{"id":12652,"date":"2026-09-25T19:07:53","date_gmt":"2026-09-25T19:07:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/candidates\/lisa-pritchett\/"},"modified":"2026-09-28T17:27:32","modified_gmt":"2026-09-28T17:27:32","slug":"lisa-pritchett","status":"publish","type":"candidate","link":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/candidates\/lisa-pritchett\/","title":{"rendered":"Lisa Pritchett"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n

Previous Offices Held<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

First time running for office<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n

Top Three Priorities<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

1. There seems to be an overuse and reliance on technology (laptops, phones, smart boards). I think we need to find a better balance in their use.
2. I think children are too sedentary and need more physical activity. I\u2019d explore the use of outdoor classrooms and a longer recess for elementary students.
3. To ensure that Sanford teachers have the supplies and materials they need and aren\u2019t always having to spend out of pocket for them.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n

Why are you running?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

In the past few years of my work in schools, I\u2019ve seen the impact that the COVID pandemic and school closures have had on our children. They have more difficulty socializing or making eye contact, have less confidence, and seem more unsure of themselves. Many are exhibiting behavior issues that are proving more challenging to our teachers. I feel a need to help, and as I have recently retired, I now have time to give back to our community.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n

What is the biggest challenge facing your area\u2019s schools? The biggest opportunity?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

How can the schools work with increasing numbers of students with challenging behaviors and support students with increasingly complex needs? How to find and keep quality staff. Staff burnout and turnover are a concern (for example: 18 new staff started at one elementary school this fall). How to maintain services for students while coping with increasing costs for health insurance, food expenses, diesel fuel for buses, etc. Finding a balance in the use of technology.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n

A top issue for many parents is the age of Maine\u2019s school infrastructure. How would you address this issue locally from your position on the school board?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

Sanford is blessed with a new high school, and other schools in the district have had fairly recent renovations. Our priority should be to see that they are well-maintained and kept in good repair.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n

Do you think the state government is too involved in local schooling? Not involved enough? The right amount of involved? Explain your answer.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

State education aid is an important part of Sanford\u2019s budget (75%), as was its support for our new high school. It could be more responsive to changes in local needs such as in special education.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":10918,"template":"","meta":{"voter_guide_candidate_first_name":"Lisa","voter_guide_candidate_middle_name":"M.","voter_guide_candidate_last_name":"Pritchett","voter_guide_candidate_suffix":"","voter_guide_candidate_race_id":12619,"voter_guide_candidate_age":61,"voter_guide_candidate_hometown":"","voter_guide_candidate_occupation":"Retired educator","voter_guide_candidate_bio":"Candidate did not respond to this question.","voter_guide_candidate_education":"I have over 25 years of experience in education at all levels from elementary to middle to high school. I\u2019ve had three children go through school and now have a grandchild in school. I\u2019ve been a parent volunteer, substitute teacher, math and literacy lab instructor, middle school field hockey and softball coach, a ski club adviser, and taught driver\u2019s ed. I also worked in a private special education school with behaviorally challenged teens. I even have experience working with adults as a former instructor at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.","voter_guide_candidate_years_in_municipality":"","voter_guide_candidate_headshot_url":"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/open?id=1ezXLVS8727UhoANdBQbrbI-TT-dQMquw","voter_guide_candidate_date_filed":"","footnotes":""},"vg_party":[1073],"vg_residence_municipality":[],"class_list":["post-12652","candidate","type-candidate","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","vg_party-democratic"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/candidates\/12652","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/candidates"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/candidate"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/candidates\/12652\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13031,"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/candidates\/12652\/revisions\/13031"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10918"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12652"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"vg_party","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vg_party?post=12652"},{"taxonomy":"vg_residence_municipality","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vg_residence_municipality?post=12652"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}