important. It’s like the old term limits in the legislature. It’s always good to have new ideas and new people to keep things fresh.