Public Forum with Candidates for MSAD 44 School Board

The Bethel Area Nonprofit Collaborative (BANC) will host a public forum with candidates running for the MSAD 44 School Board on Tuesday, May 29, 2018 from 6:00PM—7:30PM in the cafeteria at Crescent Park Elementary School. Residents from all four towns in the school district will vote for all of the open school board seats on voting day, June 12, 2018. This forum gives voters the opportunity to meet the candidates and to learn about their interests relevant to serving on the board. All community members are invited to attend.
 
This forum is the first event offered through BANC’s new program, Community Conversations. This program will provide the community with in-person, facilitated opportunities to learn about and discuss local issues and topics of interest. Community Conversations will be a forum for respectful dialogue where no decisions will be made nor votes cast. These conversations will provide face-to-face experiences for community members to better understand diverse perspectives and explore creative solutions. 
 
MSAD 44 recently restructured the board to a fifteen-member board with Bethel continuing to have six seats, Greenwood and Woodstock continuing to have three seats, and Newry moving from two to three seats. Weighted voting was eliminated, and each member now has one vote. In addition, the election process for board members has been modified; all candidates are now required to take out nomination papers by a certain date. Write-in candidates must receive at least 25 votes to be considered. Given these changes, it is an opportune time to begin a new practice of giving voters the chance to learn more about the candidates before voting day and BANC is pleased to provide this service for the community.
 
Anyone considering running as a write-in candidate on election day is encouraged to participate in this forum. Please contact Amy Scott, amyscott@bethelmainenonprofits.org, (207) 357-3189 for more information.