Kennebunk voters are scheduled to go to the polls March 29 to decide whether to recall RSU 21 director Tim Stentiford and, if they do, choose a replacement for the remaining three months of his term. Tammy Wells photo

KENNEBUNK – Voters at a Special Town Meeting on March 29 will decide if they wish to recall RSU 21 board member Tim Stentiford, select a replacement board member if there are enough votes to recall him, and act on two unrelated issues.

Town Clerk Merton Brown told select board members at a meeting Jan. 27 that nomination papers were available for the short-term RSU 21 slot and are due back in his office by close of business on Feb. 11.

Stentiford’s term expires June 30. If he is recalled, whomever is elected to replace him would serve until that time.

After reviewing challenges, Brown certified there were 665 valid signatures on the Stentiford recall petitions — exactly the number required under the charter to call an election. The town charter states signatures of 10 percent of registered Kennebunk voters who cast ballots in the last gubernatorial election are required to schedule a recall vote.

Of the 697 signatures presented, Brown found 32 signatures to be invalid — 29 at the original count and three more when the challenges were examined.

Under the charter, if a person who is the subject of a recall petition does not resign within five days, an election is ordered. The charter also offers a hearing, should the recall subject wish.

Selectman Shiloh Schulte explained that while email he received urged the select board not accept the petition, that option is not available.

“We don’t have discretion or leeway whether we accept,” Schulte said. “We acknowledge it happens … The people in the town will decide if they think the process was fair and if the subject of recall should continue in the position or not. Our role is to make sure we follow the procedure.”

Selectman Bill Ward said submitted affidavits that initiate recall petitions should be fact-based, but, he said, there is nothing in the charter that allows the board to act or dispose of the recall attempt based on affidavit inaccuracies. “That is a weakness in the charter,” Ward said.

During public comment, some alleged the affidavit and recall petition movement has a deeper, more unsavory agenda.

“I believe what is behind this is racism and homophobia, and I believe you as elected leaders are standing at a junction and have some choices to make,” said Miriam Whitehouse, in part. “‘I’ve heard the charter doesn’t give you any room. If you really wanted to take a stand … you could really think outside the box and ask (Town Attorney Natalie Burns) what could be done — you are the ones who tell her what to do … (do) you think it’s OK to recall someone based on a lie?”

“And why why isn’t there an option to sit down with RSU 21 and work together instead of going into court?,” said Whitehouse, referring to a recent filing by the school district for an injunction against the town.

Claudia Sayre said the select board is not constrained by the plain meaning of the words in the charter.

“It is time to support Dr. Cooper, who has repeatedly demonstrated tremendous leadership … and it is time to support all members of our school board,” said Sayre.

Steven Webb said he was asked to sign the petition based on equality of pay for schoolteachers.

“It was not (until) the 12th hour I was told I was bamboozled,” said Webb, who added he retracted his signature, but at the Jan. 27  meeting was not sure the retraction had taken place.

“Make no mistake about this, select board members, the RSU 21 School Board recall effort in Kennebunk and now moving rapidly into Kennebunkport, is based on racism, homophobia and a desire to maintain a white, hetero … viewpoint,” said Marie Louise St. Onge. “That is not what I want for my community and I don’t think it’s what some of you want.”

She added that similar initiatives are taking place across the country.

“This recall has nothing to do with race or homophobia,” said resident Erin Rice. “Our school district is failing our children. I want these slanderous statements to stop.”

Rice said there is a “significant fear of retribution,” among petition supporters and said he had received an item in the mail she described as disturbing.

The charter requires 25 signatures of registered Kennebunk voters to present an affidavit to begin the recall process. In this case, affidavits were initiated by resident Norm Archer and 29 others, to recall Stentiford and board Chair Art LeBlanc. The LeBlanc petition came up one signature short of qualifying.

The affidavit said Stentiford’s alleged lead role in negotiating teacher contracts, and his “personal contribution” to what it described as the school board’s escalated administrative spending, led to a loss of confidence in his ability to perform his duties and responsibilities. It noted the departure of teachers and ed techs and several long-valued administrators from the school district. It spoke of the increased spending for human resources personnel.

LeBlanc spoke at the public comment portion of the select board meeting.

“The way the charter provision is being applied by the town at this time, allows people to bring a recall action under the guise of ‘loss of confidence’ when it could be a much more insidious and unspoken reason,” said LeBlanc. “The real issue at hand here is that there is no clear basis for this recall based on anything that director Tim Stentiford has done as a director of RSU 21.” He said the school board would relish the opportunity to work with the select board “to establish a recall provision that contains clear, fair, and rational reasons for recall of a director that would be supported by RSU 21 policy.”

In an early letter to supporters, Archer referenced the school board’s decision to hire Superintendent Terri Cooper.

“… after a year of Dr. Cooper, it is clear that she is unfit for the position and not being held into account by the Board,” Archer wrote. “It’s time to take the only step we the voters have: remove the de facto board leaders from office and replace them with people who will do the one job they were elected to do: manage – and possibly replace — the Superintendent.”

Asked by a reporter about the “unfit” comment, Archer said he believes Cooper is not fit for RSU 21 at this time. “We need a leader who can stabilize the district, restore public trust, engage the public in a positive manner and build bridges across our three communities,” said Archer. “That’s not happening.”

Cooper, believed to be the first Black female school superintendent in Maine, has a master’s degree in administration and a doctorate in educational leadership. She has served as principal and as director of employee support services in North Carolina. Her RSU 21 tenure commenced six months into the pandemic. School opened in a hybrid model in September 2020, and in May 2021, children in kindergarten through grade 2 attended classes four days a week. School buildings opened full-time Aug. 30.

David Lourie, an attorney representing petition proponents, said petitioners were pleased to see the certification of the Stentiford recall petition, and they believe sufficient signatures were collected on the LeBlanc petition. “The petitioners will be reviewing our legal options to bring Mr. LeBlanc’s recall effort to a vote,” Lourie said in a statement.

“We remain steadfast in pushing for change and call upon both Mr. Stentiford and Mr. LeBlanc to resign from their posts immediately,” Lourie said. “The unanimous vote by the school board to use taxpayer dollars in an attempt to defend two individual board members from a political process that is clearly defined by the town of Kennebunk’s charter by suing the town of Kennebunk and, as a result, its taxpayers, is a disheartening reminder of the absolute failure of this group to understand their fiduciary responsibilities to our communities.”

Attempts to reach Stentiford  for comment were unsuccessful.

Earlier in the week, after lengthy discussion by the board and the public, the select board authorized the town attorney to represent Kennebunk in litigation brought against it by RSU 21, which is seeking a preliminary injunction and declaratory judgement. The vote was 6-1, with select board member Sally Carpenter dissenting.

The RSU 21 court filing asks that the town be restrained from ordering a recall election or further proceeding with the recall process, citing grounds that the recall provisions of the Kennebunk charter do not apply to school board members and that Maine Statute 20-A, governing vacancies on RSU boards, does not include recall.