Anekels for Brunswick Council

I am writing in support of Dan Ankeles for Brunswick Town Council. With all the disarray in Washington and Augusta, we sometimes forget that local politics have an enormous bearing on our day-to-day lives. It is critical that we have principled, responsible and energetic people like Dan representing us on the Council.

Dan’s job in the Legislature requires him to work with people across the political spectrum in a bipartisan fashion on matters of public policy, help folks navigate the government bureaucracy, and provide real solutions for constituents who are having difficulties. Locally, he has worked hard on the Recreation Commission and Coastal Waters Commission, and has expressed a strong desire to make sure Brunswick’s financial house is in order by broadening our tax base and planning appropriately for the future. And he is committed to making sure that our kids have the best available resources as they make their way through the school system. Like Dan, I am raising children in Brunswick, so this last point resonates strongly with me.

Dan believes in public service and cares deeply about the Brunswick community. He is the new, refreshing voice we need on the Town Council. Please join me in voting for him on November 6.

Patrick Rankin,

Brunswick

Updegraph for Brunswick Council

There are some people out there whom you want on your team because you know that they will apply their knowledge, creativity, and enthusiasm to the team’s success. That’s why Sande Updegraph is my choice for the at-large seat on the Brunswick Town Council.

Over her many years in Brunswick, Sande has volunteered for and been appointed to some of the most important committees in our town: Village Review Board, Zoning Board of Appeals, and the Planning Board. Her experience on these boards has brought her a depth of knowledge of the ordinances and issues facing Brunswick that few citizens have. As a member of the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority (MRRA), she has served in an advisory role in the redevelopment of the former Navy base into Brunswick Landing, a powerful economic engine for business and job creation for the area.

And, as the former executive director of the Freeport Chamber of Commerce and the Freeport Economic Development Corporation, Sande has experience in economic development across a wider geographic area.

But one of the most important assets that Sande brings to the Town Council is that she seeks out people with different points of view … and listens to them. She is devoted to finding the best path to solutions to the pressing problems facing our town right now.

That’s why I want her on our team. That’s why I’m voting for Sande Updegraph for the at-large member of the Brunswick Town Council. I hope that you’ll join me in voting for her, too!

Margo Knight,

Brunswick

Brunswick could benefit from regional service center

Question 1 on Brunswick’s Nov. 6 municipal ballot will ask voters whether they approve of a plan for Brunswick School Department to join a Regional Service Center (RSC) called the Greater Sebago Education Alliance (GSEA). The alliance is designed to create efficiencies through joint purchasing of supplies and services at a reduced cost and to engage the ten partnering districts in collaborative projects to improve educational services.

Regional Service Centers are formalized partnerships among separate school districts and have been promoted across the state by the Department of Education through incentives that include additional state subsidy for all districts who join an RSC. For Brunswick School Department, this additional subsidy will amount to approximately $36,000 in this current fiscal year and approximately $72,000 in the next fiscal year. Brunswick School Department already partners with several other districts to create efficiencies and cost savings and to generate collaborative approaches to improve educational services. Informal partnerships, however, will not make school districts eligible for the additional state funding.

This past spring, the Brunswick School Department School Board took the initial step of approving an interlocal agreement to join the Greater Sebago Education Alliance, but in order for the partnering school districts to meet the criteria outlined by Department of Education to be eligible for the additional subsidy, each community must obtain “voter approval” of the plan; so this referendum question will be on all of the partnering municipal school districts’ November ballots. (The partnering RSU and MSAD school districts that are made up of more than one town were able to demonstrate “voter approval” through their June budget approval process, and have already become official members of the Greater Sebago Education Alliance).

Along with Brunswick School Department, the Greater Sebago Education Alliance regional service center represents most of the school districts in Cumberland County, including Portland, South Portland, Scarborough, Cape Elizabeth, Westbrook, Gorham, and School Administrative District 6, based in Standish, Regional School Unit 14, based in Windham, and SAD 15, based in Gray/New Gloucester.

Pender Makin,

Assistant Superintendent of Schools,

Brunswick School Department