Two Regional School Unit 14 School Board incumbents face a challenger in the race for two seats representing Windham.

Current board members Dawn Dillon and Marge Govoni are running against David Lydon, who has made three unsuccessful bids for Town Council.

RSU 14 Board

DAWN DILLON

Age: 51
Family: Three children
Occupation: Associate broker with NextHome NorthEast Realty
Education: MBA from Thomas College, Waterville, and bachelor’s degree in business, SUNY Brockport
Political/civic experience: School board November 2011 to present, Windham Youth Soccer Board 2007-13, Maine State Department of Economic & Community Development 1993-96
Website/social media: facebook.com/DawnDillonPerkins

MARGE GOVONI

Age: 77
Family: Partner, four children, 19 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren
Occupation: Retired manufacturing manager
Education: Attended college
Political/civic experience: School board member since 2009, Zoning Board of Appeals chairwoman, Human Service Advisory Committee chairwoman and numerous other committees

DAVID LYDON

Age: 39
Family: Wife and three children
Occupation: IT manager
Education: Associate degree in Video and Multimedia Technology from Southern Maine Technical College (now SMCC)
Political/civic experience: Three campaigns for Town Council, 2015 Fellow of the New Leaders Council
Website/social media: Facebook.com/LydonForWindham

 

RSU 14 includes Windham and Raymond, but Raymond residents are considering leaving. They voted 171-128 in August to initiate the withdrawal process.

Raymond officials have cited concerns about the district’s cost-sharing formula for the two towns and a sense that RSU 14 “has been unwilling to view the district as a whole.”

Lydon, 39, said wants to bring his perspective as a parent to the board rather than work on any specific issues.

Lydon said he understands why Raymond is considering withdrawing and said that might benefit Windham.

“It’s going to certainly present new challenges for them,” he said, but a Raymond exit might also address concerns about Windham’s rapid growth. “If we had fewer students in the system, that’s not necessarily a bad thing,” Lydon said.

Dillon, 51, says she would like to work more on ensuring consistency across the district’s curriculum, look at district facilities and demographics, and keep up with technology.

Dillon said she feels Windham is better off with Raymond in the district because of shared resources.

“I think, for the most part, bringing the RSU 14 together has saved administration costs and the administrators in all the schools … work so well together with sharing resources, sharing knowledge, and I think Raymond is better off continuing on with us.”

Govoni, 77, said she brings experience to the board and would like to work on a new middle school if the project moves forward, along with looking at underutilized buildings in the district.

When asked if she supports Raymond leaving, Govoni said it is “kind of like a 50-50 thing.”

“If the bottom line is that they want to leave because they want to control their own schools, then it will probably benefit them to do that,” said Govoni.