OLD ORCHARD BEACH — Incumbent Sally Beatty faces a challenge by Barbara Roberge for a three-year term on the Regional School Unit 23 School Board. RSU 23 is the Old Orchard Beach school district.

All three candidates for two-year terms on the Old Orchard Beach Town Council — Kenneth Blow, Shawn O’Neill and Michael Tousignant — are unopposed in their bids for re-election, as is Town Clerk Kim McLaughlin.

Both candidates for RSU 23 School Board are retired teachers.

Sally Beatty Courtesy Photo

• Beatty was first elected to the School Board in 2019.

“I have over 30 years of tenure in the education sector with experience as an elementary classroom teacher and school curriculum developer,” said Beatty. She earned a bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Southern Maine and an associate’s degree in business form Westbrook College, now University of New England.

Beatty said her prior employment in the South Portland school system gives her an understanding of the needs of a diverse demographic population.

“My goals are to make our schools both excellent and affordable, she said. “Changes in thinking about how schools can work better for all students requires an understanding of the education system, strong leadership, clear vision for the future and the ability to take bold action.”

She said enrollment and test scores have gone up, “while keeping the costs down for our local taxpayers” during her three years on the school board.

She noted that the district was able to keep students and staff safe during the COVID pandemic.

As a retired teacher, she said she believes deeply in the importance of a strong positive education experience.

“My passion lies in preparing students for long term success in the classroom and in life,” she said.

Beatty has been married to her husband John for 50 years. The couple has two children and six grandchildren.

Barbara Roberge Courtesy Photo

• Roberge is retired after 43 years as a special education teacher, the last 23 in Old Orchard Beach. She said education is important to her family, noting her husband Dan is also a retired teacher. “Both of my children attended OOB schools, where they successfully prepared for adulthood, went on to college, then married and now reside here,” said Roberge.

She said her priorities include preserving and improving the quality and success of RSU23 schools and establishing clear goals and objectives for achieving educational excellence.

She said effectively staffing school buildings and addressing statewide concerns for teacher and support staff shortages is a priority.

“Invest in incentives to keep vested faculty, but also to attract the best and brightest to the profession,” she said. “Most districts, including ours, have many unfilled vacancies, so OOB is in high competition with area school districts for personnel.”

Another priority is ensuring all stakeholders have a voice in making educational decisions.

“I believe effective board oversight of our schools should be informed through the participation of school staff and OOB citizens,” she said.

Roberge said she would work to ensure RSU 23 maintains a positive and safe school climate. “We must work together to encourage a sense of happiness and moral value in our students, faculty, and administration from how we interact with each other, from the school board to support staff and to the children on the bus and throughout the school district,” she said. “As we recover from COVID-19 and face economic challenges we have an obligation to support all students through counseling and other personal needs as they pursue their academics in a culture of respect and dignity,” said Roberge.

Roberge said she has attended RSU23 School Board meetings for years. “I will commit the necessary time and energy to support proven educational programming and policies, and to work for change where needed,” said Roberge, in part. “I will be a conduit for the concerns and interests of teachers, parents, and town folk.”