Gorham voters Tuesday returned incumbents Anne Schools and Darryl Wright to the School Committee.

Schools tallied 2,717 votes and Wright 2,184 to keep their seats on the seven-member board for another three years. Challenger Liesl Turner in a strong bid for a seat had 1,833 supporters.

Schools

“I appreciate the support of the community and look forward to continuing to work hard to give the students of the Gorham School District a great education,” Wright, the board chairperson, said Wednesday.

Schools on Wednesday also thanked her supporters.

“I look forward to continuing to work hard for our students and face the district’s challenges head on,” she said.

Overcrowding at the district’s aging school buildings amid swelling enrollments and issues related to the pandemic are among the committee’s challenges going forward.

The high school that opened in 1959 has been overpopulated for several years.

Schools said before the election that the district’s largest class has entered seventh grade and time is fleeting.

Wright

Both she and Wright are eager to see the results of an ongoing town-wide facilities study.

One district headache appears relieved. Voters in a referendum Tuesday approved money to fix the failing heat pumps in the geothermal heating, cooling and ventilation system at the middle school.

While facilities are the major issue, the district needs to continue dealing with the pandemic. Just this week, the Village Elementary School with an increase of COVID-19 cases closed for a day to adjust safety protocols in the cafeteria.

Wright said before the election teachers and staff have taken vaccinations seriously and he is proud that safety of students is paramount in the school district.

Wright is a bank vice president and Schools is assistant director of legal affairs for the state’s Bureau of Motor Vehicles.